The NFL season is in full swing, and Week 3 brings another loaded Sunday slate with plenty of intriguing player matchups to attack. We have a ton of fascinating spots and will break down 18 individual player matchups for you to consider.
The Week 3 cheat sheet is your ultimate resource for the top player picks for PrizePicks NFL, matchups to target, and game insights for the slate.
Ready to lock in your NFL Week 3 predictions? Just go to the PrizePicks NFL board, pick your players, and predict if they’ll have More or Less than their projected stats to earn cash if you're right.
Make your NFL Week 3 picks on PrizePicks now!
{{nfl_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
NFL Week 3 Cheat Sheet, NFL Picks & Predictions – Sunday, September 27
Find the top NFL Week 3 predictions, picks, matchups, and players to target below in the PrizePicks cheat sheet, including analysis on QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs, and TD scorers.
NFL Week 3 Cheat Sheet: Quarterbacks
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes vs. Dolphins – 235.5 Pass Yards
Miami has surrendered 0.295 EPA per dropback through two games, while Mahomes enters Week 3 with 566 passing yards and 5 TDs. The Chiefs QB is also averaging 7.6 yards per attempt, giving him plenty of downfield upside against a Dolphins defense that has struggled to get off the field.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud vs. Colts – 243.5 Pass Yards
Stroud has thrown for at least 274 yards in each of his first two games and has been a volume king, leading the NFL in both pass attempts and dropbacks through two weeks. Indianapolis is particularly vulnerable through the air, allowing 9.8 yards per pass attempt, making this one of the week's clearest volume spots.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson vs. Cowboys – 239.5 Pass Yards
Dallas has struggled against play-action, allowing receivers 3+ yards of separation on 70.6% of play-action targets, the second-highest rate in the NFL. In steps Lamar Jackson, who has completed 13 of 18 play-action passes for an NFL-best 229 yards through two games while averaging a league-leading 10.0 yards per attempt.
49ers QB Brock Purdy vs. Cardinals – 236.5 Pass Yards
Purdy has completed an absurd 80.4% of his passes through two games while averaging 8.8 yards per attempt. The 49ers are tied for the highest projected point total on the slate, suggesting there could be some offensive fireworks for San Francisco.
Panthers QB Bryce Young vs. Browns – 223.5 Pass Yards
Cleveland has allowed 0.073 EPA per dropback this season. Young is averaging 256 yards per game on 36.5 pass attempts. Carolina also continued throwing even while leading comfortably last week, posting a 62.1% pass rate in a 34-3 win.
Make NFL Week 3 QB picks on PrizePicks now!
NFL Week 3 Cheat Sheet: Running Backs
Ravens RB Derrick Henry vs. Cowboys – 90.5 Rush Yards
Dallas ranks 30th in the NFL in rush defense by EPA and has struggled to contain opposing ground games. Henry enters Week 3 averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III vs. Dolphins – 82.5 Rush Yards
Walker has been a workload monster and averages over 140 yards per game on the ground. Miami has allowed 4.7 yards per carry through two weeks.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor vs. Texans – 81.5 Rush Yards
Speaking of volume monsters, Taylor has handled an incredible 43 of Indianapolis' 52 RB carries. He is averaging 95.0 rushing yards per game and threatens to lead the entire slate in carries.
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard vs. Browns – 69.5 Rush Yards
Hubbard has become Carolina's clear lead back following Jonathon Brooks' injury and ranks ninth among qualifying RBs in EPA per rush (0.06). Cleveland has allowed 5.0 yards per carry to running backs, sixth-most in the NFL, while also ranking 30th in rushing success rate allowed.
Jets RB Breece Hall vs. Lions – 58.5 Rush Yards
Detroit has given up 147.0 yards per game on the ground, fifth-most in the NFL. The Jets back has already handled 38 carries, and his 131 rushing yards through two weeks don't fully reflect his workload-based upside.
Make NFL Week 3 RB picks on PrizePicks now!
{{gobbyandgobby_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
NFL Week 3 Cheat Sheet: Receivers
Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Commanders – 92.5 Receiving Yards
Washington has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers and ranks 31st in PFF pass-rush grade, giving JSN plenty of time to work against a secondary featuring CB Mike Sainristil, who owns the lowest PFF grade among starting corners. Smith-Njigba enters Week 3 with a ridiculous 44.0% target share and 277 receiving yards, while his 92.9 PFF grade leads all NFL receivers.
Saints WR Chris Olave vs. Raiders – 76.5 Receiving Yards
Another volume machine, Olave has caught 18 passes for 268 yards through two games, trailing only Amon-Ra St. Brown for the NFL reception lead. New Orleans is averaging 305.5 passing yards per game, second in the league.
Jaguars WR Parker Washington vs. Patriots – 64.5 Receiving Yards
Washington has emerged as Trevor Lawrence's clear No. 1 target, commanding a massive 36.7% target share and 34.8% of Jacksonville's air yards. He's also averaging an absurd 3.93 yards per route run, third among qualifying WRs, and now gets a Patriots defense that has allowed a 0.23 dropback EPA this season.
Lions WR Jameson Williams vs. Jets – 54.5 Receiving Yards
Williams has already run the sixth-most routes among qualified WRs despite catching only six passes, and his 13.8-yard average depth of target gives him tremendous explosive-play upside. His 16.9% target share is close to last year's 18.0% mark, while Detroit gets a Jets defense that has allowed plenty of passing efficiency early this season.
Bills TE Dalton Kincaid vs. Chargers – 56.5 Receiving Yards
Kincaid has emerged as Josh Allen's top target, featuring 130 receiving yards in Week 1 with another 95 yards against Detroit. The Chargers have allowed 64.5 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends through two weeks, sixth-most in the NFL.
Make NFL Week 3 WR/TE picks on PrizePicks now!
NFL Week 3 Cheat Sheet: TD Scorers
Ravens RB Derrick Henry vs. Cowboys – 0.5 Player TDs (Goblin)
Henry has already scored 3 rushing TDs this season, while Dallas ranks 30th in the league in rush defense EPA. There's also a squeaky tire narrative here, as the Ravens caught a lot of flak for giving Derrick Henry only 5 carries in the second half last week.
Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Commanders – 0.5 Player TDs (Goblin)
JSN has 4 TDs through two games, including a 3-TD explosion against Arizona. Washington has allowed 7 passing TDs — the most in the NFL — and JSN has already seen 22 targets, including 11 in each of Seattle's first two games.
Bills QB Josh Allen vs. Chargers – 0.5 Player TDs (Goblin)
Allen has somehow taken on a larger goal line workload, and it is paying off; he's already scored 4 rushing TDs through two games after scoring 14 on the ground all of last season.
Make NFL Week 3 TD scorer picks on PrizePicks now!
{{nfl_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}
Make Week 3 NFL Picks on PrizePicks
Week 3 brings us many more opportunities to earn real money on NFL predictions. Use this NFL Cheat Sheet and predictions to sharpen your takes and build out your winning picks for the Week 3 slate.
You can make your NFL picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you're correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 36 states.
Keep it dialed in on the Playbook for more NFL picks, predictions, and news all season long.
Team Picks and Culture Picks are event contracts offered by Performance Predictions II, LLC d/b/a PrizePicks Predict, a CFTC-registered FCM and NFA Member. All event contract customers must be U.S. residents and 18+. Some event contracts may not be available in every state.Event contract trading carries significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. No guarantee against loss is offered. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results.Void where prohibited by law. Restrictions apply. For full terms of service see prizepicks.com/predict-regulatory. Team and Culture Pick Early Payouts subject to market liquidity. The content provided is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, or a recommendation to trade any commodity interest.
