The third Sunday of the 2020 NFL season is in the books so here are the different thoughts and opinions I have on various things I witnessed this past weekend. We had some big time matchups this week and plenty of exciting finishes. Plus a few duds to even things out. It's still early but if your favorite team is 0-3, well there is still plenty of time left in the NASCAR playoffs. Start rooting for Chase Elliott!
Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.
Winless in Seattle
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Las Vegas predicted a shootout in Seattle and they were right as the Seattle Seahawks outlasted the Dallas Cowboys 38-31. If you enjoy crisp, well played fundamental football this wasn’t the game for you. On the other hand if you are fan of video game football where QBs dice up injury ravaged secondaries for huge chunks of yards, well then you were in for a treat.
One thing the Cowboys do as well as any team in the NFL is shoot themselves in the foot on a weekly basis. They hit a trifecta this week: first they blow the coverage and let WR Tyler Lockett get wide, wide (almost unbelievably wide) open for a ridiculously easy 43-yard TD reception, second RB Tony Pollard muffs the ensuing kickoff in the end zone and has to scramble to recover the ball on the Dallas ½ yard line and third RB Zeke Elliott slips in the endzone after taking the handoff to give Seattle an easy safety.
If that wasn’t bad enough K Greg Zuerlein missed two extra point attempts (one was blocked). Good Grief.
Don’t laugh too hard Seahawks fans, WR D.K. Metcalf celebrated too early and cost his team a TD. He’s going to be reminded about this one for a long time:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1310327245647409152
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HAHAHA! At least one thing made me smile on Sunday. Kudos to Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs for hustling and not giving up on the play.
If you want to win a shootout, you must win the turnover battle. This is where the Cowboys failed. Seattle didn’t have any turnovers. QB Dak Prescott threw 2 INTS and also lost a fumble. Two of those turnovers gave the Seahawks easy short yardage TDs. Those scores were the difference in the ballgame.
This loss stings a bit because the Seahawks are a really good team who rarely lose at home. If Dallas played better fundamental football and held onto the ball better they could have won this game. Easily. Unfortunately for me Dallas does this all too often.
Outside of his turnovers, QB Dak Prescott had another monster game: 37/57, 472 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs with 6 carries for 26 yards. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers with WR Michael Gallup (6 receptions, 138 yards, 1 TD) and WR Cedrick Wilson (5 Receptions, 107 yards, 2 TDs) being his top targets. It was a true coming out party for Wilson who only caught five passes last season and had zero catches entering the game this season.
RB Zeke Elliott was ineffective on the ground (14 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD) and in the air (6 receptions, 24 yards). He also dropped three passes. The Dallas offense works best when Elliott is the focal point and that hasn’t happened yet this season. Game script is partially to blame, but the fact is Elliott has not looked like the dynamic back he was when he first entered the league since the beginning of last season. He certainly hasn’t earned the big money his contract pays him.
On the other hand Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is worth every penny he makes. He had a huge game for the third consecutive week (27/40, 315 yards, 5 TDs) and set a new NFL record with 14 TD passes in his first three games. He has taken his play to a new level and it is a pleasure to watch when he isn’t eviscerating the Cowboys. Wilson was aided by his top two WRs Tyler Lockett (9 receptions, 100 yards, 3 TDs) and D.K. Metcalf (4 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD).
The Seahawks move to 3-0 and travel to Miami next week to face the Dolphins. The Cowboys fall to 1-2 and return home to face the Cleveland Browns. 1-2 is a lousy start yet since Dallas plays in the NFC (L)East they can still get their shit together and turn things around.
NFC (L)East
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Despite their 1-2 record, the Cowboys are tied at the top of the NFC East standings with the Washington No-names. What the hell has happened to this once proud division?
The No-names went to Cleveland to face a Browns team that barely beat the Bengals at home. No matter, the Browns beat the No-names 34-20. Washington actually had a 20-17 lead in the 4th quarter, but blew the game with turnovers. Washington QB Dwayne Haskins (21/37, 224 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) personally had 4 turnovers (3 INTs, 1 fumble) that the Browns converted into 24 points.
