Few thought the New England Patriots would have one loss this early in the season, let alone two.  They are at a 1-2 record on the season, however, and need a win big time in week 4 against division rivals the Buffalo Bills.  This will be a big signifier for whether the Patriots will be able to reach the playoffs this year.  If they cannot start racking up wins within their division, it could be a rough rest of the year for Tom Brady and company.

One aspect of the game this week that should leave Patriots fans with relief is the fact that break out running back CJ Spiller is out on injury.  That takes away one of Buffalo’s biggest threats against a Patriots team that is subpar at best.  With him out and the ball in the hands of Tashard Choice, New England will be able to pressure quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick more often and fluster him.  If they can do this, they will surely cover the -4 points they need to cover the NFL odds for the week 4.

They, however, need a big game for the Patriots offense as well.  Led by Tom Brady, this team has not looked as polished as in previous seasons, which could prove to be a problem in week 4 against a Bills team that loves to score.  Add to that the fact that tight end Aaron Hernandez is out with an injured ankle and things do not look so great for the Patriots.  They will need big games from both Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker to keep up with the Bills offense this coming week.  If not, they could be looking at yet another loss.

Getting the ball moving as well as pressuring Ryan Fitzpatrick is the key to a decisive win for the New England Patriots in week 4.  They need this a great deal, too, so they do not fall behind in both the conference and their division.

In a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game, the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens knock heads Sunday in one of the marquee matchups of Week Three of the NFL season. With both teams 1-1 and coming off losses, oddsmakers have made the Ravens 3-point home favorites to avenge last year’s gut-wrenching playoff loss.

As many remember, the Patriots outlasted the Ravens 23-20 in last year’s AFC title game to make another Super Bowl in the regime of head coach Bill Belichik. Though New England was ultimately defeated in Super Bowl XLVI, the Ravens absolutely must have a chip on their shoulder following last week’s one-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and their playoff nemesis now heading to town.

New England suffered a huge blow this week when it was announced tight end Aaron Hernandez has an ankle injury that could keep him out a significant period of the season. Hernandez was a major piece on quarterback Tom Brady’s chess board and what effect it has will be felt Sunday.

The Patriots are coming off one of its worse losses in recent memory one week ago. Perhaps the Arizona Cardinals will wind up a playoff team, but it was still shocking to see them go into New England and come away straight-up winners as 13-point underdogs.

The Ravens defense may not be what it once when you consider all-time greats Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are getting long in the tooth. Also remember, last year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs, is on Injured Reserve and won’t play this season. Despite that, the Patriots’ offense has showed mixed signals and this is the matchup is where the game could be decided.

This seems to be among the bigger puzzles of our NFL picks in Week Three. As good as New England looked in their opening-week victory, the loss to Arizona is hard to excuse. Baltimore seems like they have plenty to play for and look ready to cover the three-point line.

One thing many were not expecting this past Sunday was the fact that the New England Patriots would look as shoddy as they did.  Playing at home, many thought they would manhandle a weak Arizona Cardinals team that has been clouded in quarterback controversy,  This was not the case, however, and Arizona was able to squeak out a victory.  The Patriots look to bounce back from it this Sunday night, but they will have to go through a strong Baltimore Ravens team that is angry about their loss in the AFC Championship game they lost to the Patriots last year.

Where the Patriots misstepped the most this past Sunday was at the quarterback position.  Tom Brady, while having an overall good game, did not get his gears rolling until late into the game.  He was able to get 316 yards in total and a touchdown, but that was too little too late, and the Cardinals were able to take home the victory.  A lot of Brady’s problems came from the fact that one of his lead targets, Aaron Hernandez, went out with an ankle injury.  This limited the options of a quarterback that loves o osprey the ball around.  He eventually was able to hook up with Gronkowski in the end zone, but after a lot of struggle.

Speaking of struggle, the Ravens struggled all game this past Sunday in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.  They kept it tight, but just could not pull out the victory in a rough and fight ridden game.  Ray Rice was consistent but could not pull the entire weight of the team.  Joe Flacco looked awful and needs to tighten up his game if they want to win in Primetime this Sunday night.

In rematch of the AFC Championship game last year, the winner is anyone’s call, especially with how odd the games have been going this season.  SBRForums has all the information you need to make your NFL picks in week 3, especially for the Patriots VS Ravens.

There has been one consistent in an ever changing NFL over the past decade, that being the consistency of the New England Patriots.  With five Super Bowl appearances and three championships, this team is the current dynasty in the league.  That trend looks to be continuing these years as they have more weapons than ever.  While the NFL odds do not look to be in the Patriots favor this week, a confused Arizona offense should be enough to help New England cover.

The biggest reason the Patriots are always so heavily favored is sitting at quarterback.  Tom Brady, who has been the leader of this team for over a decade, is always playing at the highest level.  He is constantly throwing for over 300 yards with three touchdowns in games and does not look to be slowing down anytime soon.  With a newer, wider pool of receivers at his disposal as well, he looks like he will be having another standout year.

These receivers are a wide variety but will almost always get the job done.  First and foremost, you have the tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.  They technically are TEs, but they play like wide outs.  They are always way down the field and ready to make a game changing play.  This is also true of receivers Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd.  While not targeted quite as much as the tight ends, they are always a deep threat and can eat up yardage with short passes.   When it comes down to it, the Patriots just have way too many weapons in their offense.

This will certainly not be good for an Arizona team that has a shoddy defense and confusion at the quarterback position.  They will get eaten alive by the Patriots and little chance of covering the +13.5 they need to be a good bet this week.