NFL Week 3 Takeaways
Per usual, another eventful week in the NFL. Week Three brought both Super Bowl teams from last season down and gave us a couple of game winning field goal endings. Is Kansas City in trouble? Are the Cowboys a Super Bowl contender? Week Three reactions are here:
Too Much Time for Aaron
As soon as Kyle Juszczyk scored a touchdown for San Francisco that led to a one point lead over Green Bay, I sent a text saying “Too much time for Rodgers” to a group of friends. There are a few people I trust to achieve a particular task within a certain amount of time. James Bond can escape imprisonment and prevent a bomb from going off before the clock strikes zero, Jack Bauer will save the world within 24 hours, and Aaron Rodgers will win a football game if given 37 seconds to be put in field goal range. I’ve seen it so many times and Sunday night was no different. Two passes of 25 and 17 yards to Davante Adams that just dropped in between coverage, and a spiked ball was all it took to put Mason Crosby in a position to kick the game winning field goal as time expired. For Green Bay, it ends up being a pretty big win in a game that should’ve been lost and gives them sole position of first place in the NFC North as the league enters Week Four.
Los Angeles – A Football Town
What a weekend for LA Football. The Rams and Chargers both defeated the defending champions of their particular conference and find themselves as two of the more promising teams in the league.
Let’s start with the Rams. At this moment in time it seems clear that they are the cream of the crop in the NFC. Matthew Stafford has meshed into Sean McVay’s system flawlessly and torched the defending Super Bowl Champions for 343 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He has developed quite the chemistry with Cooper Kupp, who is leading the entire NFL in receiving yards. The Rams will get to validate themselves this weekend as they play the other undefeated team in the NFC West, the Arizona Cardinals.
The Chargers were also impressive, even if their win over Kansas City wasn’t as dominant. The Chargers played about as good of a game as you can expect again Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Mahomes finished with three touchdowns, but also had two interceptions, including one by Aloha Gilman with 1:55 left to play in the game that led to the Mike Williams touchdown which would be enough to win the game. The Chargers have brushed off the week two loss to Dallas and Justin Herbert is proving that his rookie season numbers were not a fluke. If they continue to win close games that they would’ve lost last year, a win total of 11 or 12 could be realistic.
Kansas City Cellar Dwellers
Let’s be real, this isn’t going to last. That being said, no one would’ve expect the Kansas City Chiefs to hold last place in the AFC West Division all to themselves heading in to Week Four. The two losses, to the Ravens and Chargers, were also games that they could’ve won if a couple plays were taken back. Barring any type of major injury to Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, or Tyreek Hill, Kansas City will most likely be able to put up points on the drop of a dime most weeks, but the defense might prove to be their achilles heel. The Chiefs’ defense is giving up a league leading 31 points a game, not getting pressure on the quarterback, and not stopping the run. Mahomes, Kelce, and Hill are great, but the Chiefs are dependent on them more than benefiting from them as a luxury. If they don’t fix some things, even the best trio in the league won’t be able to bail them out of trouble.
Justin Tucker From the Moon
This is just an appreciation post for the man, the myth, the legend…Justin Tucker. He’s the best I’ve ever seen at a position that has given me so much frustration in my life and will eventually lead to an aneurysm. There is a reason most teams would rather take a Hail Mary shot at the end zone instead of attempting a 66 yard field goal. Teams think the lottery of having the ball bounce into one of their players’ hands has a better chance of happening than a kicker putting one from that distance through the uprights. Tucker’s NFL record kick to defeat Detroit may have hit a crossbar to go in, but considering the rare situation and distance that would be needed for that to be attempted (let alone made), we may not see that record broken for awhile.
Denver Defense for Real?
Denver has given up 26 points in three games thus far. Yes, those games have come against the Giants, Jaguars, and Jets. Not necessarily the most offensively gifted trio of course, but they are still professional football teams and Denver didn’t pick their schedule. The Broncos defense is allowing Teddy Bridgewater and the offense to stay on the field more and get more chances at getting to the end zone. It seems to match the type of team that Vic Fangio would coach, good on defense and running the ball with Melvin Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams. The defense will get a chance to show they are for real as they try to contain the unique abilities of Lamar Jackson when they face Baltimore in Week Four.
Josh Allen in MVP Form
There’s the Josh Allen I predicted to win MVP this season. The one who threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown. When Buffalo is buzzing, there are few offenses that are as fun to watch. Now that the awful taste of the opening week loss to Pittsburgh is gone, Buffalo seems to be playing at the level most people expected of them. The poor Houston Texans will be sacrificed to Buffalo next like a Gamorrean to the Rancor at Jabba the Hutt’s Palace. After that, Buffalo gets a shot to give Kansas City another loss in Week Six and put themselves in a better position to acquiring a #1 seed come January.
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings Get in Win Column
The Vikings’ first two weeks were about as self-inflicted as it gets to open a season. With Seattle, a team Minnesota hadn’t beaten since Brett Favre was quarterback in 2009, coming to U.S. Bank Stadium it seemed a certainty that they were looking at an 0-3 start to the season and a huge hole in the NFC. The game also started that way as Seattle had put up 17 points before even four minutes had elapsed in the second quarter. Fortunately, the Vikings shut them out for the remainder of the game and Kirk Cousins played one of the best games I’ve seen him play in purple. Cousins finished with 323 yards passing, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The Vikings offensive line gave him more time than usual and even when Cousins was feeling pressure, he hung in and made some passes Minnesota fans aren’t used to seeing. The Vikings now find themselves in a position to put the entire start of the season on U-Turn if they are able to beat the Cleveland Browns at home next weekend.
Cowboys Herding the East
There’s your Zeke game. After a couple disappointing games to open the season, Ezekiel Elliot looked like the player who defenses feared when he was just starting out in the league. In what turned out be a de-feathering of the Eagles on Monday Night, Elliott finished with 95 yards rushing and two touchdowns while average 5.5 yards period carry. It was a reminder that if Dallas is playing at its best, it likely means Elliott balancing out the passing attack that Dak Prescott provides.
This Cowboys’ offense is loaded. Prescott has plenty of options with wide receivers Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup if he can get healthy. Zeke is obviously the bell cow running back, but Tony Pollard has proven he can also play a lot of snaps. Dalton Schultz, who finished with 80 yards receiving and two touchdowns, is also developing nicely at Tight End. I’m not convinced that Dallas is an NFC contender yet, but I am pretty convinced that they are the best the NFC East has to offer.
Looking Ahead to Week Four
Something is going to have to give in the NFC West during Week Four. Barring a tie game between Arizona and Los Angeles, there will be one undefeated team left in the best division in football. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will also look to avoid losing to division rival San Francisco and finding themselves behind the eight ball. Cleveland and Minnesota should be a fun game and a pretty big one for Vikings fans (myself included, who will be in attendance for the day maker or ruiner). The Raiders/Chargers Monday Night Football game should be one of the rare nice MNF games. The “Belle of the Ball” is Tom Brady returning to Foxboro with the Bucs to take on Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. I’d imagine there will be some cool moments, especially considering Brady should break Drew Brees’ Career Passing Yards record. Based on the preview from the Green Bay/San Fran game, we should expect the amount of times they play Adele’s song “Hello” to be an over/under of at least seven. See you next week.