NFL WEEk Three Recap
Week Three of the NFL season felt like a series finale of a ' 90s sitcom: so many surprises, unexpected gags, and multiple teams fought to avoid the dreaded 0-3 or 1-2 Start To The Season. One Team Wasn't Concerned About a Slump to start the Season: the “Oakland” Las Vegas Raiders, Who Moved to 3-0, powered By Quarterback Kirk Cousins, tight end Brock Bowers, and a defense playing lights out. The Only Thing Slightly More Surprising Than The Raiders is Deshaun Watson leading the Browns on a game-winning drive to deliver a Cleveland Victory Over Bryce Young as the Browns Move To 2-1 on The Season. The Vikings Sink the Bucs to 0-3 in Vikings Quarterback Kyler Murray’s Return To The Starting Spot for Minnesota. The Seahawks looked poised to take off with a 3-0 start, heavily favored over the short-handed Commanders. Instead, Washington and Marcus Mariota dropped the Seahawks to 2-1, handing Seattle Their First Loss Of The Season.
Seahawks Vs Commanders
Who Knew The Commanders had all the necessary ingredients to defeat the mighty Seahawks? They Needed All Those Ingredients to Work Once. A Sort Of Vintage Oregon Ducks Marcus Mariota performance. He Steps In For Jayden Daniels At Quarterback, with veteran chops under his helmet. While Most Backups Like To Hold Clipboards and make Mariota look good on the sidelines, they don’t deliver good play because expectations are low. Mariota played; he wanted to win, and his nine-yard rush on 3rd & 7 in the fourth quarter sealed the upset and nabbed the Commanders Their First Win Of The Season. Mariota threw for 183 Passing Yards, 19/31, Three Touchdowns, and a 110.0 passer rating, but his timely strikes downfield made the difference in the end. He delivered a 30 Yard bomb to Terry McLaurin for a Touchdown in The Third Quarter that Put The Commanders up 24-10, and Mariota in Chunks Got the Better of a Seahawks Defense that Didn’t Prepare for This Battle. Without Jayden Daniels, the Seahawks largely expected the Commanders to roll over and secure the victory over Seattle.
Sam Darnold, in his first game back from injury, put up big numbers in the passing game: 31/35, 70% Completion Percentage, for 379 Passing Yards, four Touchdown But His Two Picks Proved The crucial Difference, One In the Third Quarter Hauled InBy Rookie linebacker Sonny Styles That Became Mariota’s 30 Yard Master Peice and the Other In the Fourth The Commanders’s Llnebacker Kain Medrano Jumped The Route On And Retruned For A touchdown and An 33-24 lead The Seahawks Could Not Over Come Late. The Commanders Defense Performed well To Nullifying The Seahawks Run Game Nust 44 Yards On The Ground, -0.45 EPA Per Rush For Seattle, Fircing Sam Darnold To Carry The Offense, Which Darnold But Also Forced A few Costly Errors. Seattle generated 443 Yards Of Offense, 6.9 Yards Per Play, and 25 First Downs, but still lost. Jaxson Smith-Njigba caught 10 of his 13 targets for 128 Receiving Yards, along with two touchdowns in his third game. Few Teams Survive the dreaded Two-Touchdown Game from JSN, yet the Commanders, who have fallen short of two upsets to start the season, get one on Sunday.
