NFL Week Three Betting: NFC giants meet in Green Bay, one unbeaten record will be lost

NFL / Andy Richmond / 20 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

Andy Richmond looks at the odds on the three matches to be screened by Sky this weekend, where Dallas' visit to Green Bay really catches the eye....

It's early days in the NFL season but the teams which are 2-0 will clearly be looking to build on that early success. Week three is a pivotal one for all involved, and SKY brings us a beautifully balanced triumvirate of games on Sunday night.

The final game of the three is the one which really catches the eye with self-styled America's Team, the Cowboys travelling to Wisconsin to take on the Packers in Green Bay where, the town and the fans own the team, literally - no big owner here.

Both sides have started the season well and are 2-0 and are certainly two of the better teams in the NFC - hoping to go a couple of steps further than last year when both teams Superbowl hopes were dashed by the eventual champions, the NY Giants - but more of them later.

Both sides have found scoring easy this season so far, the Packers just outscoring the Cowboys 72-69, so clearly they both know how to move the ball and both sides have an array of talent on the offensive side of the ball. The Packers with their young and mobile receiving corps, ably led by Donald Driver and Greg Jennings - who led the league last week in receiving yards (169 vs. Lions) - would be a threat for any defence in the NFL. If you can get anything over [2.04] in the anytime touchdown scorer market for Jennings, that represents value here.

Of course you can't mention the Packers without talking about the most high profile comeback/trade of the entire off season when their iconic QB - Brett Favre decided he didn't want to give up the game, the Packers thought differently, had already publicly backed Aaron Rodgers as their new on field general and it's Rodgers who will be directing the offence on Sunday night. Rodgers has made a good start and I've been impressed by his mobility and poise, first seen when he replaced the injured Favre against the Cowboys in their regular season game last year, which resulted in a 37-27 Dallas victory.

The Cowboys have never beaten the Pack in Green Bay, the last meeting resulting in a 41-20 victory for the home side, as you can see history tells us that there should be points when these two match up and I don't think it will be any different on Sunday, although with the points marker set at 51.5, I may just side with under that line at around the [1.94] mark.

Rodgers will be faced on Sunday by Tony Romo, a QB who is like Marmite, you either love him or hate him, I'm in the later camp although perhaps hate is too strong a word, overrated is the one I prefer to use. He may have thrown for over 300 yards and three TDs against the Eagles on Monday but he operates behind a fantastic offensive line with an exceptional array of offensive weapons. The cracks are there in Romo and he will be exposed by a Packers defence that play aggressive football.

So a treat is in store, and this game which will tell us a lot more about the pecking order in the NFC - I'll be looking to back the winning margin to each team at the lowest marker (1-6 pts) at around [5.0] as it's going to be tight at Lambeau.

The lead-off game on Sunday sees current Superbowl holders, the NY Giants (2-0) at home to the Cincinnati Bengals (0-2), both these sides are going in very different directions and the Giants show no signs of a Superbowl hangover. Playing to the same well-established principals of last year, it's hard to see how the Bengals are going to stop a Giants offence which is balanced and working efficiently, the Bengals allowing 406 yards rushing in their two games so far - a tally I expect to be added to on Sunday. Get with the Giants in any shape or form, the Giants to score more than 27.5 points at [1.91] is the call from this corner.

Providing the filling in the NFL sandwich this week is a divisional match up as the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) go to Indianapolis to meet the Colts (1-1), a game in which it will be vital to see which how both protagonists line up as both have massive injury problems - the latest team news is always available on www.nfl.com and should be checked before punting on this game.

Both sides look shaky to me - the Jags suffering from not being able to establish their usual running game and QB David Garrard looking unsure at the moment, whilst the Colts are severely handicapped by losing their all-pro safety Bob Sanders and an inability to move the ball on the ground. With both offences spluttering so far this season under the points, 42.5 on this occasion looks the play at around [1.91] in a game which should carry a punting health warning.