NFL Week 3 Recap
Week 3 has come and gone and what a wild week it was! There was a huge score put up, a team plane put down (safely) and a sighting of the head Swifty in Chiefs Kingdom!
The NFL is definitely in full swing and the outcomes of some of these games shocked the league!
Thursday Night Football
San Francisco 49ers 30 – New York Giants 12
Aiyuk ruled out of this match up and didn’t slow down the 49ers as both Deebo and Kittle stepped up to fill the void and while it took Purdy some time to sync with Deebo once they did they scored for Deebos first TD of the season.Bosa entered this contest without a sack so far this season and he made sure to record his first sack of the season against Daniel Jones.
Losing Barkley and playing a top defence on a short week was a tough ask for Daniel Jones who couldn’t make it work against the 49ers, even with his scrambling the mountain was too tall for Jones. The Giants are struggling to find a role for Darren Waller even more so now with their run game struggling!
Sunday Early Window
Indianapolis Colts 22 – Baltimore Ravens 19
Justin Tucker is human after all, he missed on a 61 yard FG at the end of regulation which pushed the game into overtime. The Ravens never really recovered from this loss of momentum. The weather was a factor in this game causing multiple fumbles by the Ravens, one by Jackson, who made up for this with an impressive 81 yard drive that lead to a TD but they couldn’t stop MINSHEW MANIA!
That’s right with Anthony Richardson out, Gardner Minshew started this game and while he did join the Dan Orlovsky club by stepping out the back of his own end zone, he managed to control the game with the help of Zack Moss (30 for 122 yards and 1 TD) Minshew ensured the Colts delivered the first loss to the Ravens this season.
Cleveland Browns 27 – Tennessee Titans 3
Deshaun Watson had his first great game as a Cleveland Brown (minus that weird backwards pass as he was being sacked), racking up 289 yards and two TDs and even with the loss of Chubb the Browns made a statement. Hunt and Ford carried the load in Chubb’s absence but the Browns defence are the real winners here, holding Derek Henry to 20 yards and sacking Tannehill five times, the Browns are putting the league on notice.
Tannehill is feeling the pressure of two impressive young quarterbacks sitting behind him, the Brown’s pressured and terrorised him all game long, took away Derek Henry and Tannehill couldn’t step up and do anything to help his team out. Putting up only 3 on the Brown’s is not a way to keep the media away from questioning about who will start at quarterback going forward!
Detroit Lions 20 – Atlanta Falcons 6
Even without David Montgomery the Lions still put up 115 yards rushing against the Falcons and even Goff got in on the rushing party scoring a rushing TD in the fourth quarter. The Lions looked comfortable on both sides of the ball in this game and never really let the Falcons get momentum.
The Falcons offence just didn’t show up in this game, even though they matched the Lions on 3rd down conversions they couldn’t capitalise and score. While they didn’t lay down and give up, they toughed it out, it definitely isn’t a game most Falcons fans were expecting.
Green Bay Packers 18 – New Orleans Saints 17
This was an ugly game, down 17-0 early in the fourth quarter, you couldn’t blame any Packer fan who left the stadium/turned over to another game at that point. However Jordan Love channelled his internal Aaron Rodgers and rallied the Pack back to a one point win, even with a work in progress offence, a win is a win!
While the Saints held the lead well into the 4th quarter, once Derek Carr went out of the game in the 3rd quarter and Jameis Winston stepped in, the Saints found themselves facing a surging Packers defence. Rashan Gary only played 23 snaps in this game but racked up three sacks and four QB hits and this performance helped the Pack seal the win!
Houston Texans 37 – Jacksonville Jaguars 17
Oh boy, C.J. Stroud found his rhythm and the NFL needs to pay attention! Stroud to Dell is going to be called a lot, A LOT this season and it will cause headaches for opposing defences going forward. If you cover Tank Dell, don’t worry Stroud will get the ball to Brevin Jones instead and Stroud is still interception free! This offensive looks to be explosive!
Even with Travis Etienne helping the Jaguars march down the field, Lawrence and the Jaguars could not hang with the Texans in this game. They had issues dealing with the Texans defence all game and while they never sacked Lawrence, they contained the Jaguars offence, no play went for longer than 28 yards. Will Anderson Jr blocking a field goal helped the Texans ensure their first win of the season!
