The fourth week 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. A much weaker slate of games this week than last, not as much compelling action and few surprises. And Covid finally reared its ugly head.
If that wasn't bad enough my Cowboys have sent me spiraling into the depths of depression. The bastards. No matter, with help of heavy metal and beer I will overcome. 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.
Brown-Out
Source
The Cleveland Browns strode into Cowboys Stadium and Dallas shit the bed as the Browns defeated the Cowboys 48-39. Good Grief.
Tell me if you heard this story before: the Cowboys shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly with turnovers, penalties, and piss-poor defense, fall behind by a ton of points, Dak Prescott hulks up to lead an improbable 4th quarter comeback, Dallas finally falls in the end due to a combination of bad coaching, continued bad defense, and a last turnover forced by desperation as the clock is running down.
That was the story of this week’s loss to Cleveland. It was the story of last week’s loss to Seattle. It would have been the story of the Week Two game against Atlanta, but the Falcons blew it and Dallas squeaked out a win.
The awful Dallas defense is balanced. They can’t stop runs or passes. They also don’t create any turnovers. It is a true trifecta of shit. A smart coach would realize this and take advantage of his premium RB Zeke Elliott to pound the ball in order to control the time of possession to keep the sieve-like defense of the field as much as possible. A dumb coach, say for example Mike McCarthy, would rather play for shootouts by throwing pass after pass while having his offense play at the fastest pace in the league. It is a recipe for disaster.
The Cowboys held a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hell the defense even forced Cleveland to punt once. It was the Cowboys high-water mark of the day. The Browns took advantage of fumbles by QB Dak Prescott and RB Zeke Elliott to take 31-14 lead at the half.
Hmm, last week in my MMQB post I stated if you want to win a shootout you must win the turnover battle. The Cowboys lost that to Cleveland 3-0, same as they did to Seattle the week before. Isn’t anybody in Dallas reading my posts? Why the hell not, you idiots might actually learn something!
The Browns tacked on another 10 points in the 3rd quarter to take a 41-14 lead. Then a miracle nearly happened in the 4th quarter. Dak Prescott came alive to lead the Cowboys to three straight TD drives capped off by three successful two-point conversions. Holy shit, in 11 minutes of game play Dallas cut the lead to 41-38 with 3:42 left to play. Plenty of time left to complete another unbelievable comeback. Also plenty of time for Dallas to shoot themselves in the foot one last time. Turned out the Cowboys had one last round in the chamber.
Instead of kicking a normal kickoff, the Cowboys tried some squib-kick bullshit. I guess they thought they could catch the Browns by surprise. The Browns, like any half-decently coached team, were looking for something tricky and easily recovered the goofy kick. They even returned it 8-yards to set up shop at midfield.
Why in the hell would Dallas do this? The Browns were drowning in the 4th quarter and McCarthy handed them a lifeline! It was beyond stupid. I don’t have the words to describe how dumb it was. Well, OK I did but trust me there was a lot of F’s involved and I don’t want to subject the fine readers of this post to such abuse.
Anyway Cleveland took advantage of the gift by calling an end-around for WR Odell Beckham, who ran the ball 50-yards for a game-sealing TD as the Cowboys defense stood around with their thumbs up their asses. The Browns tacked on a two-point conversion to add insult to injury and walk away with a 49-38 win.
Kudos to Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski for having his team play a smart game. He knew the Cowboys would make mistakes and had Cleveland ready to take advantage of them. He was also smart enough to keep the ball on the ground to help minimize the chances of his own team turning the ball over. The Browns running attack steamrolled the Dallas defense: 38 carries, 307 yards. Ouch. The Browns accomplished this despite an early injury to RB Nick Chubb (6 carries, 43 yards). The trio of RB D’Ernest Johnson (13 carries, 95 yards), RB Kareem Hunt (11 carries, 71 yards, 2 TDs), and WR Odell Beckham (2 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD) picked up Chubb.
