NFL Week 3

Every week of the NFL season is its own journey, and that was evident by some of the odd results this week. This week saw the Vikings get destroyed by the Bills, and the Patriots lose convincingly to the lions. The Titans beat the Jaguars 9-6. It was unwatchable, so I did not. The strangest result of all may have been the Browns getting their first win in 635 days.

This week’s scores were: Browns over Jets 21-17, Saints over Falcons 43-37, Eagles over Colts 20-16, Chiefs over 49ers 38-27, Titans over Jaguars 9-6, Ravens over Broncos 27-14, Rams over Chargers 35-22, Bears over Cardinals 16-14, Bills over Vikings 27-6, Redskins over Packers 31-17, Dolphins over Raiders 28-20, Panthers over Bengals 31-21, giants over Texans 27-22, Seahawks over Cowboys 24-13, Lions over Patriots 26-10, Steelers over Buccaneers 30-27.

Despite the oddness, a few teams continued to look dominant. The Chiefs scored at will against the 49ers, who are now doomed to mediocrity after losing Jimmy G for the season with a torn ACL. Washington and Carolina look like real contenders in the NFC all of a sudden. The Dolphins, whose great preseason got no attention, appear to be hitting their stride as well.

The Rams continued to display their dominance in their 35-23 win over the Chargers. Against a great defensive roster (minus Joey Bosa), the Rams’ offensive explosion continued. They finished with 521 total yards, and a whopping 33 first downs. Robert Woods finished with 104 yards on 10 catches, making him Jared Goff’s third leading target in as many weeks. The Chargers has chances to keep the game close, but inexperience and a couple coaching mistakes cost them in the end. On Sunday, the Panthers showed what their upside is when Christian McCaffrey plays well. He had a monster game 184 rushing yards, and consistently produced big plays. When he is doing that, it opens up the passing game and the read option for Cam Newton. Things will only improve once Greg Olsen returns. The Bengals offense looked good for the most part, but a couple of picks cost them the game. Andy Dalton was being assaulted by an improved defensive front for Carolina. Considering Joe Mixon was out, and they lost A.J. Green, things could have went worse. Ultimately, this game was about how good Carolina can be.

The biggest story from Redskins-Packers game was the stellar performance from 33-year-old running back Adrian Peterson. He finished with 120 yards on 19 attempts, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Alex Smith has continued to look like the right quarterback for this team. They were playing against a gimpy Aaron Rodgers, but still.

The Colts were full of optimism about their offense coming into this year, due to the return of Andrew Luck and new coach Frank Reich. Things have not looked quite right, and it may be because Luck’s shoulder still isn’t right. For Philly, Carson Wentz looked solid in his return from injury. He was moving around well, and he orchestrated a great game winning drive ate the end.

The Detroit Lions already seemed to be falling apart this season, and first year coach Matt Patricia was taking much of the blame. The team needed to respond this week to salvage the season, and they did it against Patricia’s old employer. The offense, which sputtered in the first two weeks, soared due to improved play by Matt Stafford and commitment to the run. Rookie running back Kerryon Johnson rushed for 101 yards on 16 carries, becoming the first Lion to surpass 100 yards in a game since Reggie Bush in 2013. On top of that, Detroit controlled the ball for over half the game, and Stafford completed 75 percent of his passes. As for New England, their flaws may be starting to show finally. Their limitations at receiver were obvious in the first two weeks, and they looked particularly bad Sunday (only three were active). That could be because Patricia used to be their defensive coordinator, or because the run game did not take any pressure off Brady. Or that Detroit took them out of rhythm by controlling the clock. The Pats offense, however, has basically resorted to hitting check-downs. It seems like double teaming Gronk is an effective way to shut down the Patriots offense now. Dare I say, maybe Bill Belichick needs to be more creative?

The Saints faced the Falcons this week, and it played out as expected; all offense, no defense. On a day where he set the NFL completion record, Drew Brees was 39-49 with 396 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints continued to utilize multiple weapons throughout the game. Michael Thomas had 10 receptions, and a NFL record catches through the first three games of the season with 38. Alvin Kamara, a running back, had 15 catches for 124 yards on 20 targets. Matt Ryan was no slouch for Atlanta, going 26-35 for 374 yards and five touchdowns. Rookie Calvin Ridley benefited from a clear matchup advantage in the slot, finishing with seven catches for 146 yards. It seemed like whoever had the ball last would win, and that happened to be New Orleans.

Eli Manning needed to play a great game to get the Giants’ fan base off his back, and he did exactly that. Manning finished 25-29 with 297 and two touchdowns. Also, with Houston still pressing in the fourth, Manning led a nine-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a short TD pass to Sterling Shepard. The Giants’ big three of skill guys came up huge. Beckham had 109 recedingyards, Shepard had 80, and Saquon Barkley had 82 rushing yards with 35 yards receiving. Also, the Giants finally benched tackle Ereck Flowers for Chad Wheeler, which may have helped. The Texans continue to show their flaws, which are costly despite their ability in most areas. Their running game and o-line played very poorly, making Deshaun Watson’s job virtually impossible. He finished 24-40 with 385 yards and two TDs. He also threw a bad pick to Alec Ogletree while Houston was trying to make a comeback. He still has great ability, but he does not seem the same as last year. Time will tell whether he has truly digressed, or if the team’s flaws have become too great for him to overcome.

Seattle looked improved on offense this week, and much of that was due to recommitting to the run game. Chris Carson finished 102 yards and a TD on 32 carries. He saw increased playing time after first round pick Rashaad Penny fumbled, and Carson made the most of it. Russell Wilson was 16-26 for 192 yards and two TDs. The sluggish Cowboys’ offense continued to struggle Sunday, with Dak Prescott only throwing for 168 yards and 2 picks on 19-34 attempts. He has failed to surpass 200 yards for nine of the last eleven games, dating back to last year. The entire offense looks different than it did when Dak was clicking two years ago. Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are gone, and the o-line is no longer dominant. They are obviously trying to figure out how to properly use Tavon Austin, but he has not come close to finding a consistent role. Dallas’ defense has been a pleasant surprise, but they will not be able to carry this team. The offense needs to improve, soon. As great as Ezekiel Elliot is, it’s hard to be effective when the other team can constantly stack the box.

On a final note, the Baker Mayfield era began in Cleveland. The energy in the stadium when took over was infectious and obvious to everyone. It’s only one game, but he may be the guy to finally make Browns football exciting again.