Miami Dolphins 70 – Denver Broncos 20
Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins head coach and former Denver Broncos ball boy dropped 70 points on the Broncos on Sunday and put the league on notice that they have a Super Bowl calibur offence! They scored 10 TDs, put up 726 total yards and are the first team to score 70 points in 57 years, they were playing Madden on Rookie!
The Broncos ride into hell continued against the Dolphins, Denver fans must feel like the Wilson trade has cursed their franchise. Their defence might want to take the tape from this game and burn it in some kinda occult sacrifice since we are entering spooky season to see if they can perform better going forward…
Los Angeles Chargers 28 – Minnesota Vikings 24
With 41 seconds remaining, 1st and goal on the 6 yard line, Cousins couldn’t hear the play call, rather than spiking the ball to stop the clock, he rushed a throw to T.J. Hockenson was tipped and intercepted by Kenneth Murray, sealing the win for the Chargers and pushing the Vikings to the dreaded 0-3 start. Cousins would later say he couldn’t hear the play call due to the fans being so loud, the last thing you should do is blame your mistake on your home crowd!
Keenan Allen had himself a game, he broke his own franchise record for receptions by racking up 18 on the day in addition to his 215 yards, the Vikings had no answer for him and they could not stop Herbert who went 40 of 47 for 405 yards and 3 TDs/0 Interceptions,, a near perfect game. The Chargers are coming alive and showing the league why they are playoff contenders.
New England Patriots 15 – New York Jets 10
Zach Wilson will not lead the Jets to a division title or the playoffs, the sooner the Jets come to terms with this and pick up a free agent QB, the better they will be. Wilson had three shots at winning the game and failed on all three attempts, which is not a surprise since his pass completion rate is barely 50% and has been sacked 14 times already this season.
The Patriots won, and won ugly but a win is a win. They will not be able to hang with any of the emerging AFC powerhouses unless Mac Jones can play like the QB the Patriots thought he’d be when they drafted him. 15 points won’t take down the Dolphins or Bills and won’t stop the Chiefs, Ravens, Steelers or Browns to name a few. The Patriots and Mac Jones need to score more in order to keep pace in the AFC.
Buffalo Bills 37 – Washington Commanders 3
Sam Howell definitely wants to move on from this game as fast as possible, hell I wouldn’t be surprised if he refused to watch the film from it! He threw four interceptions, including a pick-six, was sacked nine times and only converted 1 of 9 3rd downs. Howell needs to forget this game ever happened!
The Bills defence put on a clinic, nine sacks, four interceptions, held the Commanders to 1 of 9 3rd downs, 0-1 on 4th downs and 0-2 in the red zone. A complete and utter shut down of an opposing offence. Josh Allen had an average day but managed to avoid being sacked and only threw one interception. If Allen can reel in the picks then this Bills team will be difficult to challenge.
Sunday Late Window
Seattle Seahawks 37 – Carolina Panthers 27
Not the score line many would have predicted with Andy Dalton under centre for the Panthers as he filled in for the injured Bryce Young. Without the rookie under centre, Dalton completed 34 passes for 361 yards and two TDs. Either an impressive day for Dalton or a bad day for the Seahawks defence, depends who you ask!
If you ask the 12th man, you won’t have trouble hearing their answer! They alone caused the Panthers offence to collect some pre-snap penalties and this allowed the Seahawks to keep the momentum for the majority of this game. Kenneth Walker III was the author of the Seahawks win, both on the ground and through the air, the Panthers could not contain Walker who punished the Panthers defence all game long.
Arizona Cardinals 28 – Dallas Cowboys 16
Joshua Dobbs blasts off as the Cowboys struggle to dig themselves out of a hole! The Cowboys defence could not stop Dobbs, Conner and Moore. This combination seemed to cause Dallas issues during this game and they had no answer for this Cardinals attack as their offensive line put the famed Cowboys defence on their heels for most of the game.
Dem Boys couldn’t claw their way back from a 15 – 3 deficit, although they slowly made their way back into the game until they came to 4th and 3 on the Cardinals 4 yard line, and they failed to convert, turning the ball over on downs and handing the win to Arizona. Is this a sign the sky is falling in Dallas? Or is it just a weakness in their armour that they need to shore up before other teams exploit it?
