NFL Week 3 ‘Thursday Night Football’ game picks and predictions

The 2022 NFL season is officially underway. We now have two weeks of games in the books, and the landscape of the NFL is starting to take shape. Of course, there’s been a lot of randomness and unexpected outcomes, as well. That’s part of the fun! Week 3 is when we traditionally start to see things stabilize a bit, and I wonder if that trend will continue.

To kick things off, we’ve got a divisional matchup between two longtime AFC North foes in the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) and Cleveland Browns (1-1) on Thursday Night Football.

Let’s get right to tonight’s pick, which I’ll be making on a straight moneyline (aka picking the winner) basis. I’ll still provide the information on the spread and over/under, for those interested. At the bottom, I’ll show the rest of the staff’s picks for the game.

All odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change. See the current odds here.

Thursday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) at Cleveland Browns (1-1)

The pick: Browns (-180)

Spread: Browns -4 | Over/Under: 38 | Moneyline: Browns -180, Steelers +155

After two very good Thursday Night Football matchups to open the 2022 season, we’ve come to the first of the...less-than-exciting games on the schedule. Perhaps there’s some parallel universe where the Steelers and Browns would be interesting going into this game, but as it stands now, both teams are thoroughly boring to watch.

The Browns are getting pretty solid quarterback play out of backup Jacoby Brissett and Nick Chubb is running well, so they’re the clear favorites. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh features a very limited offense helmed (for now) by Mitchell Trubisky. Pittsburgh’s defense is playing well, statistically, but they’re not the same without T.J. Watt. I’m leaning towards the Browns in this one, who should have won against the Jets last week to start 2-0. Instead, they’re 1-1 and angry.

Staff picks

What are your picks and predictions for tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup?

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.