49ers Vs Cardinals
For the Niners, three opponents suited up, and Three Opponents went down. The NFC West Cardinals Gave The Hobbled Niners their greatest Challenge, but in the End the Niners outlasted the Cardinals 36-30 on the power of Brock Purdy: 15/27 for 297 Yards, Four Touchdowns, and a Passer Rating Of 133.8. The Niners Scored Five Touchdowns in Back-to-Back Games After Hitting the Dolphins with five straight touchdowns in Week Two. The Niners scored a quick two touchdowns to start this matchup as Deebo Samuel Took A Pitch Pass from Mike Evans and ran 82 Yards For A Rushing Score To Put San Fran up early. The Niners Second Touchdown Came
in The Second Quarter. This time, Mike Evans kept the Ball Along the Boundary of the end Zone For The Touchdown To Put The Niners up 14-0. Evans Would Later Leave the Game with a Rib Injury, but San Fran needed him the rest of the way. Purdy needed just 15 Completions To Notch nearly 300 passing yards; he also added 34 on the ground, and the Niners generated 437 Yards Of Offense. Tight End George Kittle Lead The Receiving Effort with Six Catches For 82 Receiving yards Offense Got Off To a Slow Start, Started To Rev up Down 23-6 In The Second Half, Made a Game Of The Matchup with a Fourth Quarter Touchdown To Pull Within Three Points 23-20 on A One Yard Touchdown Catch by Running Back Jeremiyah Love. Love had a big game: 21 Carries For 90 Rushing Yards (4.3 Yards per Carry), five Catches For 19 Receiving Yards, and one touchdown. Cardinals Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Spent Most Of The Afternoon locked in on his favorite target, Michael Wilson: 17 targets, 11 Catches, and 89 Receiving Yards. I Couldn’t Help But Wonder As The Cardinals Needed Something On Defense As Brock Purdy Ran Through Their Second, A Christian Shock Off Tacklers and George Kittle Outmaneuver The Cardinals Secondary How Much More Of A Difference Someone Like Avrell Reese, A Caleb Downs Or Even A Linebacker Like Sonny styles Who Nabbed an Interception against The Seahawk on Sunday and Generated 90.9 Pff Grade Would Make on The Cardinals defense instead Of Love On Offense—the Cardinals Not one Sack On Brock Purdy and Barely Any Pressure, No Turnovers. Few teams have gotten less from their defense than the Arizona Cardinals this Season. Mike Lafleur’s offense drops back to pass most of the time, so a high-ticket running back always Seems Unnecessary On Sundays. Jacoby Brissett: 38/52, 280 Passing Yards, Two Touchdowns, two sacks, and a 98.2 Passer Rating. The Cardinals offense Looked Far Better than in Week Two Against The Seahawks, but a Slow Start Doomed a Great Effort.
Lions Vs Jets
The Detroit Lions offense proved that 30 points in the NFL can net a win against a team that didn’t feature Josh Allen as their starter, as the Lions downed the Jets in Detroit 31-24. A Week after The Bills Mostly Contained The Lions Run Game Jahmyr Gibbs Absolutely Exploded Against The Jets Register Three Touchdowns Total Two On The Ground and One Through The Air and Came Up Two Yards Short Of Leading Detroit In Both Rushing 99 yards On The Ground and Receiving 65 Yards, Detroit Isaac Tesla Had 66 Receiving Yards To Lead The Team. The Lions offense struggled early against this Jets defense, quietly one of the best in the league, especially against the pass, as Detroit trailed 10-7 at halftime. A Second-Quarter Red-Zone Connection with Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on a Quick Fade Route Puts the Lions up 10-7. In the Third Quarter, Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs get going as Detroit Weaves Together a 7-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Goff connects with Tight end Sam LaPorta for a big 28 Yard Gain That Helps Detroit flip field position. After two more plays, Jahmyr Gibbs got Detroit Into The End Zone On The Ground With a 17 Yard Rushing touchdown as Detroit attempted to create some separation up 17-7, But The Jets and Geno Smith wouldn’t Go Away Easily. The Lions ExpExpanded Their Lead to-10 To to start the fourth quarter ashmyr Gibbs Cascashed in one of Detroit's four red-zone touchdowns, and theons Scored On Five Total red zonzonesmith racked Up 321 Passing Yards Against the Detroit Defense, The Only Fault Of The Jets Offense The Play Calling Took too Long To Commit To The Pass Trying To Force The Run Game With Breece Hall. The Offense Firmly In The Hands Of Geno Smith he Delivered Two Straight Touchdown Drives In The Fourth the First Drive The jets Needed 9 Plays, 80 Yards A Massive 43 Yards Catch and Run By Rookie Tight End Kenton Sadiq Put The Jets In The Red Zone And Smith Later Connects With his Other Tight End Jeremy Ruckert For A Four Yard score But the Jets Miss The Two Point Conversion Attempt. After the Jets' Defense Gets a Stop by stuffing Jahmyr Gibbs on fourth and one, the Jets take over on fourth down. Geno Smith again drives the Jets offense into the end zone. In 8 Plays For 53 yards, he connects with wide receiver Garrett Wilson For A spectacular 23 Yard Touchdown along the red zone sideline. The Jets tied the game in the fourth quarter with a two-point conversion catch by Sterling Shepard, and They Tightened Their Grip on Momentum.
