Jets at Browns
The Mayfield era began in this one after Tyrod went 4-14 for 19 yds and suffered a "concussion". Mayfield came in and completed 17 of 23 for 201 yds and even caught a pass on a 2 pt conversion that tied the game. Mayfield led the comeback for the Browns first win in there last 19 games, yes thats 635 days without a win! Perhaps the biggest win for Browns fans was when the game went final and refrigerators around the area stocked with Bud Light unlocked, "dilly dilly" Browns fans. Darnold continued to turn the ball over with 2 more ints, now has five in three games. The Jets opened the season with a promising win over Detroit who just beat New England but have dropped 2 in a row now to Miami and Cleveland and now travel to an angry Jags team in week 4 while the Browns who have announced Mayfield as the starter for week 4 visit the winless Raiders.
Packers at Redskins
The Redskins used a balanced attack throwing just 20 times and rushing 35 with AP leading the way with 19 carries for 120 yds and 2 tds. Washington's defense ranks in the top 10 both in rush and pass defense and they sacked Rodgers 4 times. This one was all Washington from start to finish. For the first time this year Smith targeted his Wr's more than his Rb's, Reed and Davis combined for 6 catches and 135 yds while Crowder and Richardson each grabbed tds. Aaron Rodgers definetely doesn't look like himself out there, he missed some throws he never misses and when he did put the ball in the Wr's hands they had some key drops. One of the stories of the game and in the NFL in general is the hits Clay Mathews continues to get flagged for and I have to say I agree with him that the NFL is getting soft. Two weeks in a row he has been flagged for hits that are and always have been part of football. Difference this week was it really played no part of the outcome of the game but still a tough call. Redskins have a week 4 bye and the Packers host the Bills off the huge upset.
Saints at Falcons
Offense, offense, offense. That's usually the case when these two match up. They combined for 80 pts and both Qbs threw for over 350 yds as it took o.t to decide it. Last week Ryan ran for 2 tds, this week it was Brees including a 7 yarder in which he did his best Barry Sanders impression spinning around 2 defenders. Michael Thomas now has 38 catches after grabbing 10 on Sunday, he's on pace for 202! Falcons may have found there compliment to Julio with 1st round pick Ridley snagging 3 tds, the same number as Julio had all of last season. Saints head to Met Life for a date with Big blue in a back to back road game situation while the Falcons host the Bengals for there 3rd straight home game.
Broncos at Ravens
A bad road team vs a good home team in this one. I was completely off on this one if you read my pick thread for this week (my apologies). Thought the Broncos defense would do enough to get the W here but had a dug deeper I would have seen that the Broncos have actually had two come from behind wins at home and haven't been super sharp as the 2-0 record might indicate. Flacco threw for 277 and td and didn't turn the ball over. Broncos secondary is hurting right now with Tramaine Brock injured in the 1st qtr in this game and already were missing Adam Jones. This could be really bad news as they host Mahomes and the Chiefs next Monday while the Ravens head to Pittsburgh to face division rival Steelers on a short week.
Bengals at Panthers
Two good teams here, seems like every year Carolina is overlooked. Maybe because the division they are in or something else but they won 11 games last year and might be better this year than last. Cam Newton ran for 2 tds and threw for 2 more while Carolina force fed the ball to McCaffrey and gave him a career high 28 carries for 184 yds! Panthers threw 24 passes and ran 41 times for 230 yds total, a recipe for success when you add in a good defense (4 ints and 2 sacks). Bengals lost AJ Green in the third qtr with a groin injury and missed Mixon with Bernard filling in with 61 yds on the ground and 5 catches for 25 yds. Panthers have a week 4 bye and the Bengals travel to Atlanta.
Giants at Texans
What is wrong with Houston? Have to think Obrien is on the hot seat here. Watson threw for 385 yds and 2 tds but threw a costly int in the endzone to stall a key drive. JJ Watt showed up big in this one with 3 sacks and a forced fumble but Eli completed 25 of 29 for 295 and 2 tds and most importantly no ints. Rookie Barkley had 82 yds on the ground and a td and OBJ grabbed 9 balls for 109 yds. Giants may lose TE Engram for a couple weeks with a knee injury . Giants host Saints in week 4 and the Texans will head to Indy for a must win division game with the Colts.
