Here are the betting picks for the third week of preseason play in the NFL. The NFL football picks start to lose a little momentum in the third and fourth week of the preseason, but that just means it is the perfect time for you to sneak in and make your own NFL Las Vegas picks.

August 26

St. Louis Rams @ New England Patriots (-7)

You know your team is in trouble when you are seven point underdogs in a preseason game. The Rams have not shown a whole lot to get the football picks crowd excited. Quarterback Sam Bradford looks like a rookie (which is to be expected) and starting quarterback A.J. Feeley is out until at least the first week of the regular season. The Patriots, meanwhile, just keep rolling along.

Pick: New England Patroits 35-10

Indianapolis Colts @ Green Bay Packers (-3 1/2)

The last thing the Colts need right now is a preseason game in front of 60,000 screaming Packers fans in the unfriendly confines of Lambeau Field. The Colts have problems on the offensive and defensive lines as well as in the secondary. The Packers do not seem to have a whole lot of problems at all.

Pick: Green Bay Packers 24-14

August 27

Atlanta Falcons @ Miami Dolphins (-1)

The shame with this game is that it isn't taking place during the regular swason. The NFL spread picks line setters would have a fit trying to figure out how the Dolphins gimmick offense would fare against the Falcons hard-hitting defense. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan looks steady, but the offense around him seems a bit suspect. The Dolphins are just plain confusing, and they know how to grind down a game clock.

Pick: Miami Dolphins 28-17

Washington Redskins @ New York Jets (-4 1/2)

The New York Jets are Broadway all the way. The HBO show "Hard Knocks" has made Jets head coach Rex Ryan more famous than he already was. But for all of the criticism about his language and approach to practice that Ryan has taken, the television show has let the world see why Ryan is a successful head coach. His team loves to play for him, and it shows.

With Donovan McNabb wearing protective gear on his left ankle all week, and the reputation the Gang Green defense is getting for quarterback abuse thanks to the vicious hit on Giants quarterback Eli Manning in the first preseason game, look for the Redskins to spend some time looking their running game over in this preseason matchup.

All that being said, the Jets second team is still not enough to contain the backups of the Redskins.

Pick: Washington Redskins 28-17

Philadelphia Eagles (-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Eagles are learning how hard life will be after Donovan McNabb. There is not just a hole in the quarterback position, there is a huge hole in team leadership left behind when McNabb went to Washington. Eagles quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick both looked awful in their last preseason game.

The Chiefs are getting better and running back Thomas Jones is definitely helping the offense. But there are many spots in this preseason where the Eagles second string has played better than the first, and that is not good news for the Chiefs.

Pick: Philadelphia Eagles 35-10

San Diego Chargers @ New Orleans Saints (-3)

Yes this could be a preview of the Super Bowl if it were a regular season game. The Chargers are having some serious problems with their entire second string. Once the first string leaves the field, the game goes into a tailspin for San Diego.

The Saints are finding all kinds of new ways to be top NFL Las Vegas picks for the upcoming season in defending their Super Bowl championship. Most surpsiing is the play of running back Reggie Bush, who seemed to show up to camp bigger and faster.

Still, there is something about the Chargers that makes them very dangerous in the preseason and in the regular season to come.

Pick: San Diego Chargers 21-17

August 28

Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions (-2 1/2)

This one would be difficult to care about in the regular season.

The only story line to watch here is whether or not the Lions offensive line gets starting quarterback Matthew Stafford killed before the season even starts.

Pick: Cleveland Browns 21-10

Cincinnati Bengals (-3) @ Buffalo Bills

It is amazing how a team with an attitude problem like the Cincinnati Bengals is able to take on another attitude problem in Terrell Owens without completely imploding. Chad Ochocinco gets fined $25,000 for Tweeting on the sidelines during last week's preseason game, prima dona second-year offensive lineman Andre Smith still refuses to get into shape and down to his playing weight and yet head coach Marvin Lewis is able to move this circus forward to playoff contention in the AFC.