QB Baker Mayfield (16/23, 156 yards, 2 TDs) was efficient at the helm for the Browns. Maybe Cleveland has finally figured out that if they take the ball out of Mayfield’s hands more with their strong running attack, he is a more productive QB. RB Nick Chubb (19 carries, 108 yards, 2 TDs) was and should be the main cog of the Browns offense.
The Philadelphia Eagles had an ugly 0-2 record entering Week 3, but surely there was a ray of hope with the hapless Cincinnati Bengals coming to town. Right? Uh, no. The Eagles needed a series of pass interference penalties by the Bengals to score a late TD to salvage a 23-23 tie. A tie? A freaking tie!
Unbelievable. The Eagles were lucky to get a tie, they should have lost. QB Carson Wentz (29/47, 225 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) has been terrible to start the season, even against some lousy defenses. He has multiple INTs in all of his starts. RB Miles Sanders (18 carries, 95 yards) had a good day and he should have seen a lot more touches against a lousy Bengals run defense that lets everybody ram the rock down their throat. Except head coach Doug Pederson would rather pass the ball all game long no matter how ineffective the passing attack is.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow was sacked 8 times behind Cincinnati’s porous offensive line, but still managed to put up good numbers: 31/44, 312 yards, 2 TDs. This kid certainly looks like a legitimate NFL QB up to this point. He doesn’t have much to work with but still has kept the Bengals in all their games.
The Bengals are now 0-2-1 and Burrow will try to get his first win against the Jaguars next week. The Eagles are also 0-2-1 and the best thing I can say about them is that at least they aren’t in last place in the NFC East.
That honor falls to the New York Giants. The Giants seemed to get a break by having a home game against the San Francisco 49ers. Why? The 49ers had to play without QB Jimmy Garoppolo, RB Raheem Mostert, TE George Kittle, WR Deebo Samuel, DL Nick Bosa, DL Dee Ford, etc, etc. The 49ers are literally decimated by injuries right now but still destroyed the Giants 36-9.
If the Giants can’t be competitive with San Francisco’s practice squad I have no idea how they will win any games this year. QB Daniel Jones (17/32, 179 yards, 1 INT, 1 fumble) continues to be a turnover machine and with the loss of RB Saquon Barkley to injury the running game is non-existent.
49ers QB Nick Mullens (25/36, 343 yards, 1 TD) had a fine day against the beleaguered Giants defense despite the fact that all of the Niners offensive weapons were on the sidelines.
The 49ers are 2-1 and tied for second place in the very competitive NFC West. They get a home game against the Eagles next week. Lucky bastards. The Giants are 0-3 and have the honor of being in last place in the worst division in the NFL.
How bad is the NFC (L)East? After Week 3 they have a combined record of 2-9-1. And Washington’s one win came against the Eagles. Ugh. Sad times indeed for a division that has combined to win 13 Super Bowls, the most of any divisions in the NFL.
Prime Time
The prime time schedule treated us this week to two outstanding matchups with definite playoff implications in terms of seeding. One game lived up to the hype, the other (I'm looking at you Baltimore) not so much.
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Sunday Night Football featured the Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 37-30 at the Superdome. As expected both QBs came out ready play despite the fact that each was missing his #1 WR.
The game was an excellent back and forth affair until Green Bay pulled away at the end. The score was tied at 27-27 to start the fourth quarter and it looked like New Orleans was going to steal the momentum when they stuffed the Packers on a 4th and 1 play at midfield early in the quarter. However a few plays later the Saints sent in backup QB Taysom Hill to run a read option running play. Hill was stripped of the ball and Green Bay recovered the fumble.
The Packers cashed in on the turnover by kicking a field goal to take the lead. After forcing the Saints into a three and out, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers led the squad on a TD drive to take a 37-27 lead with 2 minutes remaining. The Saints were running out of time fast, but New Orleans QB Drew Brees struck back by driving into Green Bay territory. Needing two scores, New Orleans halted the drive by kicking a FG to cut the lead to 37-30. With only 30 seconds left the Saints attempted an onside kick, but the kick went out of bounds. Packers football and one kneel down ended the game.