Titans at Jags
Zzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzz. Will the real Blake Bortles please stand up! After outplaying Brady in week 2 Bortles goes 21-34 155 yds and gets sacked 3 times. The Jags without Fournette again were unable to get anything going with just 87 yds on the ground against the 23rd ranked rush defense. The Jags defense knocked Gabbert out of the game early but Mariota came in and did enough. This game had flash backs to the great Raven teams that won these low scoring no Td games but Bortles was unable to get even one td in this one, a huge let down after the big win over New England. Jags host the Jets in there third straight home game, Titans host Wentz and the Eagles.
49ers at Chiefs
Can't say enough about first year starter Mahomes. The scrambling play which ended up being a td pass was incredible. This offense is scary good. 13 tds and 0 ints for Mahomes has to have him leading the way for MVP through 3 weeks. So many weapons with Kelce, Hill, Hunt and Watkins who do you cover or even contain? Only question mark for KC is the defense which ranks 19th vs the run and 31st vs the pass. Feel bad for the niners and Jimmy G who tore his acl and is done for the year. They lost starting RB McKinnon and now this. Also in this game the 49ers secondary was beat up losing Sherman for what looks like a couple weeks and Colbert and Moore both hurt as well. San Francisco will turn to CJ Beathard for the rest of the season as they head to LA to face the Chargers in week 4. The high powered Chiefs go to Mile high to take on division rival Denver in what will most likely be Mahomes toughest test to date.
Raiders at Dolphins
Everything started out just like Gruden and the Raiders scripted it, Jordy Nelson caught a 12 yd td pass from Carr about a minute and a half into the game and the Raiders were up 7-0 quick. Carr threw for 345 and a td but threw 2 ints. Jordy Nelson had a 6 for 173 yd and a td stat line similiar to his days in Green Bay but ultimatley a second half break down did the Raiders in. In fact the Raiders have not been trailing for any snap in the 1st 3 quarters this year! Tannehill had another solid game for the 3-0 division leading Dolphins posting a 17-23 289 yds and 3 td stat line. The Dolphins used a trick play, a pass by WR Wilson for a td to take the lead for good in this one. Miami now heads to New England where they have lost 9 straight to face the 1-2 Patriots. Raiders welcome Mayfield and the reborn Browns in what might be an entertaining game.
Bills at Vikings
The shocker of the season, the survivor pool killer. No one picked the Bills straight up in this one, ok maybe the Bills fan in your office pool but no one saw this coming. What do we make of the Vikings now? They are 1-2. Kirk Cousins is who I thought he was, a slight upgrade to Keenum but not worth the contract he signed. At one point he was 6-10 for 24 yds. Do Viking fans "Vike that?" Rookie Allen played a good game rushing for 2 tds and throwing another against a top defense. Vikings have a short week now heading to LA Thursday looking 1-3 right in the face. Buffalo will try to pull off another big upset traveling to Green Bay as 10 pt dogs this week.
Colts at Eagles
Wentz returned and opened the game with a drive that ended with a Td pass and all was right with the Eagles. The rest of the game went back and forth with former OC Reich seeming to know what the Eagles were going to do and the Colts were able to stay close the entire game. The lack of rushing attack for Indy hurt them here as they only managed 68 yds on the ground. Despite this the Indy defense which sacked Wentz 5 times gave Luck and co. a chance for the win twice in the last minute and a half but the Philly defense stood its ground and they escaped. Colts get the struggling Texans at home in week 4 and the Eagles visit the Titans off there upset of the Jags.
