NFC Offensive Player of the Week numbers:
39-49 (79.6 %)
396 yards
3 TDs
2 rushing TDs
Walk-off-win! pic.twitter.com/6jcEyWUNCa— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 26, 2018
The NFL did not have a tie this past week! The closest it got was in Atlanta, where Falcons QB Matt Ryan put up 5 TDs, 0 INTs, 374 pass yards – and took the loss. Since 1950, you’ve never seen a QB put up those kinds of numbers in a losing effort until now, and it was because New Orleans QB Drew Brees decided he wanted to be like the Week 2 version of Ryan and run for TDs! Ryan had his first career game of 2 rushing TDs in a win over the Panthers, and Brees matched that by scoring ground touchdowns to force overtime and then to win in overtime. It was the first time Brees rushed for multiple touchdowns in the same game since 2009, and only the second time of Brees’ 18-year career. Spin moves work, kids.
Elsewhere – the Browns won! A lot of the credit is going to go to rookie QB Baker Mayfield, and he did play well after starter Tyrod Taylor was knocked out of the game (conveniently). But give credit to Cleveland’s defense for making New York Jets QB Sam Darnold look like the rookie out of USC that he is. That’s also to say – give Mayfield a few weeks to see if he can get Cleveland on a win streak. Or even a win on a Sunday! The Browns haven’t had one of those since December 2015. Now that would be something!
The roughing the passer penalties are gross, but that’s what the people want. Over-protect quarterbacks, even the wack ones! Never mind that quarterbacks get injured randomly (see San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo). Defending the pass is illegal now. You can’t touch quarterbacks, whether they have the ball or not, unless it is Cam Newton (and let’s not pity Newton too much, he’ll run enough guys over). And you can’t defend receivers – before, during, and after the catch point. The weather may be the best pass defense in the NFL, and we won’t see those elements until later in the season.
Teams of the Week:
MIA, BAL, TEN, KC
WAS, CHI, NO, LA
Winning units:
CLE pass defense (ILB Joe Schobert)
NO run offense (QB Drew Brees)
BAL pass offense (RB Javorius Allen)
CAR offensive line (QB Cam Newton)
NYG offensive line (QB Eli Manning)
TEN run defense (ILB Wesley Woodyard)
KC offensive line (QB Patrick Mahomes)
MIA offensive line (QB Ryan Tannehill)
BUF offensive line (QB Josh Allen)
PHI run defense (DE Derek Barnett)
WAS run offense (RB Adrian Peterson)
LA pass offense (WR Robert Woods)
CHI run defense (OLB Khalil Mack)
SEA pass rush (FS Earl Thomas)
DET pass offense (WR Marvin Jones)
PIT offensive line (QB Ben Roethlisberger)
Looking ahead to Week 4
Open Dates – Carolina, Washington:
Both teams are 2-1. The Panthers are in the toughest division in the league. Their pass defense has been stellar in two wins, but they have to show they can defend the other NFC South offenses. Washington has also done a solid job defending the pass for the most part – and they don’t play a division game until October 21.
Vikings at Los Angeles Rams: This is very simple. If Minnesota’s offensive line isn’t better, they will be the Rams’ next blowout. I do not have high hopes for this game, and Minnesota DE Everson Griffen’s concerns put Los Angeles’ offense in a spot to control the game on a short week.
Eagles at Tennessee: Philadelphia saw QB Carson Wentz get through his first start unscathed, but the key to Philadelphia’s wins has been the red zone defense. Tennessee has shown the ability to defend the run well enough, so this may be another dogfight. Backstory to this game is how former Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly coveted Tennessee QB Marcus Mariota in 2015 – but did not make it to the end of that season. Philadelphia wound up trading up in 2016 to secure Wentz instead.
Saints at New York Giants: Speaking of Matt Ryan going off in a losing effort against the Saints! Back in 2015, Eli Manning put up 6 TD passes without an INT in New Orleans – but the Saints won 52-49. In 2016, at MetLife Stadium, the Giants won a defensive battle 16-13. The two teams did not play last year. This will be the first outdoor game of the season for the Saints, and it will likely come down to New Orleans’ ability to get home on Manning. New Orleans DE Cameron Jordan has 4.0 of the Saints’ six sacks.
Ravens at Pittsburgh: The Buccaneers didn’t come through on Monday night, so it is now Baltimore’s turn to let us down in our quest to see the drama coming from the Steelers rise to a critical level. If there is a game that could give us twenty personal fouls, it is this one. However, let’s see if Pittsburgh’s ragged secondary allows Baltimore QB Joe Flacco to take his opportunity to boost his performance.
Chiefs at Denver: This is it. QB Patrick Mahomes II is not only putting up ’84 Dan Marino numbers (sophomore sensation digits!), but he is protecting the football while playing within the flow of the game. If he can do that in Denver in primetime, then Kansas City gets an obvious cushion in the AFC West. Mahomes actually started his first game against the Broncos last season in Denver, finishing with 284 pass yards but no TDs and one INT. We’re about to see how far he’s come in the same stadium to wrap up the first quarter of the season.