Quick Hits - Week Three

Brief observations about every NFL game except for the Thursday Night game and the Seahawks game.

Cincinnati 34 – Green Bay 30

This game was the craziest of week three.  The Bengals scored the first 14 points then proceeded to give up 30 consecutive points before ending the game on a 20-0 run to nip the Packers at the end.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cincinnati is only the second team in history to have a lead of at least 14-0, give up 30 or more unanswered points, then win anyway.  This outcome speaks favorably to the resilience and grit of the Cincinnati Bengals.  When the score was 30-14 late in the third quarter, they could have easily resigned themselves to losing the game, but instead they completely turned the tables on Green Bay.  This game should prove instrumental in their success down the road because they know they are a capable of winning even when the deck is stacked against them. 

Dallas 31 – St. Louis 7

Going into the season, there were some experts who considered the Rams a trendy pick to make some noise in the NFC.  Unfortunately, after getting blitzed in the first half last week and then getting completely destroyed by the Cowboys this week, the Rams will have to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to play competitive football.  St. Louis was outclassed in nearly every category by the NFC East-leading Cowboys.  Their offense couldn’t move the football consistently due to only converting one out of 14 third down opportunities and a stifling Dallas defense that sacked Sam Bradford six times and allowed only 3.5 yards per play.  Their defense didn’t perform any better as they allowed DeMarco Murray to post his first 100-yard rushing performance since September 5, 2012.  I’m sure that Dallas fans would love to figure out a way to play the Rams every week because Murray seems to run wild when he plays them. 

Tennessee 20 – San Diego 17

Could this be the game that Jake Locker takes the next step to becoming a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL?  After two game manager performances to start the season, Locker put the Titans on his back with the third best passing performance of his young career, including a game-winning 34-yard strike to Justin Hunter that culminated a 94-yard drive.  The great ending comes on the heels of the 99-yard drive that he led last week against Houston.  Locker has all of the physical tools to be successful, but the Titans were still going to win in spite of him not because of him.  Sunday provided one of those signature moments that could inspire greater confidence in the third-year pro from teammates, coaches, and fans. 

Cleveland 31 – Minnesota 27

Is there a bigger disaster in the NFL than the Minnesota Vikings?  Their number one draft pick quarterback has more question marks about him than Jim Carrey as the Riddler.  Through three games, he has completed less than 60% of his attempts and has turned the ball over seven times.  The only thing that’s keeping him the starter is the fact that Matt Cassel’s corpse is the back-up.  Their best offensive weapon, Adrian Peterson, has largely been irrelevant despite the fact that his overall numbers are respectable.  However, since the 78-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the season, Peterson is averaging less than three yards per carry.  The biggest slap in the face is that they allowed the Cleveland Browns, with a third string quarterback leading the way, to beat them on their home turf.  It should have been an easy win for the Vikings since the Browns were so sore from waving the white flag after the Trent Richardson trade.  Nevertheless, this is another example of why we play the game on the field and not on paper.  The challenge for the Vikings is to figure out how to become the sixth team in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting a season 0-3. 

New England 23 – Tampa Bay 3

My unsolicited advice for Greg Schiano is to get his real estate agent on the horn ASAP because he won’t be needing that lovely Tampa area home much longer.  Somehow, Schiano has leapfrogged Ron Rivera as the NFL head coach with the hottest seat.  The Bucs have lost eight of their last nine games.  Under Schiano’s watch, their starting quarterback has regressed to currently being the lowest rated passer in the NFL.  Making matters worse, the same horrible quarterback is rumored to be preparing a trade request prior to the trading deadline.  I don’t think Tampa will have to put in any extra phone lines to handle the call volume from general managers trying to get their hands on Freeman.  Let’s not forget that there have been reports from unnamed sources that players are grumbling about Schiano’s disciplinarian regime.  Once you start adding up all of the little fires, it all amounts to a forthcoming pink slip unless the Bucs get on a hot streak.  Maybe Schiano should call up Rivera to see about how to get that job-saving winning streak started sooner rather than later.

New Orleans 31 – Arizona 7

So much for Carson Palmer being the savior for the Arizona Cardinals.  Since a promising start to the season, Palmer has completed only 55% of his attempts over the last two weeks.  Frankly, Palmer looks a lot more like John Skelton than Kurt Warner.  Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt because Larry Fitzgerald has been slowed with a hamstring injury over the last two games, but I’m more inclined to believe that Palmer is who he is.  We are not going to suddenly see a late career spike in performance like we saw with Warner.  Fans in the desert are slowly starting to realize that their favorite team has neither a short-term nor a long-term quarterback solution on its roster.

Detroit 27 – Washington 20

It’s tough to start the season 0-3, but the Redskins have to be encouraged that things are starting to look up.  For the first time in 2013, the RGIII that was on the field actually looked like a close approximation of the RGIII that took the NFL by storm last season.  He didn’t make every throw with authority but he looks like he trusts his right leg a lot more.  Unfortunately, his best throw of the season – an apparent 57-yard touchdown to Aldrick Robinson – was overturned when the replay showed the Robinson had not maintained control all the way to the ground.  In addition to looking better throwing the football, RGIII also used his legs a bit more including a nice 21-yard scramble.  However, this positive play also had a negative result due to RGIII losing the ball as he dived forward.  Even though he was giving himself up, the officials ruled it a fumble because a quarterback can only give himself up by sliding feet-first.  These two plays were instrumental in allowing the Lions to win in our nation’s capital for the first time in franchise history as well as snap a 21-game road losing streak to the Redskins. 