Chargers at Rams
The battle of LA goes to the Rams. They seem to have no weakness. They blocked a punt for a score and racked up 521 yds of offense. Goff went 29-36 for 356 3 tds and a pick. Gurley rushed for 105 yds and a td and Woods caught 10 balls for 104 yds and 2 tds. Still think the 1-2 Chargers are a playoff team. Both losses have come to possibly the 2 best teams in the league right now in the Chiefs and Rams. Melvin Gordon rushed for 80 yds and a td and Rivers threw for 2 tds against a top rated defense. Rams host the Vikings Thursday and the Chargers welcome a depleated 49er team on Sunday.
Bears at Cards
Arizona broke there first half scoring streak but may have started a new streak. After not scoring in the first half of either of the first two games Arizona jumped out quick scoring 14 pts in the 1st qtr. That would be all they could manage as the Bears rallied behind another strong defensive effort by Mack (another forced fumble) and co. Not sure I agree with the timing of throwing rookie Rosen in and the reason HC Wilks gave of "needing a spark" but time will tell I suppose. Rosen was uanble to rally the Cards for a potential game winning fg throwing 1 int and having a second one called back. In fairness to him the Bears look like a defense to be reckoned with and it was a bad spot. He will get his chance next week when the Cards host the Seahawks. Bears are home vs the Bucs off the Monday nighter.
Cowboys at Seahawks
When will Jerry Jones stop defending Jason Garrett? It's time for a change in Dallas. Yes they have injuries on the O-line and no real threat at the wide out position but they are losing games they should win. Seattle found a running game with Carson going over 100 yds and scoring once. Wilson hooked up with Lockett for a td and added another one to Brown. Seahawks defense looked better this week sacking Dak 5 times and picking him off twice. Zeke did get 127 yds on just 16 carries but game script found Dallas trailing much of the game and unable to commit to the ground game. Cowboys get the Lions at home Sunday while the Seahawks try to put back to back wins together at Arizona.
Patriots at Lions
Patricia over Belichick. Who woulda thought it? After the blowout loss on opening Monday night to the Jets the Lions played better in week 2 on the road losing by 3 at SF and notching there first win at home vs the Pats in week 3. For the second week in a row Brady was outplayed by an inferior qb. Stafford threw for 262 yds and 2 tds and the lions got there first 100 + yd rusher in Johnson since 2013. Brady threw for just 133 yds completing less than 50% of his passes. The Lions defense that gave up 48 pts to the Jets surrendered just 10 to the AFC champions. This is the first time since 2002 that the Patriots have lost back to back games by double digits. Time to panic in New England? Pats host 3-0 Miami while the Lions will head to Dallas.
Steelers at Bucs
Steelers used a great 1st half and then held on for there first win of the year. Big Ben went 30-38 353 yds and 3 tds finding Wr Brown and TE Mcdonald each for tds and JuJu added 9 catches and 116 yds. I still think Pittsburgh misses Bell with only 78 yds rushing but it appears they will trade him. Where will he end up? Imagine him in Green Bay? Fitzmagic has earned the starting job in Tampa going 2-1 in Winston's abscence while throwing for over 400 yds in all three games this year. He has the locker room and the fans love him! Did you see all the beards in the crowd last night, good for Tampa! Steelers set to host Baltimore Sunday night and the Bucs travel to Chicago.
Early week 4 predictions:
-Thursday game will be a good one. Vikings defense will show up and keep it close. Rams have secondary concerns, good rebound spot for Cousins and co.
-Lions live dog at Dallas, they have the #1 pass defense. How is Dallas even favored here? Gotta look at it deeper
-Bills win by 21 at Minny as 17 pt dog, now 10 pt dog at Green Bay vs hobbled Rodgers. Trap?
-If the Texans lose at Indy do they fire Obrien? Wouldn't doubt if this happens.
-Which Blake Bortles will show up Sunday vs the Jets? Mistake prone Darnold could have long day. Potential blow out?
-Can the Dolphins break the long stretch of losses in New England? Are the Patriots really done??? Haha, I doubt it to both those questions.
-Browns are fun to watch, can't believe i just said that. There defense is for real and now Mayfield adds a spark. Gruden 0-4?
-Monday nighter should be fun. Books will need Denver. Chiefs have worst pass defense in league but can score a ton, will Denver keep up?
