Betting the underdogs and the under was a winning formula through the first two weeks of the NFL season.

If you blindly bet those two markets, you would have gone 38-22-2 over the first two weeks.

Underdogs went 9-5-1 last week, including several notable upsets as the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens each lost outright as favourites of 3.5 points or more at FanDuel.

While you might want to jump on those two trends this week, Thursday Night Football offered a bit of a warning against it as the Cleveland Browns won and covered as a home favourite, while the over cashed on the total.

So, what will we see in Week 3?

After going a combined 5-1 with our best bets last week, we went back to work looking to find some more winners.

Here are our FanDuel Best Bets for Week 3.

Domenic Padula: Chris Olave over 39.5 receiving yards

The 11th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has gone over this number in each of his first two games for New Orleans.

More importantly, it’s the production he left on the field last week that makes this a must-play for me.

Olave cleared 300 air yards in targets in last week’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is by far the most by any player in any game this season.

He only needed five catches to get to 80 yards, which is double what he will need this week against a much weaker opponent in the Carolina Panthers to go over on his receiving yards prop.

I’ll make Olave over 39.5 receiving yards my FanDuel Best Bet for Week 3.

Eric “The Big E” Cohen - Jaylen Waddle over 61.5 receiving yards

It is going to be a much tougher week for the Buffalo Bills defence Sunday in Miami. The Bills have allowed just 17 points combined in their wins over Los Angeles and Tennessee. Unfortunately for the Super Bowl favourites, injuries are starting to pile up.

Already playing without their top cornerback Tre’Davious White, the Bills will now have to face two of the hottest wide receivers in football without safety Micah Hyde, defensive back Dane Jackson. Jordan Poyer’s status is also in doubt. The Bills secondary will be very thin on Sunday, which is very concerning facing a red hot Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

My guess is the Bills will focus on trying to contain Hill, who has hurt them many times as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, which should leave Waddle in a position to expose some coverage. I expect this game to be very high scoring, and I still believe Josh Allen and Buffalo’s offence find a way to win which means Tagovailoa will be throwing the ball a lot in the 2nd half. Look for Waddle to go over his receiving total in a very entertaining high scoring affair. 

Chris Amberley - Eagles Over 27.5 Points

If you’re looking for a defence to pick on in Week 3, you can feel confident targeting the Commanders.

Washington is allowing 29.5 points per game, despite facing the Jaguars and Lions. Granted, those two teams look better than they have in recent history, but they pale in comparison to the 2-0 Eagles.

The Commanders have struggled against the run and the pass, coughing up the fifth most rushing yards per game, and boasting Pro Football Focus’ fourth worst coverage grade.

A major reason for their pass defence woes is the absence of Chase Young. The stud pass rusher is out until the midway point of the season, and the rest of his teammates have not been able to fill the void he’s left behind.

Washington has forced only one QB hurry through two weeks, despite blitzing at the NFL’s fifth highest rate.

The Eagles meanwhile, are for real. They lead the league in total offence, and rank second in rushing yards.

Jalen Hurts looks like an MVP candidate early on, and his pass catching corps of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert is a nightmare to deal with.

Evan Render best bet: Indianapolis Colts +5.5 

I know what you’re thinking..

How could I possibly back the Colts after two disastrous results in the first couple weeks of the season? Well, I’m sticking to my guns on this one.

You’re not as bad as your worst losses, and you’re not as good as your best wins. This is something I stick by when handicapping this league.

Let’s start with players Indianapolis are likely getting back this week. In addition to Matt Ryan and Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr and Alec Pierce are two of the most important players on this roster. They were both out for that “game” at Jacksonville in week 2, whatever that was.

I think the additions of these two on the offensive side of the ball will add a much needed boost to a team who desperately needs it. I’m hopeful, based on injury reports throughout the week that they’ll be able to return to the lineup.

I also think Frank Reich, who is a tremendous coach in this league, will open up the playbook knowing who the opposition is and how badly they need a win. Look for Jonathan Taylor to have a big game and rush for more than a sub-par 54 yards like he did against the Jaguars.

As we know, the best way to beat Patrick Mahomes is by keeping him off the field.

Lastly, five-and-a-half points at home is just too many for a desperate team. I would’ve personally expected this to be within a 2-3 point spread, but Indianapolis’ struggles have caused the public to over-react and downgrade them to a level that I simply can’t get behind.

Give me the Colts to make this a game while they finally get going on offense and change the public perception of this really talented roster. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came away with the outright win, which is +200 on FanDuel as of Friday morning.

As good as the Chiefs are, this is just too many points to swallow. Give me Indy. 

Connor Ford: Amon-Ra St. Brown Over 69.5 Receiving Yards

St. Brown had an incredible finish to his 2021 campaign. From weeks 13-18, he recorded six straight games with 8+ receptions, seeing double-digit targets in each game. He averaged 93.3 yards per game during that span and scored six total touchdowns. Impressive stuff for a fourth-round rookie.

That said, there was one small caveat to his production… it all came while T.J. Hockenson and D’Andre Swift were injured and out of the lineup.

There’s no way that he could repeat that level of production heading into this season, right? Wrong.

St. Brown is yet again the target hog for the Lions, opening the season with 24 targets, 17 receptions and 180 receiving yards through two weeks. His eight consecutive games with eight or more catches tied the NFL record.

Targets are earned, not given. St. Brown has now seen at least a 30% target share in eight straight games dating back to last season. His 91 targets during that span ranks second to Justin Jefferson. He trails only Cooper Kupp this season with a 33.8% target share. He’s for real.

This matchup against the Minnesota Vikings is the perfect spot for St. Brown to explode. FanDuel has the total at 52.5, tied for the highest in week three.

The Vikings secondary is still shaky… they’ve given up the third-most passing yards in the NFL since the start of last season and rank third-to-last this year. Meanwhile, this Lions offence ranks fourth in yards per game and T-2nd in points per game.

Expect another big day from the “Sun God”. I’m taking the over on St. Brown’s receiving yards as my FanDuel Best Bet.

Luke Bellus: Colts Moneyline 

Only one game matters this week. 

Here are 1,200 words about it. 

Go Colts.