With so much success on the ground, QB Baker Mayfield didn’t have to do much (19/30, 165, 2 TDs). The Dallas defense is so poor they even let WR Jarvis Landry throw a TD (1/1, 37 yards, 1 TD). WR Odell Beckham also had a nice game in the air (5 receptions, 81 yards, 2 TDs).
Trying to come back from a massive deficit led QB Dak Prescott to put up eye-popping stats again: 41/58, 502 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT. Prescott has now topped 450 yards three weeks in a row, a new NFL record. That record means squat since Dallas is 1-2 in those games. WR Amari Cooper was Prescott’s top target: 12 receptions, 124 yards, 1 TD. RB Zeke Elliott had a quiet day on the turf (12 carries, 54 yards) as Dallas continues to ignore the running game, he did contribute 8 receptions for 71 yards.
Do you know the last time the Browns beat Dallas? It was 1994, Bill Belichick was their head coach for christ’s sake! Did you even remember Belichick coached Cleveland? I am so frustrated with the Cowboys right now. I’m going to be in a bad mood all week. I can hear all my friends right now saying what else is new. My friends are assholes. To be fair so am I. Birds of a feather flock together you know.
Old QBs ain't dead yet
Source
This is a unique time in NFL history because two of the top QBs in the game are 40+ year old men: Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Ancient in football years, both of the elder gunslingers have looked a little worse for wear entering Week 4, especially Brees. Yet the duo turned back the clock on Sunday to deliver strong performances that led their respective teams back from double digit deficits to victory.
As they seem to do most weeks, the Detroit Lions started out of the gate quickly to take a 14-0 lead over the New Orleans Saints. Saints QB Drew Brees wasn’t impressed, he led the Saints on five consecutive TD drives and a 35-29 win over the Lions.
The knock on Brees so far this season was his arm strength, he has been relying on a lot of short passes. He aired it out more against Detroit, nearly half of his passes (12 out of 25) were thrown for 10+ yards and he completed 9 of them for 174 yards and a TD. Overall he completed 19/25 passes for 246 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. His one INT was the result of a tipped pass. WR Emmanuel Sanders (6 receptions, 93 yards) and WR Tre’quan Smith (4 receptions, 54 yards, 2 TDs) were his top targets.
The Saints also got plenty of help from the RB duo of Alvin Kamara (19 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD) and Latavius Murray (14 carries, 64 yards, 2 TDs). The offense convincingly put up 35 points without #1 WR Michael Thomas, who should return soon. Brees was accurate and strong, he’ll be even more dangerous with the return of Thomas. The Saints evened up their record at 2-2.
What can you say about the Lions? They fell to 1-3 and had at some point a double digit lead in all three of their losses. They can script a serious of plays to have success to start games, but when the opposing team makes adjustments they fall apart. QB Matthew Stafford was up and down (17/31, 206 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT), his INT was especially painful because it happened in the endzone.
Like Drew Brees, Tom Brady saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fall into a big hole against the Los Angeles Chargers, down 17 points late in the second quarter. Then he remembered he was Tom Brady and led the Bucs to score 24 second-half points for a 38-31 win.
Even though he tossed another pick-six (which is really starting to become a nasty habit), Brady looks like he is starting to gel with his new teammates and offensive scheme. He had one of his biggest statistical games in several years (30/46, 369 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT) and is beginning to form a solid connection with WR Mike Evans (7 receptions, 122 yards, 1 TD). In true Tom Brady fashion, he spread out his five TD passes to five different receivers.
Bucs RB Ronald Jones (20 carries, 111 yards) gave Brady plenty of support on the ground. That kind of balanced attack will make Tampa hard to defeat. The Bucs now have a 3-1 record, first place in the NFC South.
Just like the Lions, what can you say about the Chargers? Both teams always seem to play below the level of their talent. RB Austin Ekelor (2 carries, 6 yards) was injured early and the Chargers run game was non-existent. Despite that rookie QB Justin Herbert (20/25, 290 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) played really well against a stout Buccaneers defense. If the Chargers had any semblance of a running attack they might have been able to bleed the clock more and squeak out a win. Ifs and buts and well you know the rest. The Chargers fell to 1-3.