Happy capping everyone. Lets kill week 4
The Mayfield era began in this one after Tyrod went 4-14 for 19 yds and suffered a "concussion". Mayfield came in and completed 17 of 23 for 201 yds and even caught a pass on a 2 pt conversion that tied the game. Mayfield led the comeback for the Browns first win in there last 19 games, yes thats 635 days without a win! Perhaps the biggest win for Browns fans was when the game went final and refrigerators around the area stocked with Bud Light unlocked, "dilly dilly" Browns fans. Darnold continued to turn the ball over with 2 more ints, now has five in three games. The Jets opened the season with a promising win over Detroit who just beat New England but have dropped 2 in a row now to Miami and Cleveland and now travel to an angry Jags team in week 4 while the Browns who have announced Mayfield as the starter for week 4 visit the winless Raiders.
Packers at Redskins
The Redskins used a balanced attack throwing just 20 times and rushing 35 with AP leading the way with 19 carries for 120 yds and 2 tds. Washington's defense ranks in the top 10 both in rush and pass defense and they sacked Rodgers 4 times. This one was all Washington from start to finish. For the first time this year Smith targeted his Wr's more than his Rb's, Reed and Davis combined for 6 catches and 135 yds while Crowder and Richardson each grabbed tds. Aaron Rodgers definetely doesn't look like himself out there, he missed some throws he never misses and when he did put the ball in the Wr's hands they had some key drops. One of the stories of the game and in the NFL in general is the hits Clay Mathews continues to get flagged for and I have to say I agree with him that the NFL is getting soft. Two weeks in a row he has been flagged for hits that are and always have been part of football. Difference this week was it really played no part of the outcome of the game but still a tough call. Redskins have a week 4 bye and the Packers host the Bills off the huge upset.
Saints at Falcons
Offense, offense, offense. That's usually the case when these two match up. They combined for 80 pts and both Qbs threw for over 350 yds as it took o.t to decide it. Last week Ryan ran for 2 tds, this week it was Brees including a 7 yarder in which he did his best Barry Sanders impression spinning around 2 defenders. Michael Thomas now has 38 catches after grabbing 10 on Sunday, he's on pace for 202! Falcons may have found there compliment to Julio with 1st round pick Ridley snagging 3 tds, the same number as Julio had all of last season. Saints head to Met Life for a date with Big blue in a back to back road game situation while the Falcons host the Bengals for there 3rd straight home game.
Broncos at Ravens
A bad road team vs a good home team in this one. I was completely off on this one if you read my pick thread for this week (my apologies). Thought the Broncos defense would do enough to get the W here but had a dug deeper I would have seen that the Broncos have actually had two come from behind wins at home and haven't been super sharp as the 2-0 record might indicate. Flacco threw for 277 and td and didn't turn the ball over. Broncos secondary is hurting right now with Tramaine Brock injured in the 1st qtr in this game and already were missing Adam Jones. This could be really bad news as they host Mahomes and the Chiefs next Monday while the Ravens head to Pittsburgh to face division rival Steelers on a short week.
Bengals at Panthers
Two good teams here, seems like every year Carolina is overlooked. Maybe because the division they are in or something else but they won 11 games last year and might be better this year than last. Cam Newton ran for 2 tds and threw for 2 more while Carolina force fed the ball to McCaffrey and gave him a career high 28 carries for 184 yds! Panthers threw 24 passes and ran 41 times for 230 yds total, a recipe for success when you add in a good defense (4 ints and 2 sacks). Bengals lost AJ Green in the third qtr with a groin injury and missed Mixon with Bernard filling in with 61 yds on the ground and 5 catches for 25 yds. Panthers have a week 4 bye and the Bengals travel to Atlanta.
Giants at Texans
What is wrong with Houston? Have to think Obrien is on the hot seat here. Watson threw for 385 yds and 2 tds but threw a costly int in the endzone to stall a key drive. JJ Watt showed up big in this one with 3 sacks and a forced fumble but Eli completed 25 of 29 for 295 and 2 tds and most importantly no ints. Rookie Barkley had 82 yds on the ground and a td and OBJ grabbed 9 balls for 109 yds. Giants may lose TE Engram for a couple weeks with a knee injury . Giants host Saints in week 4 and the Texans will head to Indy for a must win division game with the Colts.