Kansas City Chiefs 41 – Chicago Bears 10
The Chiefs had the power of the Swifties on their side which proved to be too much for Da Bears, or so we’re led to believe via all the social media posts and memes about Taylor Swift being at the game to support her new BF Travis Kelce. Mahomes made sure Kelce got his TD and it looked like the Chiefs defence would pitch a shutout if it wasn’t for two Blaine Gabbert interceptions which allowed the Bears to get their only points.
The Bears organisation is a mess currently, Fields blaming his “robotic play” on coaching, their defensive coordinator resigning and their facility being broken into, resulting in $100k of equipment being stolen. Let’s just say the Bears have a lot of off field distractions to deal with! The Bears join the Bengals, Jets, Titans, Raiders, and Giants as a team who has managed to score less than 50 points total in three weeks of football.
Sunday Night Football
Pittsburgh Steelers 23 – Las Vegas Raiders 18
The Raiders came out early and bullied the Steelers secondary, making Patrick Peterson look like a clueless rookie and Levi Wallace like an Arena Football player so often that Davante Adams gashed the Steelers for 13 receptions, 172 yards and 2 TDs. A worrying result for any Steeler fan seeing a top talent being unrecoverable and a QB like Jimmy G playing like a Madden superstar. However the Raiders could not get their running game going which forced Jimmy G into just passing, this is his weakness and the Steelers capitalised on this fact!
T.J. Watt is still a menace, and is still pushing for DPOY award and is on pace to smash the single season sack record! Watt sacked Jimmy G twice, hit him six times and pressured him six times, one resulting in an interception. Speaking of interceptions, Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace made sure Jimmy G paid for making them look bad early in the game, by intercepting him three times, two for Wallace and one for Peterson. Pickett and the offence took a while to warm up but once they did they started with a 72 yard TD to Calvin Austin III and they never looked back. Finally we are happy to report the Steelers made it back to Pittsburgh safely after their plane had to divert to Kansas City!
Monday Night Football
Philadelphia Eagles 25 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11
The Eagles defence tormented Baker Mayfield the entire game and helped the Eagles close down the Buccaneers offence to secure the win. With multiple sacks, and an interception to start the Buccaneers off on Monday Night, the Eagles set the tone early. Rookie Jalen Carter caused havoc in the middle forcing fumbles and the Eagles held Tampa Bay to 174 yards total. While the Buccaneer defence kept Hurts on the back foot for most of the game it wasn’t enough to stop the Eagles, but it might be a blueprint for other teams to defeat the Eagles!
Hurts and Brown seem to have patched things up after they exchanged words on the sidelines in Week 2 as Brown finished the game with 9 receptions for 131 yards but no TDs. D’Andre Swift put up another 100+ yard game as the Eagles showed the league they can beat you on the ground or through the air with another impressive offensive game plan. Hurts is now 20-1 in his last 21 regular season starts and the Eagles are off to a 3-0 start!
Cincinnati Bengals 19 – Los Angeles Rams 16
Joe Burrow is still clearly suffering with his calf injury however he gutted it out and played against the Rams on Monday Night. It was an ugly win, going 1 of 7 on 3rd downs in the first half and only putting up six points in the half, the Bengals were greeted with a chorus of boos from the crowd. Once they found balance with Mixon and Chase, Burrow was able to connect on an important 43 yard pass to Chase that allowed them to kick a field goal. The Bengals avoided going 0-3 and limped to a win against the Rams.
Stafford and the Rams looked to have this game won as the Bengals struggled the entire first half, even with the score tied at half time, it looked like the Rams would pull out the win. The Bengals defence did not allow that to happen, stepping up with a 3rd quarter interception and keeping pressure on Stafford all night, the Rams struggled and clearly missed Cooper Kupp, while Puka Nacua stepped in to fill that void for the first two games, against the blitzing Bengals, Puka was held to under 100 yards and no TDs. The Rams find themselves in a situation where they will possibly struggle to compete with the Cardinals and Seahawks and will not be able to challenge the powerhouse that is the 49ers.
Injuries
Heading into Week 4 we see some teams with an injury report as long as a CSV receipt!