Off the Schneid
Source
When you are heading into Week Four with a goose egg in the win column it is safe to say your season is off to a bad start. Three teams managed to rectify this situation on Sunday.
In Cincinnati, #1 draft pick QB Joe Burrow guided the Bengals to a 33-25 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars to record his first career win. Burrow (25/36, 300 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) has thrown for at least 300 yards in his last three starts, a new NFL rookie record.
Burrow had been a one man gang keeping the Bengals competitive in their first three games. On Sunday he finally got some help from the ground game to come out on top. RB Joe Mixon (25 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs) ran over the Jaguars defense. He also hauled in 6 receptions for 30 yards and a TD. The Bengals offense gained 500+ plus yards for the first time in four years as their record improved to 1-2-1.
Jacksonville wasted another fine performance by QB Gardner Minshew (27/40, 351 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who surely was happy to see the return of WR D.J. Chark (8 receptions, 95 yards, 2 TDs). The Jaguars fell to 1-3 as their defense looks bad.
The Philadelphia Eagles captured their first win 25-20 over an injury depleted San Francisco 49ers squad in Santa Clara. It was not a pretty game, at times it looked like two crappy high school teams battling each other. Yet the Eagles managed to put a few drives together in the fourth quarter to score 14 points and take the game.
QB Carson Wentz (18/28, 193 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) turned lemons into lemonade with the Eagles banged up receiving corps. It was the first time all year Wentz didn’t throw multiple INTs in a game. He also carried the ball seven times for 37 yards and a TD. The Eagles are now 1-2-1, but if some of the offensive players don’t start getting healthy they are going to struggle to score.
The 49ers were able to overcome missing half of their team to injury last week because the Giants are putrid. The Eagles at least somewhat look like a pro team. Backup QB Nick Mullens (18/26, 200 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) looked like garbage unless he was throwing the ball to TE George Kittle (15 receptions, 183 yards, 1 TD). Mullens was replaced by QB C.J. Beathard (14/19, 138 yards) in the second half. If the switch was made earlier the 49ers might have been able to pull the game out.
Then again maybe that wouldn’t have been an issue at all if head coach Kyle Shanahan had a better game plan. Even without the services of his starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Shanahan called 45 passing plays against only 20 runs. Did he forget the 49ers made the Super Bowl last season concentrating on the running attack? Either way the 49ers fell to 2-2. They need to get healthy in a hurry or they will quickly fall behind in the brutal NFC West.
The last team to finally get off the schneid was the Minnesota Vikings as they traveled to Houston to defeat the Texans 31-23. Both teams were winless heading into this one, the Vikings came out like a team determined to change that while Houston came out lifeless. Houston perked up in the second half, but still came up short.
For the first time this season the Vikings found balance on offense. Minnesota wants to be a run-first team and RB Dalvin Cook (27 carries, 130 yards, 2 TDs) accepted the challenge. That opened up the passing game for QB Kirk Cousins (16/22, 260 yards, 1 TD), who had his best game of the season. Nearly all of his passes went to his top two WRs Adam Thielen (8 receptions, 114, 1 TD) and Justin Jefferson (4 receptions, 103 yards). The Vikings are now 1-3.
The Vikings defense has been awful so far, but you would have thought they were the Purple People Eaters of old the way they shut down the Texans in the first half. Houston adjusted in the second half but it was too little, too late. QB Deshaun Watson (20/33, 300 yards, 2 TDs) had a nice game in the air, yet Minnesota kept him in the pocket and took his dangerous legs out of the equation (5 carries, 9 yards). WR Will Fuller (6 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD) was his top target.
Overall it was a weak effort by a winless team who had what appeared to be a very winnable game at home. How bad was it? Houston fired head coach Bill O’Brien on Monday. The Texans are now 0-4.
Show up and Win
Source
We had a few blatant mismatches on the schedule this week where you figured all the favorites had to do to win was just show up. And that is basically what they did.
