NFL Recap – Week 3

NFL Recap - Week 3

Now that week 3 is all wrapped up, we’re almost a quarter of the way through the season and not a single team has emerged as “the team to beat”. There have been some consistently dominant players though, and I can only imagine they will propel their teams to the top of the standings sooner rather than later. Other than football games alone, there have been some interesting storylines:

The Browns v The Patriots

One thing I’m sure no one saw coming was that the Cleveland Browns playing better than the New England Patriots. The Browns are playing very well despite the fact they’ve got one win, one tie and one loss. If it weren’t for missed and/or botched field goals at the end of games, they could very well be 3-0. New England on the other hand has been struggling defensively all season and their last offensive outing makes me wonder if this is the end of the Brady era and the beginning of, wait for it…. the Mayfield era. He’s only played one game, but Baker Mayfield did something that none of the previous 7 Cleveland quarterbacks could do and that’s give the franchise hope for the future.

Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Fitzpatrick

Both quarterbacks continued to impress yet only Mahomes was able to walk away with a team victory. Mahomes was very impressive again throwing for 300+ yards and three more touchdowns continuing continuing his streak. Fitzpatrick also threw for three touchdowns and 400+ yards but not as efficiently as he had in the first couple of games. We all knew that with Jameis Winston coming off from his suspension, if the Buccaneers lost this third game (and they did) that Fitz’ job would be called into question. As of this moment head coach Dirk Koetter has not given any indication as to who he will start.

Le’veon Bell against the Steelers

The standoff between Bell and the Steelers is FINALLY at the point where the Steelers are accepting trade offers from other teams. The problem is Bell has decided he is going to sit out until Week 10’s deadline. If he doesn’t come back during Week 10 he won’t be eligible for a new contract with another team during the free agency period. The trade market for him is very small due to the fact that he won’t be playing for the next several weeks;who knows how valuable he will be for the last six weeks of the season? Not many teams are willing to give up valuable assets for a running back who will only be available for six weeks and may end up leaving at the end of the season anyway

HOW DO YOU SACK THE QUARTERBACK?!?!?

Through the first three weeks of this NFL season there have been a plethora of roughing the passer penalties called on defensive players, with Clay Matthews being the main culprit. There have been thirty-three roughing the passer calls compared to the nineteen through week 3 last season.  It’s got to the point where even the quarterbacks are raising eyebrows at a rule that benefits THEM! QB Ben Roethlisburger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has spoken publicly about how these calls are slowing the game down and ruining its authenticity. I agree big Ben; as a fan, I’d love to see the game played the way it was designed to be played.

Scores:

  • Browns 21 – Jets 17
  • Saints 43 – Falcons  37
  • 49ers 27 – Chiefs 38
  • Raiders 20 – Dolphins 28
  • Bills 27 – Viking 6
  • Colts 16 – Eagles 20
  • Packers 17 – Redskins 31
  • Bengals 21 – Panthers 31
  • Titans 9 – Jaguars 6 (most boring game in the history of the NFL)
  • Broncos 14 – Ravens 27
  • Giants 27 – Texans 22
  • Chargers 23 – Rams 35
  • Bears 16 – Cardinals 14
  • Cowboys 13 – Seahawks 24
  • Patriots 10 – Lions 26
  • Steelers 30 – Buccaneers 27