The Bills will not be in playoff contention in the AFC.

Pick: Cincinnati Bengals 35-10

Jacksonville Jaguars (-2 1/2) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa starting quarterback Josh Freeman is out for the rest of the preseason with a hand injury, but that just gives the Bucs a chance to give a better look at their other quarterbacks to determine the depth chart,

Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio has his hands full trying to figure out how he is going to use the four defensive linemen the team drafted in 2010 without making his defense worse than it already is.

Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars 35-10

New York Giants @ Baltimore Ravens (-5)

It is just fun to watch Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and that new offense come together. The only suspect part of the Ravens offense is the running game, but even that is looking good.

If the Giants are smart, Eli Manning will not play the rest of the preseason. His stitched up forehead is a target for opposing defensive players trying to make a team, and you do not need Ray Lewis' defense gunning for your quarterback.

Pick: Baltimore Ravens 14-10

Dallas Cowboys @ Houston Texans (-3)

Once the Cowboys kicked off in the Hall of Fame game early in the preseason, it became immediately apparent the huge hole Flozell Adams left in the offensive line. Rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant will not be able to play the entire preseason due to an injury, and he may also miss the first couple of weeks of the season. The Dallas defense, however, is in fine shape.

The Texans are no joke this season. They have one of the best defensive teams in the NFL, and the combination of receiver Andre Johnson and quarterback Matt Schaub could be very explosive this season.

Pick: Houston Texans 24-20

Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Brett Favres (-5)

They are rebuilding in Seattle, and in the first two preseason games quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was running for his life. The defense is starting to come around in Seattle, but it is going to take time before the Seahawks can see the playoffs again.

Minnesota looks great on defense, but they are lacking a lot on offense. It isn't Brett Favre's fault this time. The number one and number two receivers on the Minnesota depth chart are out and both could be gone for a very long time.

Pick: Seattle Seahawks 14-7

Tennessee Titans @ Carolina Panthers (-3)

Tennessee quarterback Vince Young makes it look so easy. Titans running back Chris Johnson makes it look so easy.

The Panthers have lost a lot of their defensive power with the departure of Julius Peppers, and the offense with rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen still looks a bit lost.

Pick: Tennessee Titans 24-10

Arizona Cardinals @ Chicago Bears (-3 1/2)

So the Cardinals have a quarterback in Matt Leinart that cannot throw the ball and then blames his receivers for not being able to catch his lousy passes, and they have quarterback Derek Anderson who loves to throw the long ball everywhere including from the opponent's 10 yard line. If Anderson could learn how to throw a touch pass, the Cardinals could be a playoff contender.

The Bears look decent on offense but it just seems like the defense is having a problem coming together. There is a lot of talent on that defense, so the chances are pretty good that head coach Lovie Smith and his staff will figure it out.

Pick: Chicago Bears 10-3

San Francisco 49ers @ Oakland Raiders (-1)

The Raiders worse nightmares are coming true. They finally have a good starting quarterback, but Jason Campbell is getting pummeled by the horrible play of that Oakland offensive line. The Oakland defense has not been playing very well either.

The 49ers look promising this season. If they can make the right decisions for their depth chart for the rest of the preseason, then San Francisco has to be a favorite to win the NFC West.

Pick: San Francisco 49ers 24-13

August 29

Pittsburgh Steelers (-2) @ Denver Broncos

Pittsburgh quarterback Bryon Leftwich has not looked good in the preseason, and that may cause head coach Mike Tomlin to reconsider who will start at quarterback the first six games of the season while starter Ben Roethlisberger sits out his suspension. Roethlisberger, on the other hand, showed everyone in Pittsburgh why they should be angry with him. He played really well in last week's preseason game, but his stupidity will keep him out for almost half of the season.

Denver head coach Josh McDaniel is seeing the results of his dismantling of the Broncos, and Bronco fans hope he is not liking what he is seeing. No matter how hard the Denver media tries to convince the rest of the world that Tim Tebow is the second coming of John Elway, the simple fact is that he isn't.

Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers 35-27