The Seattle Seahawks went to Florida to beat the Miami Dolphins 31-23. QB Russell Wilson (24/34, 360 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was excellent again and WR D.K. Metcalf (4 receptions, 106 yards) continued to pile up the yards on just a few catches. Man is Wilson dominating the league. With less than 30 seconds left in the first half, Russell took the Seahawks 75 yards downfield on four passes for a TD. Seattle improved to 4-0.
The Dolphins could have made it a closer contest if QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (29/45, 315 yards, 2 INTs) didn’t set up the Seahawks for TDs with both of his picks. WR Devante Parker (10 receptions, 110 yards) was the go to receiver. The Seattle defense is certainly hurting right now, they allowed the weak Dolphins to pile 415 yards of offense. The Dolphins dropped to 1-3.
The Los Angeles Rams offense never got going on Sunday, but it didn’t matter since the New York Giants offense is nonexistent. The Rams beat the Giants 17-9 in a total yawner of a “game”. It seemed the Rams were playing a little private game of their own: how little energy could they expend and still win.
Rams QB Jared Goff (20/32, 200 yards, 1 TD) did just enough to put a few scores on the board. The running back committee (23 carries, 58 yards) simply tried to run out the clock. It was a really weak performance, but it was enough to beat New York.
The Giants are just sad. The Rams let them run the ball (25 carries, 136 yards), probably just to keep the clock moving. Despite the backing of a solid running game, QB Daniel Jones (23/36, 190 yards, 1 INT) was unable to land a drive in the endzone. The Giants are now 0-4 and their fans should hope they keep losing in order to snag a top QB in next year’s draft.
After being embarrassed by the Chiefs last week, I thought the Baltimore Ravens would ride down to Washington D.C. and slaughter the No-names. Instead they played it smart, why waste all that energy on a team as bad as the No-names? The Ravens cruised to an easy 31-17 victory.
The Ravens big highlight of the game was QB Lamar Jackson busting off a 50-yard TD run. Surprisingly it was his first rushing TD of the season. Jackson (14/21, 193 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) just did enough for an easy win. With the game well in hand, the Ravens benched Jackson halfway into the fourth quarter. The Ravens are now 3-1.
The No-names put up stats, but they never threatened the Ravens. QB Dwayne Haskins (32/45, 314 yards) completed a lot of passes yet many were short yardage plays. WR Terry McLaurin (10 receptions, 118 yards) and RB Antonio Gibson (13 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD, 4 receptions, 82 yards) also had nice stat lines. The No-names fell to 1-3.
Around the League
Source
In a minor upset the Carolina Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals at home 31-21. The Panthers moved the ball easily despite the absence of all-world RB Christian McCaffrey. QB Teddy Bridgewater (26/37, 276 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) took command of the offense and even chipped in on the ground (6 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD). He looked like the strong QB he was in Minnesota before suffering a near career-ending leg injury.
The Panthers replaced McCaffrey with RBs Mike Davis (16 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD) and Reggie Bonnafon (10 carries, 53 yards). Carolina moved the ball down the field all day in any matter they wanted. It was the offense’s best balanced effort of the year and the Panthers evened up their record at 2-2.
The Cardinals hot start has disappeared fast. QB Kyler Murray was stymied by the Panthers defense. He threw 3 TD passes, but only tallied 133 passing yards completing 24/31 passes. Murray’s legs (6 carries, 78 yards) helped him get those TD tosses, the Cardinals RBs only gained 51 yards on 17 carries. Kyler Murray is a top talent, but he can’t beat a team by himself. The Cardinals dropped to 2-2.
The Buffalo Bills continued their winning ways by beating the Las Vegas Raiders 30-23 in Las Vegas. The Raiders had a chance in this game, but two 4th quarter fumbles helped the Bills seal the deal.
The continued maturation of Bills QB Josh Allen (24/34, 288 yards, 2 TDs) is turning Buffalo into one of the better teams in the AFC. Allen has improved his throwing accuracy while cutting down on the costly turnovers. Buffalo’s offseason acquisition of WR Stefon Diggs (6 receptions, 115 yards) has aided the process. The Bills remain unbeaten at 4-0.