Aaron Rodgers (21/32, 283 yards, 3 TDs) was in top form as he picked apart the Saints defense. With WR Davante Adams unable to play, WR Allen Lazard stepped up into his role: 6 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TD. Green Bay is now 3-0 and faces the winless Atlanta Falcons next week. I’m not sure how Atlanta will blow this game yet, but I’m sure they will find a way.
Drew Brees (29/36, 288 yards, 3 TDs) had a great stat line as well. No WR Michael Thomas for the second straight game required somebody to raise their game and RB Alvin Kamara took the challenge. He was an absolute beast on the ground (6 carries, 58 yards) and especially through the air (13 receptions, 139 yards, 2 TDs). Don’t take my word for it, watch this highlight of Kamara turning a dump pass into a 50-yard score:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1310409439124631553
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The Saints drop to a disappointing 1-2 and travel to Detroit next week.
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Monday Night Football featured undefeated AFC powerhouses Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. What a matchup, I’m so excited! Well I was before kickoff, after that KC bullied the Ravens in a 34-20 win that wasn’t as close as the score looks. And to be honest that score isn’t close either.
The Ravens offense came out flat and never picked up any steam all night while the Chiefs came out firing and basically took the second half off.
To understand how the game flowed all you have to do is compare the stats of Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (31/42, 385 yards, 4 TDs, 4 carries, 26 yards, 1 TD) with the stats of his counterpart Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (15/28, 97 yards, 1 TD, 9 carries, 83 yards). Hmm, 5 TDs to 1 TD, yup that explains everything.
Beating the Ravens isn’t easy, but there is a well-known formula to do it: take an early lead and keep your foot on the gas. At their heart the Ravens are a running team, not built to make big comebacks. The Ravens offense only mustered a FG in the first half. They got a TD from a 93-yard kick return from Devin Duvernay which kept the game from dissolving into a total rout.
On the other side of the field the Chiefs scored four TDs in their first five possessions. Mahomes chewed up the Baltimore defense all night. The Chiefs racked up 517 yards of total offense, and that was with them taking it easy in the seconds half with a big lead.
This is a big loss for the Ravens. Lamar Jackson was 0-2 against the Chiefs, but both of those losses were close and in Kansas City. This time the Chiefs came to Baltimore and floored the Ravens on their own turf. It is now clear-cut who the team to beat is in the AFC.
The Ravens fall to 2-1 and second place in the AFC North. They’ll have a chip on their shoulder as they travel just down the road from Baltimore to Washington D.C. to take on the No-names next. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict a massacre.
The Chiefs improve to 3-0 and remain in first place in the AFC West. They return home to face the Patriots on Sunday. Should be a fun game to watch.
Before I leave this section, let me just say I hoped you enjoyed this week’s prime time slate because next week the league is giving us the Eagles & 49ers on Sunday night and the Packers & Falcons on Monday. I have no idea why we are being punished like this.
Daytime slate wasn’t too shabby either
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Lots of good games Sunday afternoon as well in Week 3. The Buffalo Bills fought off a furious comeback to defeat the L.A. Rams 35-32. The Bills seemed to have the game in hand as they took a 28-3 lead in the third quarter. Apparently the Rams were only giving them a false sense of security as L.A. erupted for 29 unanswered points with the aid of a few turnovers to take a 32-28 with less than five minutes left to play.
That was just enough time for Bills QB Josh Allen to guide Buffalo down the field for a seventy-five yard drive that culminated in a game-winning TD pass. Buffalo was aided by a questionable pass interference penalty on a fourth down play that kept their drive alive. Oh well, the Rams can’t complain too much since the worst non-call on pass interference put them into the Super Bowl two years ago. Sometimes karma is a bitch.
The Bills continue to impress with the elevated play of QB Josh Allen. Allen was dominant again this week: 24/33, 311 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD. He was aided by WR Cole Beasley (6 receptions, 100 yards) and RB Devin Singletary (13 carries, 71 yards). With a 3-0 record the Bills sit atop the AFC East and head to Las Vegas next week.
