Things started off ugly on Thursday night in Florida but, thanks to some key matchups, the power structure at the top of the league got a bit clearer. However, I took the under in a bunch of games, and week 3 turned into the highest scoring week in NFL history. So far, it looks like the lack of pre-season has hurt defenses much more than the offense. More points is likely a good thing for the league with viewership down, but expect the good defensive groups to get better as the season goes along. I ended up going 9-6-1 overall and 8-8 against the spread with some very close ones in there. Christen went 7-8-1, bringing her to 28-19-1 and me to 33-14-1(27-20-1 Vs Spread).
Before I go any further, there just aren’t enough profanity-laced tirades to describe the Atlanta Falcons. For the second week in a row, I picked them to win. For the second week in a row, they blew a two-score lead in the 4th quarter to lose in devastating fashion. This time it was a 16-point lead that got eviscerated by 20 unanswered, 4th-quarter points by Nick Foles and the Bears (3-0). Matt Ryan and the Falcons still got the ball back with a chance to win, but he threw the most Matt Ryan of interceptions to seal it. They are lucky there are no fans in attendance because they’d be getting booed off the field. This is a team that should be 2-1 but, instead, they are 0-3. Maybe ATL owner Arthur Blank and the front office are looking at that, but they have the worst defense in the league. They brought in head coach Dan Quinn to elevate the defense but since their crushing Super Bowl loss four seasons ago (where they blew a 25-pt lead), they’ve gotten worse each season. Once again, I’m sure they’re all taking the loss much harder than I am, but it’s time to face the music. This era of Falcons football is over. This team isn’t going to win the division, they aren’t going to make the playoffs. If any team needs to embrace the Tank for Trevor mentality, it’s Atlanta. After these last two games, I don’t want to pick Atlanta ever again but I’m a glutton for punishment so no promises. Okay, rant over.
So much for the angry, chip-on-their-shoulders Ravens. The Chiefs handled them easily, 34-20, and it was never really that close. Not only did KC prove they are the superior team, but showed they are just a terrible matchup for Baltimore. The Ravens looked out of sync on both sides of the ball and would have been down 27-3 at the half, if not for a Devin Duvernay kick return touchdown. Lamar Jackson may be sick of being compared to Patrick Mahomes, but I don’t think he has to worry about it anymore after that performance. Jackson is now 0-3 against Mahomes and from where I’m sitting, it’s not much of a comparison.
The Chiefs’ quarterback casts a big shadow, especially on nights where he throws for 385-yards and scores 5-TDs, but Jackson didn’t even break 100-yards passing and got sacked four times. His 93 rushing yards look nice on paper, but Baltimore already pays a lot of talented players to run the ball. They would benefit greatly from a game script that didn’t involve so many designed QB runs and high-risk option plays, but maybe the coaching staff is trying to circumvent the passing inaccuracy. Mark Andrews dropped a would-be TD and Marquise Brown didn’t layout on a catchable deep ball, so things could have gone differently but 15/28 through the air simply isn’t good enough. There’s no question that Lamar is incredibly talented and dynamic, but he still has some work to do as a passer to get to the next level.
You may have thought my calling for Dennis Allen’s job last week was a bit much after his Saints’ defense got gutted by the Raiders last week, but it’s not looking so extreme after the Packers hung 37-points on ‘em. Green Bay has a good offense but they did that without their #1 receiver, Davante Adams. New Orleans has one of the worst scoring defenses in the league (giving up more than 31-points/game) and points will be at a premium while Michael Thomas remains sidelined. Something has to change if they really want to give Drew Brees one more shot at winning a Super Bowl.
Speaking of shaky defenses, the Seattle Seahawks improved to 3-0 with a 38-31 win over the Cowboys as Russell Wilson keeps on cooking. Hemorrhaging 400+ pass yards/game isn’t ideal but the Hawks have been playing with the lead all season. Controversy aside, my Buffalo Bills also improved to 3-0 with a win over a solid Rams team. I know the Rams aren’t happy about the pass interference call at the end of the game, but they got some favorable calls to get them back in the game when they were getting dominated. So, oh well. Rounding out the remaining unbeaten squads, the Steelers, Titans, and Bears all improved to 3-0 in tightly contested games.
The Cardinals and Raiders both came back down to earth as their undefeated seasons ended. The Kyler Murray train came to a screeching halt as he threw 3-INTs in their home loss to Detroit. They’ll be ok but that’s a game they are supposed to win, allowing Seattle to take control of the NFC West. Las Vegas didn’t look great either, but at least they lost on the road in New England which was kind of expected. The Bucs, 49ers, Colts, and Browns all did what they were supposed to and beat subpar competition to improve to 2-1.
We got our first tie of the season as the Bengals and Eagles couldn’t figure out who’s worse. Joe Burrow almost got his first pro win, but Philly managed a last-minute score to force overtime. They both stayed off the 0-3 scrap pile with the draw, but there’s plenty of teams competing to reach the bottom of the heap. The Jets and Giants have clearly established themselves as the two worst teams in the league but, to be fair, both of them are currently playing without their A-list running backs. Houston is probably the best of the bunch and has a favorable matchup against the also winless Vikings next week. Both teams were competitive in Week 3 and even held leads at one point in their games. I’m not going to watch that matchup, but somebody should walk away with one in the win column.
If there’s an argument to be made against Thursday Night Football, this is it as the (0-3)Broncos head to the (0-3)Jets to kick off Week 4. Both of these teams are decimated by injury and their seasons are almost a bust at this point. I get the feeling there’s going to be a lot of #TankforTrevor buzz surrounding this game.
Here’s the updated Sheist Power Rankings with the Chiefs reclaiming the top spot:
| 1. Chiefs 3-0 (2⬆) |
| 2. Packers 3-0 (5⬆) |
| 3. Seahawks 3-0 (4⬆) |
| 4. Bills 3-0 (8⬆) |
| 5. Steelers 3-0 (10⬆) |
| 6. Titans 3-0 (9⬆) |
| 7. Bears 3-0 (11⬆) |
| 8. Ravens 2-1 (1⬇) |
| 9. Rams 2-1 (7⬇) |
| 10. Cardinals 2-1 (3⬇) |
| 11. Patriots 2-1 (12⬆) |
| 12. Buccaneers 2-1 (13⬆) |
| 13. 49ers 2-1 (15⬆) |
| 14. Raiders 2-1 (6⬇) |
| 15. Colts 2-1 (19⬆) |
| 16. Browns 2-1 (20⬆) |
| 17. Cowboys 1-2 (14⬇) |
| 18. Saints 1-2 (16⬇) |
| 19. Panthers 1-2 (23⬆) |
| 20. Chargers 1-2 (17⬇) |
| 21. Lions 1-2 (27⬆) |
| 22. Dolphins 1-2 (30⬆) |
| 23. Washington 1-2 (21⬇) |
| 24. Jaguars 1-2 (18⬇) |
| 25. Bengals 0-2-1 (26⬆) |
| 26. Eagles 0-2-1 (25⬇) |
| 27. Texans 0-3 (22⬇) |
| 28. Falcons 0-3 (24⬇) |
| 29. Broncos 0-3 (29=) |
| 30. Vikings 0-3 (28⬇) |
| 31. Jets 0-3 (32⬆) |
| 32. Giants 0-3 (31⬇) |