The Lions offense responded with a big play from receiver Isaac Tesla On A 49 Yard Catch-and-run that set Detroit Up In The Red zone. Two Plays Later, Jahmyr Gibbs punched in a six-yard catch-and-run that put the Lions up 31-24. The Jets Would Mount one More Drive, with Geno Smith staying red-hot all the way inside the Lions' 30 Yard Line. Geno Smith suffered a sack, and the Lions recovered a fumble, ending the Jets' upset bid as Detroit scored a Crucial Win. Jared Goff threw for 269 Yards (25/32, 122.5 passer rating), but for the second week in a row, he got overshadowed by an opposing quarterback; Goff threw one pass at the 20 Yard line or Better, but Otherwise Dominated between The Lines and in The Short Range. The Jets defense broke up a few passing attempts by Detroit That Really Kept The Lions From Running Away With This Game Early.
Detroit's defense closed out the Game, but got carved up late. Smith Had Very Little Problem Connecting On 31/37 passes, +21.1 Completion Percentage over expected, and Three Touchdowns, Completing All five of his passes of 20 Air Yards Or Better. Smith also ate Five Sacks, and his run support never showed up: just 3.1 yards on the ground for the Jets.
Bills Vs Chargers
Fans Of The Buffalo Bills (And Football Itself) Will memorialize Their Team's Week Two, Thursday Night Beatdown of the Lions For A few reasons: for one, Josh Allen erupted for five touchdowns; he’s eclipsed all The Other Names For The Quarterback Best Football Player On The Planet. The New “Highmark Stadium,” a name that still surprises me every time I see it pop, opened its gates to the football world. The Bills Dropped 34 First Downs and 5 Of 5 In The Red Zone Just Absurd Numbers. Covered beneath all of that, the Bills have a bottom-third-of-the-league defense: 28th in EPA per play allowed, 26th in ESPN FPI Efficiency, 30th in drop-back success Rate Allowed. once Jared Goff Leaned Forward With The Bills Offense Soundly In Control Of The Game Goff delivered Blow After Blow To The Bills, Not Enough Blows To Keep Up With Allen Or To Shake Off The Pressures and Sacks He Took But Enough To Lay A “blue Print” Or A “Dirt Road” To Attacking The Mean Machine and Give Opposing Teams A Shot At Beating The Bills. Few Quarterbacks Need To See The Buffalo Defense More than Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel’s Offense.
