Washington vs. Bills Free NFL Picks for Week 3

The Buffalo Bills and Washington Football Team are both in similar spots after two weeks. They both won their second game to even their records at 1-1 and move into a three-way tie for first in the East Division—the Bills in the AFC and Washington in the NFC. For your NFL picks, read below my prediction for the Washington Football Team vs. Buffalo Bills.

Washington Football Team vs. Buffalo Bills

Sunday, September 26, 2021 - 01:00 PM ED at Highmark Stadium

After Buffalo’s surprising Week 1 home loss to the Steelers, the Bills came out firing against the Dolphins, pounding their division rival in Miami, 35-0. The defense looked stout both weeks, and the offense rebounded after struggling to finish drives in the opener.

Washington suffered a season-ending injury to projected starter Ryan Fitzpatrick in the opening loss to the Chargers, preventing Fitzpatrick from leading the team back to Buffalo, where he started his NFL career years ago. The Football Team ball rebounded with a 30-29 win over the Giants on Thursday night.

https://youtu.be/7npFJfSvT_4

Remember the Name

While Fitzpatrick had become a cult favorite as a journeyman quarterback who always seemed to have some “Fitz Magic” for the next team to give him a chance, Washington fans are learning the name of Taylor Heinicke.

The former Carolina Panthers backup followed his former coach, Ron Rivera, to D.C. and stepped in when Fitzpatrick went to injured reserve. Heinicke started one game for Washington last season, in the playoffs, against eventual champion Tampa Bay. He acquitted himself well, going 26-of-44 passing with 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns—one rushing, one passing.

https://twitter.com/WashingtonNFL/status/1439952878588862465?s=20

That gave him a chance to back up Fitzpatrick, and his first regular-season Washington start went well, going 34-of-46 against the Giants for 336 yards with two touchdown passes and a pick. He, and the rest of the Football Team, get extra time to prepare for the Bills, having played on Thursday night.

The Bills are the first of a tough stretch of the schedule for Washington. The Football Team is the only NFL franchise that will play all four of the participants in last season’s Conference Championship Games—Buffalo, Kansas City, Green Bay, and Tampa—this season, and they play three of them in the next four weeks, and they face five 12-win teams in the next 10 weeks.

The Washington Football Team celebrates a 30-29 win. Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP.

Getting Well

The Bills’ offense was the center of plenty “what’s wrong” discussions over the last week after it struggled to score against the Steelers in the opening week of the season.

The Bills hung 35 on the Dolphins in Week 2 to quell some of the concern, and they put up their five touchdowns without a big game from quarterback Josh Allen.

Allen, who entered the season as a possible MVP candidate, completed just over half his passes at 17-of-33, getting just 179 yards. He threw two touchdowns but also threw an interception deep in his own territory.

Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP.

“You have to be able to do that,” coach Sean McDermott said. “You’ve got to be able to make in-flight adjustments. You’ve got to be able to win left-handed at times, or play left-handed at times, and be good enough and execute at a high enough level where you have something else, right? And I saw some of that today.”

Still, the Bills would like to go right-handed before too long, with an explosive game from Allen.

The defense has been strong in both weeks, allowing just one touchdown in two games, and allowing under 460 yards to the two teams. The D sacked Miami quarterbacks six times on Sunday, had three takeaways, and allowed no points on three Dolphin trips to the red zone.

The Pick

Washington has Chase Young, which is a big concern for the Buffalo offense, but the rest of the Football Team defense has struggled. The Football Team gave up 29 points to the lowly Giants, and New York left plenty of points on the board. The secondary has struggled, which could help Allen finally have the game fans expected of him this season. Meanwhile, the Bills D should feast on the inexperienced Heinicke.

NFL Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.