Carolina 38 – New York Giants 0

The Giants should be embarrassed by this performance.  This is the kind of performance that gets people fired.  The Giants’ stat sheet looked like a train wreck mixed with a murder scene.  They cobbled together a mere 150 yards of total offense and allowed the Panthers to rack up over 400 yards of offense.  The Carolina defense left Eli Manning looking like a piñata after a kid’s birthday.  Meanwhile, Cam Newton was able to pull out his Superman celebration on a regular basis thanks to a virtuoso performance that harkened back to his rookie season.  It all added up to the most lopsided victory in Carolina franchise history as well as the worst defeat of the Tom Coughlin era.  One has to wonder if this horrific loss will finally lead to the Giants’ front office severing ties with their head coach. 

Baltimore 30 – Houston 9

The Texans shaky start to 2013 finally caught up to them in Baltimore.  There was no last minute Houdini escape to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat.  The Ravens made sure of this by putting together a throwback defensive performance as a way to honor Ray Lewis on the day he was inducted into the Baltimore Ring of Honor.  The defense never allowed Matt Schaub to get comfortable and they stymied the two-headed running game of the Texans.  Nevertheless, it took a Daryl Smith interception return for a touchdown and a Tandon Doss punt return touchdown for the Ravens to put Houston away.  In my opinion, both of these teams are flawed.  It seems pretty obvious that the reason the Ravens have taken a step back is because of a lot of new talent on defense still trying to coalesce and a lack of playmakers on offense.  It is a bigger mystery as to why the Texans are struggling so mightily.  On paper, they have all of the pieces necessary to be the best team in the AFC, but they are far from living up to expectations.  It will be interesting to see how they match up with the best team in the NFL in week four.

Miami 27 – Atlanta 23

The biggest surprise of all the 3-0 teams is the Miami Dolphins.  They have won twice on the road and have beaten two playoff teams from a year ago.  However, it is a mystery as to how the Dolphins have gotten to where they are.  They are the 22nd ranked defense and the 26th ranked offense.  In other words, they are not doing anything especially well.  The defense dominated the Browns in the opener, but it is less clear how they were able to beat the Colts and the Falcons.  With both victories coming by four points, it seems like both wins were the result of Miami making one or two plays more than the opponent.  Unless Miami significantly improves in some tangible area, I believe they will regress back to the .500 team that I thought they would be at the beginning of the year.

New York Jets 27 – Buffalo 20

After three weeks, it's pretty clear that the Jets are not as terrible as they were predicted to be this season.  The victory over Buffalo provides the exact recipe that they should follow to win a lot more games than expected.  First of all, they need to keep playing solid defense.  They frustrated E.J. Manuel all day long because they were either sacking him or collapsing the pocket.  Secondly, they need to run the football successfully.  If they can consistently do both of these things then they will be to survive the peaks and valleys of Geno Smith's rookie season.  He was mostly good Geno against the Bills after playing a truly atrocious game against the Patriots in week two.  With New England not as strong as they have been in the past and Miami a prime candidate to regress as the season continues, the Jets have a chance to make a little noise in the AFC East.

Indianapolis 27 – San Francisco 7

The 49ers are a mess right now.  Colin Kaepernick has had the two worst weeks of his career in back-to-back games.  Their head coach and star running back are arguing on the sidelines.  Their defense, which has been the standard bearer for the entire Harbaugh era, is starting to show signs of weakness.  Now the defense will have to survive for an undetermined amount of time without Aldon Smith and they might be missing Patrick Willis for the Thursday Night game with St. Louis.  This is the first true adversity that Harbaugh has faced since becoming the head coach, so it will be interesting to see how they perform on short rest against the Rams.  It is my opinion that the loser of this match-up will have zero chance of winning the division and will be one more loss away from being on life support for a wild card playoff spot.

Chicago 40 – Pittsburgh 23

The bad news for the great fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers is that the 2013 edition is terrible.  They are 28th in total offense, which includes being an unheard of 31st in rushing yards per game.  Their defense is still okay, but they are not going to remind anyone of the Steel Curtain.  Currently, they are allowing over 25 points per game, which is like playing with one arm tied behind your back when you consider the offense that they are dealing with.  The good news is that the last time they were this bad they were able to draft Ben Roethlisberger in the following draft.  Three Super Bowl appearances and two titles later, I would say that it hasn't turned out half bad.  It remains to be seen if they can find another franchise altering talent in the 2014 draft, but at least the fans can hope that the trip through the valley of mediocrity is a short one.

Denver 37 – Oakland 21

This just in from the Obvious Statements Department: the Denver Broncos are pretty darn good.  The number one overall offense and the number one scoring offense is covering for a so-so defense, but reinforcements in the form of Von Miller are on the way soon.  It's too early to tell if they are going to be able to keep it up for 16 weeks like the 2007 New England Patriots, but there doesn't seem to be any quality defense on their schedule until they host Kansas City in Week 11.  They might get slowed down by Dallas or Indianapolis in the meantime, but I don't think either team has the defensive talent to completely stop Peyton Manning.  Regardless, the Broncos are the favorites in the AFC by a wide margin.