The Highmark Magic looked faded early in the Bills-Chargers contest, more than a week after Josh Allen’s Five-Touchdown Wizardry in Week Two. James Cook Loses A Fumble On The First Play Of The Game And Sets The Tone for Much Of The Bills' Early Offensive Efforts. Heading into the fourth quarter against the 0-2 Chargers, the Bills led by ten. The Bills led 27 -17 at halftime in Week Two, as the offense struggled with turnovers: five total, three fumbles, and Two Interceptions. The offense struggled with Penalties and Protection, yet Josh Allen Kept Grinding, Showcasing How the Bills Can Win When They Execute at a High Level or Play Against the grain with the force of football opposing them. The Bills' first two offensive drives of the second half both ended with a fumble: a sack-fumble in the fourth quarter and a punch-out fumble on Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid on a 24 Yard Catch-and-run. Josh Allen still found a few Amazing Moments in the Fourth Quarter: Facing Fourth and Seven with pass rushers surrounding him, Allen Flips the Ball from a Collapsing Pocket into the Hands of His Running Back, Taron Johnson, Who Converts A First Down And Nearly Carries The Ball Into The End Zone Before A Holding Penalty Negates The Score. Allen drives the Bills Offense Into The Red Zone against A Chargers Defense At Peak Performance. The Chargers and Justin Herbert Fail To Capitalize On The Bills' carelessness. The Bills take off scoring back-to-back touchdowns to close the fourth quarter, escaping a potential upset, 24-16. Almost A Night And Day performance For The Bills Compared To week Two Buffalo’s First Four Drives Featured Three Turnovers and A Punt After Scoring Touchdowns after Scoring Four Touchdowns Straight To Beat The Lions But The Bills Prove They Can Win In A Multitude Of Ways In Week Three They Weathered The Storm of Their Own Offenses Futility. With Some Unfortunate Play By Justin Herbert That Bailed The Bills Out Of A pit, the Bills pulled away late. The Chargers Offense Did Not Look Good Again This Week. The Blocking up Front Should Have Improved with the Return of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater at Tackle, but the Chargers Still Gave up Double-Figure Pressures. The Chargers Offensive Skill Set Players Cant Create Separation Down Field Forcing Herbert To Make Tough Decision His Arm Talent Looms Diminished Because He Cant Blast Down Walls With Powerful Downfield Throws That zip Pass Defenders. Mike McDaniels Wants To Get The Chargers' run game going with Omarion Hampton: 15 Carries For 56 Rushing Yards, 3.7 Yards Per Carry.
The Bills' offense rushed for 176 Yards. James Cook shook off his early fumble and racked up 154 Yards On The Ground. Josh Allen threw for 204 yards on 16/26 passes and posted a 54.0 passer rating; in any other reality, he’d lose, but the Bills Close With The Win.
Patriots Vs Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars entered Week Three Looking To Rebound After The Broncos broke up the Team’s Momentum In Week Two, But The Patriots' Top-Five Defense Came into Week Three with a Mean Streak Against Passer-and-Pass-Heavy Offenses. The Jags Stuck with Their Guns, living a dying day on Trevor Lawrence’s Arm Talent After Scoring just 13 Points against the Jags' eruption for 35 Points On Offense. The Patriots waved the white flag midway through the fourth quarter as Drake Maye stood helplessly while Trevor Lawrence And The Jags made their way to the Win. Drake Maye Entered Week Three Looking To Start A Breakout Campaign, perhaps regain some of his MVP form, or even his 3rd-overall pick form; instead, he stayed in bad form, adding another two interceptions to his seven total for The Season. The Patriots' stout defense could provide little support as Lawrence and the Jags' offense made easy work of the Patriots' secondary. The score: five touchdowns total. Trevor Lawrence: 19/29, 182 Passing Yards, three Touchdowns, one interception in the second quarter. Not much yardage, thanks to short-field situations and the Jags' run game getting involved. Lawrence made several Impressive Red-Zone Plays, including a Ten-Yard Strike to Jakobi Meyers, who Eluded Tacklers To Score The Jags' Second Touchdown And Put Jacksonville up 14-3 in the first half. Even with a Two-Score Lead, the Jags never appeared in complete control of the game. In football, a two-score lead can evaporate or expand in a blink of an eye, and Neither Offense Looked Elite, but the Patriots Offense Never Found a Rhythm. Lawrence And The Jags poured in two touchdowns in the third quarter, starting with an impressive grab from breakout wide receiver Parker Washington, who hauled in a 17 Yard Strike Going To The Ground into the end zone. The Patriots didn't have enough pass rush, Ball Control, or coverage to handle the Jags. Patriots Cornerback Marcus Jones recorded an interception, but his quarterback turned the ball over three times; one pick can't swing A Game Into New England's favor. Drake Maye threw for 14/25, 199 passing yards, and a 48.6 passer rating before the Patriots staff pulled him from the game after two picks and concerns about injury or further damage to his confidence. Maye’s fumble happened in the first quarter as the ball slipped out of his hands, and the Jags Recovered and scored the First Touchdown of The Game.
