Chiefs vs Falcons NFL Week 3 picks

We’re through the first two weeks of the NFL season, and we’ve got two data points to go off of to evaluate each NFL team going forward. Our Sunday Night Football game for Week 3 pits the resurgent Atlanta Falcons against the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

We’ve got the Chiefs vs Falcons picks for Sunday night’s game, so let’s dive in!

Chiefs vs Falcons NFL Week 3 picks

Pick #1 - Kansas City Chiefs -3 over Atlanta Falcons (-112)

Pick #2 - Under 46.5 Points (-110)

Pick #3 - Rashee Rice Over 6.5 Receptions (-115)

Chiefs vs Falcons NFL Week 3 picks: Chiefs -3 (-112)

We’ll begin our NFL picks for Sunday Night Football with the Kansas City Chiefs covering the three-point spread against the Falcons on Sunday night. The Chiefs are still an explosive offense without Isiah Pacheco, and they can lean on the passing game a lot more to get out ahead and then use a stout pass rush to attack an immobile target like Kirk Cousins. Even though the Chiefs are on the road, defense travels and Steve Spagnuolo should have some blitzes dialed up. 

It’s much easier to trust Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes than most teams on the road, especially when they have players like Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and a host of others looking to make life miserable for opposing defenses. We like the Chiefs tonight to win by more than a field goal.

Chiefs vs Falcons NFL Week 3 picks: Under 46.5 Points (-110)

For the next pick for the Chiefs vs Falcons Sunday Night Football matchup, we’ll take the under 46.5 bet here. Atlanta DID just give up only 22 points against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons are much better on defense than anybody gives them credit for with the addition of some pieces to their pass rush and a safety pairing of Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons to anchor their secondary.

Eliminating explosive plays is the name of the game in today’s NFL, so the Falcons are well-equipped with that thanks to lockdown cornerback A.J. Terrell. Terrell should see plenty of work across from Rashee Rice when he goes outside and if Rice travels into the slot, he’ll see Xavier Worthy in front of him.

The Chiefs are certainly no slouch on defense either, and while Kirk Cousins looked way better against the Eagles in Week 2, he’s still a stationary target with his lack of mobility. Look for the Chiefs and Falcons to be a bit closer in the final score, but the total should finish under when these teams face off.

Chiefs vs Falcons NFL Week 3 picks: Rashee Rice Over 6.5 Receptions (-115)

Our final Chiefs vs Falcons pick for Sunday night is taking Rashee Rice to go Over 6.5 receptions. Rice should travel between the outside and the slot. The slot is where Rice has done the most damage, with quick-breaking slants and crossing patterns. Because of Rice splitting his time between both alignments, he won’t see shadow coverage by one of the league’s best cornerbacks, A.J. Terrell. 

We like Rice to pick up some easy catches in the slot and avoid Terrell for the most part. With Isiah Pacheco hurt, the Chiefs are down to running backs Carson Steele and Samaje Perine so the Chiefs could just use Rice as an arbitrage run game with easy throws as well. Over 6.5 receptions is a low number for one of the fastest-rising wide receivers in the league that’s tied to Patrick Mahomes. We’ll take that number and bank on Rice to connect with Mahomes early and often.