2021-22 NFL (Week 3)

Games I saw (some of):

Bears 6-26 Browns

Look, man, I like Justin Fields but he's not gonna get anything done this season. The Bears D is pretty good, some poor tackling today but otherwise solid, but the offense is not going to win many games this year, we can blame Fields but I don't think that's very fair--this offense just isn't very good. The Browns started slow, took them a while to crack the Bears defense, but their pass rush was all over Fields and it was clear early on that the Bears weren't gonna move the ball at all. I'm in on the Browns, I think they're really good and as I'm still not terribly impressed with the Ravens, seems like the division belongs to them for now. 

Bengals 24-10 Steelers

Yeah, man, the Steelers suck. They were never in this game. Big Ben is not exactly finished but the days of him putting a team on his back are past, I'd say. The Steelers D is okay but not great and certainly not good enough to lift up this ramshackle offense. (Would they be interested in Andy Dalton? Another month or so for the Bears to realize Dalton is not gonna play for them any more) The Bengals offense is not bad, when Burrow, Mixon, Chase, Boyd and Higgins get a real o-line, they're gonna be spicy. I can see this team being pretty good by the end of the year, not a playoff team yet, but real spoiler potential down the stretch. Not the Steelers, though, they'll be in panic mode for the rest of the year. 

Bucs 24-34 Rams

The score is deceptive: I really thought the Rams were better in every way and looking back, I'm a little surprised this game was as close as it was. Brady had some great moments but the Rams pass rush got to him consistently in the 2nd half and I still have yet to be as impressed with the Bucs' D as I feel like I'm supposed to be. The Rams came to play, but are they gonna do that every week? They both still look like playoff teams to me but best vs best, I'd say the Rams are the better squad.  

Packers 30-28 Niners

Great finish! The Packers drove the ball confidently, ran whenever they wanted, and it felt like they were gonna blow out the Niners. But the Niners got a TD before halftime and another after halftime and suddenly this was a for-real game. Still felt throughout like the Packers were the better team but I really thought the Niners had pulled it out with the late TD to put them ahead. But 37 seconds is all it takes for a HOF'er like Rodgers to roll down and give his kicker the chance to win. Rodgers is still the man. Good effort from the Niners but if they'd tuned up the D a little sooner, they might've had a real shot to take this. The Packers are still really good when they bring their A game. 

The rest of the slate:

Panthers 24-9 Texans. The Texans have actually been way better than I thought so far this season, but without Tyrod Taylor, I'd say that's over and they'll drift down to the bottom. The Panthers look good, right? Not sure how good just yet, feels like the next few weeks will show us. 

WTF 21-43 Bills. Good. I was afraid the Bills were gonna sputter all season, but WTF is just what they needed. 

Ravens 19-17 Lions. (*) The Ravens are good but a little too full of themselves, right? I think the Lions are going to be a dominant 4th quarter team all year long, a lot of backdoor covers coming in Detroit. I don't see them winning games but I like the vibe they got going, already better than anything they've had in years. 

Colts 16-25 Titans. I dunno, two teams that are a coin toss every week. 

Chargers 30-24 Chiefs. The Chiefs play a dangerous game and perhaps a 2-game losing streak (remember when Mahomes was undefeated in September?) will wake them up. The Chargers are legit, man, they'd be looking seriously strong if they hadn't flagged their way out of a win against Dallas last week.

Saints 28-13 Pats. I thought the Saints were underrated coming into the season, so I'm not that shocked by this result. Looks like rookie is gonna have trouble moving the ball in New England this year; hey, like Fields, I think he'll be a lot better next year. 

Falcons 17-14 Giants. Two teams that are dying to lose every week....somebody had to win. 

Cards 31-19 Jags. (*) The Cards took their time, felt like this was a game later than it should've been. The Jags are gonna scuffle all year long. 

Jets 0-26 Broncos. Yeah. Jets, man. 

Dolphins 28-31 (OT) Raiders. The Raiders are a puzzle: look so good one week and then look like the Raiders all over again the next week. Dolphins, too, are one of those squads you just never know about. (This was probably a fun game for non-fans)

Seahawks 17-30 Vikings. The Vikings can move the ball, they can score, I figured at home they'd be the better team. Never really know about the Seahawks, they can win or lose any game any time. 

Eagles 21-41 Cowboys. Man, that Cowboy offense is legit. Not sure about the D, not sure they can play through the finish line but they'll score points and they'll hang in most every game. I think I kinda like the Eagles but they're not ready for prime time just yet, I think they'll get better throughout the season. 

(*) So with the Ravens nailing a 66-yard kick off the crossbar and the Cards coming up 2 yards short on a 68-yard attempt, can we now definitively say that 66 yards is the maximum distance a human can kick a football?