The Rams showed guts by not throwing in the towel when all seemed lost. The offensive struggles of last season appear to be a thing of the past as QB Jared Goff (23/32, 321 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), WR Cooper Kupp (9 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD) and RB Darrell Henderson (20 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD) all had good games. The Rams fell to 2-1 and are tied for second in the brutal NFC West. They get a break next week with a home game against the pitiful Giants.
Upset of the Week
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You have to trust me here, I’m not making this up. The Detroit Lions, yes those Detroit Lions, actually came from behind in the fourth quarter to win a game. On the road no less against a good team. I’m being serious!
The Detroit Lions beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-23 to grab their first win of the season. The Lions held a slim 17-13 lead at halftime, but they have been coughing up leads all year so it came as no surprise when Arizona came back to take a 23-20 lead entering the fourth quarter. What was surprising was the Lions scored two FGs in the fourth quarter and blanked the Cardinals for the comeback victory.
The Lions offense wasn’t spectacular, but it was solid. Most importantly they didn’t turn the ball over. The Lions defense on the other hand forced Cardinals QB Kyler Murray into throwing three INTs, which the offense converted into 10 points. As usual, turnovers were the deciding factor.
Lions QB Matthew Stafford (22/31, 270 yards, 2 TDs) had a good game, he certainly appreciated the return of #1 WR Kenny Golladay (6 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD). The Lions normal Achilles heel is the running game, but old man RB Adrian Peterson (22 carries, 75 yards) has been good enough to balance out the offense. The 1-2 Lions will get another stiff test when the win-hungry Saints come to Detroit next week.
Outside of the costly turnovers, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (23/35, 270 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 5 carries, 29 yards, 1 rushing TD) had a good game. But those INTs were killers. WR DeAndre Hopkins (10 receptions, 137 yards) had a third straight big game. The Cardinals fell to 2-1, good enough for a second place tie in the powerful NFC West. They will face Carolina Panthers in Charlotte next week.
Around The League
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Dammit Atlanta, what the hell is going on around here? For the second week in a row the Falcons blew a 15 point fourth quarter lead as they fell to the Chicago Bears 30-26. The Falcons dominated for three quarters and then just fell apart.
The Bears finally got smart and benched QB Mitch Trubisky (13/22, 128 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) after throwing a pick early in the third quarter. QB Nick Foles (16/29, 188 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) entered the contest and promptly drove the Bears down the field. Then he threw a pick in the endzone. He was just shaking off the rust. After that he scorched the Falcons defense for 20 4th quarter points and the win.
The Bears are now 3-0 and tied with the Packers atop the NFC North. With Foles playing QB they might be legit. Chicago hosts the Indianapolis Colts next week.
What can you say about the Falcons? They are in a nightmare right now and I offer their fans my condolences. Now 0-3, Atlanta will try to get win #1 in Green Bay next week. Good luck.
The Tennessee Titans are the Cardiac Kids of the NFL as they squeaked out another win by the skin of their teeth, 31-30 over the Minnesota Vikings.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill (23/37, 321 yards, 1 INT) used WR Kalif Raymond (3 receptions, 118 yards) to burn the Vikings defense while RB Derrick Henry ( 26 carries, 119 yards, 2 TDs) pounded them into submission. Maybe the real hero on offense was K Stephen Gostkowski who hit all 6 of his FG attempts, 3 of them 50+ yards. Have the Titans finally found a cure for the Curse of the Kicker?
Tennessee is now 3-0 and leads the AFC South, even though their 3 wins have come by a combined 6 points. They’ll need to improve on that with the Steelers coming to Nashville next week.
The Vikings got big games from RB Dalvin Cook (22 carries, 181 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble) and WR Justin Jefferson (7 receptions, 175 yards, 1 TD). And they still lost. The defense is a shell of its former self and the offense isn’t going to win many shootouts. The 0-3 Vikings face the 0-3 Texans next week. Maybe, just maybe, one of them will get a win!
