NFL
On any given Sunday,any team can win. That was proven this weekend in the NFL. There were a few upsets and several shocking outcomes.
5 Things We Learned About Week 3 In The NFL:
#5) The Patriots are in trouble: For the first time since 2002, the New England Patriots have lost back-to-back games by double digits. The Philadelphia Eagles exposed the Patriots lack of team speed on defense in the Super Bowl last season. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit lions have followed in their footsteps. New England’s offense can’t seem to run the ball and their wide receivers have been average. WR, Josh Gordon should help the team on offense but the problem here is the defense. Bill Belichick will make adjustments but right now, they are not an elite team.
#4) Houston we have a problem: I don’t understand why coach O’Brien keeps getting a pass on his bad coaching. In a lot of media circles, he is still getting praises, why? O’Brien was 15-9 at Penn State and he has a 31-35 record as the Texans head coach. He has never had a better record than 9-7. Houston is 0-3, despite talent on both sides of the ball. It is time for Houston to terminate his contract.
#3) The Browns finally have a quarterback: Since 1999, the Browns have had over 25 quarterbacks play for their organization. Cleveland picked Baker Mayfield as the 1st pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. Mayfield came off the bench on Thursday night and led his team to a victory. Mayfield did more in two and a half quarters than previous starter, Tyrod Taylor did in two games. The former Oklahoma quarterback was 17 for 23 for 201 yards. He looked calm, poised and provided much needed energy to a stale offense. The Browns have landed a franchise quarterback, something they haven’t had since 1999. Head coach Hugh Jackson is now 2-32-1 in Cleveland.
#2) The Titans have a true leader in Marcus Mariota:
The Tennessee Titans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 9-6 on Sunday. Because of an injury, Marcus Mariota didn’t start the game but came off the bench to help the team win. Mariota didn’t have impressive stats, he was 12 for 18 for 100 yards and rushed 7 times for 57 yards. The video below shows how much the coaching staff and team loves him as the leader and love his competitiveness. When was the last time a team scored 9 points and the coach gave the quarterback a game ball? If Mariota stays healthy, the Titans should win their division.
#1) Ryan Fitzpatrick, the good, the bad, the ugly: A few NFL commentators were saying that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the MVP for the 2018 NFL Season. It was almost as if they forgot NFL history. Fitzpatrick has been on 7 teams and has a career record of 50-71. He has never made the playoffs. In 2015, the New York Jets were 9-5 going into the last game of the season. All the Jets had to do was beat a bad Buffalo Bills team and they would have made the playoffs. Fitzpatrick was 16-37, and threw 3 interceptions. Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions in the 1st half before mounting a late comeback. The Bucs lost 30-27. Fitz has been on 7 teams for a reason… He is not that good.
Bonus Coverage:
- Patrick Mahomes keeps setting records. The Kansas City Quarterback has 13 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in his first 3 games.
- Christian McCaffrey had 28 carries for 184 rushing yards in the Panthers 31-21 win over the Bengals. Carolina needs to give him the ball 20 to 25 time per game. He only had 18 carries in the first two weeks.
- The Baltimore Ravens have been in the Red Zone 12 times. They have scored all 12 times.
- The Minnesota Vikings were a 16.5 point favorite, at home, against the 0-2 Buffalo Bills. The Vikings lost 27-6.
- The Rams are 3-0. They beat the LA Chargers 35-23. In three game the Rams have scored 33,34, and 35 points. I wonder if they will score 36 points against the Vikings on Thursday night.
- The Miami Dolphins are the worst 3-0 team in the history of the NFL.
- The Raiders are 0-3, that is the good news. The bad news is… they still owe head coach, Jon Gruden, $90 million.
- Drew Brees threw for 396 yards, 3 touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the Saints 43-37 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. He should win offensive player of the week.
- Muhammad Wilkerson will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. That is a terrible loss for the Green Bay Packers.
- Jimmy Garoppolo has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. The 3 highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, Garoppolo, Matthew Stafford and David Carr have a combined record of 2-7.
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