The Raiders kept up with the Bills before they fell apart in the end. QB Derek Carr (32/44, 311 yards, 2 TDs) played well for three quarters but couldn’t finish. TE Darren Waller (9 receptions, 88 yards) is still the Raiders top passing target, but TE Jason Witten (2 receptions, 18 yards, 1 TD) scored his first TD of the year. Man is it weird watching Witten play in a Raiders uniform. The Raiders have now dropped two in a row to fall to 2-2.
The Indianapolis Colts handed the Chicago Bears their first loss of the season 19-11 in Chicago. The game was as boring as the final score looks.
The Colts defense is very strong and Indianapolis played conservatively on offense to avoid turnovers. Boring, but it worked. QB Philip Rivers (16/29, 190 yards, 1 TD) did just enough, but most importantly he threw no picks. The Colts ran the ball often (38 carries) but not very effectively (103 yards). However they did bleed the clock. The Colts are 3-1.
QB Nick Foles ignited the Bears offense last week, but they went back to their uninspiring ways again this week. The Colts defense held them completely in check until garbage time padded their stats. Foles (26/42, 249 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) managed to find some chemistry with WR Allen Robinson (7 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TD) but otherwise stunk. The Bears running game (16 carries, 28 yards) was cringe-worthy. The Bears have a good defense but are going to have to find some offense if they want to vie for a playoff spot. The Bears are now 3-1.
The Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Tennessee Titans. Sounds like a good game.
Oh yea, nevermind.
With Patriots QB Cam Newton coming down with Covid (get better soon Cam), we were treated with the second Monday night doubleheader of the season. Despite the loss of Newton the Patriots were competitive most of the night against the Kansas City Chiefs, but ultimately lost 26-10.
Bill Belichick is a defensive genius and always finds a way to slow down the high-powered Chiefs offense. At least for a half. The Chiefs only managed 6 first half points, but came back to score 20 in the second half to put the game away.
QB Patrick Mahomes (19/29, 236 yards, 2 TDs) was contained, but not stopped. Containment is actually the best you can hope for against Mahomes, nobody has figured out how to stop him yet. The Chiefs are now 4-0 for the fourth consecutive season, a new NFL record.
The Patriots defense kept New England in the game until the 4th quarter, but missed out on several INT opportunities that could have swung the contest in their favor. The offense was unusually mistake prone. QB Brian Hoyer (15/24, 130 yards, 1 INT) took a sack at the end of the first half that prevented the Patriots from attempting a FG. Then in the third quarter Hoyer fumbled the ball in the red zone.
Hoyer was replaced by QB Jarrett Stidham (5/13, 60 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) who iced the game for the Chiefs with a pick six. The Patriots offense was lost without Cam Newton and they fell to 2-2.
Heading into the regularly scheduled Monday Night Football game, the big question was could the Atlanta Falcons blow another 15 point 4th quarter lead? The answer was no, the Green Bay Packers mercifully prevented another implosion by kicking the Falcons ass early and often while cruising to an easy 30-16 win.
The Packers came into this game missing their top two WRs, but do you think QB Aaron Rodgers cared? In case you missed the game he didn’t. Throwing the ball all night to guys I’ve never heard of, Rodgers had his usual big game: 27/33, 327 yards, 4 TDs. The Falcons defense is bad and Rodgers took advantage of that fact. The Packers are now 4-0.
There isn’t much to say about the Falcons outside of they stink. They couldn’t even find the endzone until garbage time. By that point Aaron Rodgers was making funny faces for the sideline cameras. The Falcons are winless at 0-4 and if owner Arthur Blank has any brains in his head coach Dan Quinn would join Bill O’Brian in the unemployment line tomorrow. The Falcons have too much talent to be winless.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Just so you know my post next week may be delayed depending on the results of the Giants-Cowboys game. If the Cowboys lose to that sack of shit of a team, and the way things have gone they might, I'll be busy driving to Texas to kick some asses. NFL safety protocols be damned.
Let me know your thoughts on Week Four.