Titans at Jags
Zzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzz. Will the real Blake Bortles please stand up! After outplaying Brady in week 2 Bortles goes 21-34 155 yds and gets sacked 3 times. The Jags without Fournette again were unable to get anything going with just 87 yds on the ground against the 23rd ranked rush defense. The Jags defense knocked Gabbert out of the game early but Mariota came in and did enough. This game had flash backs to the great Raven teams that won these low scoring no Td games but Bortles was unable to get even one td in this one, a huge let down after the big win over New England. Jags host the Jets in there third straight home game, Titans host Wentz and the Eagles.
49ers at Chiefs
Can't say enough about first year starter Mahomes. The scrambling play which ended up being a td pass was incredible. This offense is scary good. 13 tds and 0 ints for Mahomes has to have him leading the way for MVP through 3 weeks. So many weapons with Kelce, Hill, Hunt and Watkins who do you cover or even contain? Only question mark for KC is the defense which ranks 19th vs the run and 31st vs the pass. Feel bad for the niners and Jimmy G who tore his acl and is done for the year. They lost starting RB McKinnon and now this. Also in this game the 49ers secondary was beat up losing Sherman for what looks like a couple weeks and Colbert and Moore both hurt as well. San Francisco will turn to CJ Beathard for the rest of the season as they head to LA to face the Chargers in week 4. The high powered Chiefs go to Mile high to take on division rival Denver in what will most likely be Mahomes toughest test to date.
Raiders at Dolphins
Everything started out just like Gruden and the Raiders scripted it, Jordy Nelson caught a 12 yd td pass from Carr about a minute and a half into the game and the Raiders were up 7-0 quick. Carr threw for 345 and a td but threw 2 ints. Jordy Nelson had a 6 for 173 yd and a td stat line similiar to his days in Green Bay but ultimatley a second half break down did the Raiders in. In fact the Raiders have not been trailing for any snap in the 1st 3 quarters this year! Tannehill had another solid game for the 3-0 division leading Dolphins posting a 17-23 289 yds and 3 td stat line. The Dolphins used a trick play, a pass by WR Wilson for a td to take the lead for good in this one. Miami now heads to New England where they have lost 9 straight to face the 1-2 Patriots. Raiders welcome Mayfield and the reborn Browns in what might be an entertaining game.
Bills at Vikings
The shocker of the season, the survivor pool killer. No one picked the Bills straight up in this one, ok maybe the Bills fan in your office pool but no one saw this coming. What do we make of the Vikings now? They are 1-2. Kirk Cousins is who I thought he was, a slight upgrade to Keenum but not worth the contract he signed. At one point he was 6-10 for 24 yds. Do Viking fans "Vike that?" Rookie Allen played a good game rushing for 2 tds and throwing another against a top defense. Vikings have a short week now heading to LA Thursday looking 1-3 right in the face. Buffalo will try to pull off another big upset traveling to Green Bay as 10 pt dogs this week.
Colts at Eagles
Wentz returned and opened the game with a drive that ended with a Td pass and all was right with the Eagles. The rest of the game went back and forth with former OC Reich seeming to know what the Eagles were going to do and the Colts were able to stay close the entire game. The lack of rushing attack for Indy hurt them here as they only managed 68 yds on the ground. Despite this the Indy defense which sacked Wentz 5 times gave Luck and co. a chance for the win twice in the last minute and a half but the Philly defense stood its ground and they escaped. Colts get the struggling Texans at home in week 4 and the Eagles visit the Titans off there upset of the Jags.
Chargers at Rams
The battle of LA goes to the Rams. They seem to have no weakness. They blocked a punt for a score and racked up 521 yds of offense. Goff went 29-36 for 356 3 tds and a pick. Gurley rushed for 105 yds and a td and Woods caught 10 balls for 104 yds and 2 tds. Still think the 1-2 Chargers are a playoff team. Both losses have come to possibly the 2 best teams in the league right now in the Chiefs and Rams. Melvin Gordon rushed for 80 yds and a td and Rivers threw for 2 tds against a top rated defense. Rams host the Vikings Thursday and the Chargers welcome a depleated 49er team on Sunday.