Arizona Cardinals
Carlos Watkins – Out – Injured Reserve
Josh Woods – Questionable
Kyler Murray – Out
Krys Barnes – Questionable
Zaven Collins – Questionable
Atlanta Falcons
Troy Anderson – Out – Injured Reserve
Cordarrelle Patterson – Questionable
Baltimore Ravens
Odafe Oweh – Questionable
Justice Hill – Questionable
Odell Beckham Jr – Questionable
Marcus Williams – Questionable
Ronnie Stanley – Questionable
Tyler Linderbaum – Questionable
Marion Humphrey – Questionable
Tylan Wallace – Out – Injured Reserve
Geno Stone – Questionable
Buffalo Bills
Ryan Bates – Questionable
Carolina Panthers
Xavier Woods – Doubtful
Bryce Young – Questionable
Chicago Bears
Eddie Jackson – Questionable
Cincinnati Bengals
Irv Smith Jr. – Questionable
Cleveland Browns
Greg Newsome II – Questionable
James Hudson III – Questionable
Dallas Cowboys
Zack Martin – Questionable
Tyler Biadasz – Questionable
Denver Broncos
Justin Simmons – Questionable
Frank Clark – Questionable
Detroit Lions
C.J. Gardner-Johnson – Out – Injured Reserve
Emmanuel Moseley – Questionable
Kerby Joseph – Questionable
David Montgomery – Questionable
Taylor Decker – Questionable
Halapoulivaati Vaitai – Questionable
Green Bay Packers
Rashan Gary – Questionable
Aaron Jones – Questionable
Christian Watson – Questionable
David Bakhtiari – Questionable
Jaire Alexander – Questionable
De’Vondre Campbell – Questionable
Elgton Jenkins – Questionable
Zayne Anderson – Questionable
Rashan Gary – Questionable
Houston Texans
Tytus Howard – Out – Injured Reserve
Tavierre Thomas – Questionable
Laremy Tunsil – Questionable
Denzel Perryman – Questionable
Indianapolis Colts
Ryan Kelly – Questionable
Anthony Richardson – Questionable
Jacksonville Jaguars
Zay Jones – Questionable
Antonio Johnson – Questionable
Anton Harrison – Questionable
Leonard Taylor – Out – Injured Reserve
Kansas City Chiefs
Nick Bolton – Questionable
Las Vegas Raiders
Jimmy Garoppolo – Questionable
Los Angeles Chargers
Mike Williams – Out – Injured Reserve
Eric Kendricks – Questionable
Austin Ekeler – Questionable
Los Angeles Rams
Joe Noteboom – Questionable
Miami Dolphins
Tyler Kroft – Questionable
Salvon Ahmed – Questionable
Minnesota Vikings
Marcus Davenport – Questionable
Garrett Bradbury – Questionable
New England Patriots
Daniel Ekuale – Out – Injured Reserve
Jonathan Jones – Questionable
Sidy Sow – Questionable
New Orleans Saints
Foster Moreau – Questionable
Paulson Adebo – Questionable
Derek Carr – Questionable
New York Giants
Andrew Thomas – Questionable
Ben Bredeson – Questionable
Azeez Ojulari – Questionable
Saquon Barkley – Questionable
New York Jets
Wes Schweitzer – Questionable
Tony Adams – Questionable
Philadelphia Eagles
Quez Watkins – Questionable
Boston Scott – Questionable
Pittsburgh Steelers
James Daniels – Questionable
Pressley Harvin III – Questionable
Allen Robinson II – Questionable
Gunner Qlszewski – Questionable
San Francisco 49ers
Ambry Thomas – Questionable
Deebo Samuel – Questionable
Seattle Seahawks
Riq Woolen – Questionable
Coby Bryant – Questionable
Will Dissly – Questionable
Phil Haynes – Questionable
Charles Cross – Questionable
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Calijah Kancey – Questionable
Carlton Davis III – Questionable
SirVocea Dennis – Questionable
Jamel Dean – Questionable
Tennessee Titans
Mike Brown – Out – Injured Reserve
Julius Chestnut – Out – Injured Reserve
Peter Skiribski – Questionable
Washington Commanders
Logan Thomas – Questionable
That’s it for Week 3 in the NFL, Week 4 starts with Green Bay and Detroit on Thursday NIght Football, the season feels like it’s flying by already. We’ll be talking about the playoffs before we know it. See you all after Week 4!