At 0-2 after losses to the Chiefs and Ravens, the Houston Texans were desperate to break into the win column. Not desperate enough I guess as they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21. Houston scored 21 points in the first half and then just farted in the second half. They should have just split early and picked up some Primanti Brothers sandwiches.
Texans QB Deshaun Watson (19/27, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) connected well with WR Randall Cobb (4 receptions, 95 yards, 1 TD), but he doesn’t get much help otherwise. Watson is elusive but his offensive line stinks, he was sacked 5 times. And forget about the running game, RB David Johnson (13 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD) wasn’t any help. The 0-3 Texans return home against the 0-3 Minnesota Vikings next week.
The Steelers are 3-0 and lead the AFC North. What a difference a healthy QB Ben Roethlisberger (23/36, 237 yards, 2 TDs) makes. He didn’t need to light up the sky since the Texans can’t stop anybody from running all over them, as RB James Conner (18 carries, 109 yards, 1 TD) and RB Anthony McFarland Jr. (6 carries, 42 yards) proved. The Steelers travel to Nashville to square off against the Titans next week. Should be a good one.
The New England Patriots defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 36-20 in Foxborough. Both teams played on the West coast last week and started out sluggish. The Patriots eventually kicked it into gear, but the Raiders never woke up with half their points coming in garbage time.
Things haven’t changed much in New England with QB Cam Newton (17/28, 162 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) taking over, you still don’t know which way they are going to attack. This week they used the running game. RB Sony Michael (9 carries, 117 yards) and RB Rex Burkhead (6 carries, 49 yards, 2 TDs) led the way. Burkhead (7 receptions, 49 yards, 1 TD) was also Newton’s top receiver. The 2-1 Patriots face a big test in Kansas City against the Chiefs next week.
Hopefully the win this week will help head coach Bill Belichick look a little better for his press conference this week.
The Raiders must have had a hangover after opening up their new stadium last week. QB Derek Carr (24/32, 261 yards, 2 TDs) and RB Joshua Jacobs (16 carries, 71 yards) weren’t bad, but at the same time weren’t good enough to win. The 2-1 Raiders also have a tough game next week, they will face the Bills in Las Vegas.
Of course all the games on the schedule can’t be winners. The Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Jets 36-7 simply by showing up and looking like a football team. The Colts defense (14 Points) outscored the Jets by themselves. The nicest thing I can say about the Jets is QB Sam Darnold only had two of his three INTs returned for pick sixes.
The 2-1 Colts have an interesting matchup against the Bears in Chicago coming up. The 0-3 Jets host the Broncos Thursday in game nobody in New York and maybe only five people in Denver will care about.
In another dud of a game the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the injury-plagued Denver Broncos 28-10. Much like Indy, Tampa Bay won by showing up. After taking an early lead, the Bucs stood around in the second half watching the clock wind down.
Tampa QB Tom Brady (25/38, 297 yards, 3 TDs) had his best game to date as a Buccaneer. The 2-1 Bucs host the Chargers next week.
The game itself wasn't a dud, but honestly who cared about a Panthers/Chargers game? You? Yea, me neither. Anyway the Carolina Panthers got their first victory of the season by beating the Los Angeles Chargers 21-16.
Panther QB Teddy Bridgewater (22/28, 235 yards, 1 TD) did enough to win by simply not turning the ball over. Chargers QB Justin Herbert (35/49, 330 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) made a strong argument to keep the starting job when Tyrod Taylor returns.
Both teams are now 1-2 and going nowhere. The Chargers travel to Tampa to face the Bucs and the Panthers return home to face the Cardinals.
In sad news, Chicago Bears Hall of Fame RB Gale Sayers passed away last week at the age of 77. The Kansas Comet only played four complete seasons in the NFL and parts of three others (68 games total) because of knee injuries.
No matter, despite the really small body of work Sayers was so dominating when healthy he was easily a first ballot Hall of Famer at the age of 34. All he needed was 18 inches of daylight. Watch this highlight video from NFL Films, which includes plays from his famous 6 TD day against the 49ers (nobody else has done it since that day in 1965):
Thanks for taking the time to read. Let me know your thoughts on Week Three.