Bears at Cards
Arizona broke there first half scoring streak but may have started a new streak. After not scoring in the first half of either of the first two games Arizona jumped out quick scoring 14 pts in the 1st qtr. That would be all they could manage as the Bears rallied behind another strong defensive effort by Mack (another forced fumble) and co. Not sure I agree with the timing of throwing rookie Rosen in and the reason HC Wilks gave of "needing a spark" but time will tell I suppose. Rosen was uanble to rally the Cards for a potential game winning fg throwing 1 int and having a second one called back. In fairness to him the Bears look like a defense to be reckoned with and it was a bad spot. He will get his chance next week when the Cards host the Seahawks. Bears are home vs the Bucs off the Monday nighter.
Cowboys at Seahawks
When will Jerry Jones stop defending Jason Garrett? It's time for a change in Dallas. Yes they have injuries on the O-line and no real threat at the wide out position but they are losing games they should win. Seattle found a running game with Carson going over 100 yds and scoring once. Wilson hooked up with Lockett for a td and added another one to Brown. Seahawks defense looked better this week sacking Dak 5 times and picking him off twice. Zeke did get 127 yds on just 16 carries but game script found Dallas trailing much of the game and unable to commit to the ground game. Cowboys get the Lions at home Sunday while the Seahawks try to put back to back wins together at Arizona.
Patriots at Lions
Patricia over Belichick. Who woulda thought it? After the blowout loss on opening Monday night to the Jets the Lions played better in week 2 on the road losing by 3 at SF and notching there first win at home vs the Pats in week 3. For the second week in a row Brady was outplayed by an inferior qb. Stafford threw for 262 yds and 2 tds and the lions got there first 100 + yd rusher in Johnson since 2013. Brady threw for just 133 yds completing less than 50% of his passes. The Lions defense that gave up 48 pts to the Jets surrendered just 10 to the AFC champions. This is the first time since 2002 that the Patriots have lost back to back games by double digits. Time to panic in New England? Pats host 3-0 Miami while the Lions will head to Dallas.
Steelers at Bucs
Steelers used a great 1st half and then held on for there first win of the year. Big Ben went 30-38 353 yds and 3 tds finding Wr Brown and TE Mcdonald each for tds and JuJu added 9 catches and 116 yds. I still think Pittsburgh misses Bell with only 78 yds rushing but it appears they will trade him. Where will he end up? Imagine him in Green Bay? Fitzmagic has earned the starting job in Tampa going 2-1 in Winston's abscence while throwing for over 400 yds in all three games this year. He has the locker room and the fans love him! Did you see all the beards in the crowd last night, good for Tampa! Steelers set to host Baltimore Sunday night and the Bucs travel to Chicago.
Early week 4 predictions:
-Thursday game will be a good one. Vikings defense will show up and keep it close. Rams have secondary concerns, good rebound spot for Cousins and co.
-Lions live dog at Dallas, they have the #1 pass defense. How is Dallas even favored here? Gotta look at it deeper
-Bills win by 21 at Minny as 17 pt dog, now 10 pt dog at Green Bay vs hobbled Rodgers. Trap?
-If the Texans lose at Indy do they fire Obrien? Wouldn't doubt if this happens.
-Which Blake Bortles will show up Sunday vs the Jets? Mistake prone Darnold could have long day. Potential blow out?
-Can the Dolphins break the long stretch of losses in New England? Are the Patriots really done??? Haha, I doubt it to both those questions.
-Browns are fun to watch, can't believe i just said that. There defense is for real and now Mayfield adds a spark. Gruden 0-4?
-Monday nighter should be fun. Books will need Denver. Chiefs have worst pass defense in league but can score a ton, will Denver keep up?
Happy capping everyone. Lets kill week 4
