Patriots 3-24 Jets
This is the Aaron Rodgers Jets squad we thought we were getting last year! Man, they look so good in their scoring drives, Rodgers throwing darts, moving in pocket, hitting receivers on the run. And they had the running game going, the O-line looked great, and the defense did everything they needed to do. This is the scary Jets, the peak Jets. Can they keep this up? Well, they don't get to play the Pats every week, so probably not. The Pats were not good at anything, did not move the ball at all, even gave a taste test to rookie QB Maye (I had actually already turned the game off by that time, so I didn't see him), and their D stopped nothing at all. This is the Pats we thought we'd be getting this year. So, this game was peak Jets versus predictably awful Pats.
Packers 30-14 Titans
Man, call me crazy but I really liked QB Malik Willis in this game! He made the right throws, he ran when needed, he handled himself just fine against a physical defense. Throw in that his D got him a pick-6 and that was pretty much it for the Titans. The Titans are a weird team: I like their pass rush, their D-line is solid, and QB Levis is not a total disaster, he can move the ball a little, but his mistakes are crushers. I feel like the Titans will cover some spreads and by the year's end might actually win some games they're not supposed to win--I'm not saying they're good, I'm just saying they're not all the way bad. Meanwhile, the Packers are racking up W's with their backup, I'd give him another week and let QB Love get right before bringing him back. I like the Packers on both sides of the ball and I think when Love comes back, they might be really good.
Chargers 10-20 Steelers
Sludge game, but both teams had moments of offense within a sea of D-line sludgery. I like this Steelers teams more than I expected to, I guess I assumed they would have to start QB Russell Wilson (done for a while now and not at all a Steelers kinda guy) instead of QB Justin Fields (I still like his upside and he's a Buckeye, he's got some Steel in him) and that defensive injuries would eventually doom this squad. Defensive injuries may catch up to this side but they have wisely chosen Fields over Wilson (on his way to Miami....?) and that is the beginning of a good vibe in Pittsburgh. The Chargers, on the other hand....well....they're the Chargers, man. They have moments of looking awesome and then Bosa gets hurts or they fumble on 3rd down and that's that. Coach Harbaugh will make a difference but it might take a while--the fine folks of Michigan were wise to give him a second contract and it may take that kind of wisdom in LA, too.
Ravens 28-25 Cowboys
Ravens came to play. Two weeks in a row now where the Cowboys got blitzed and the game was over before they even got the sleep out of their eyes. Weird thing, though: I don't think the Cowboys suck, they've just gotten ninja-fucked back to back weeks and its putting a real dent on their record. The Ravens were in must-win mode and they blasted right out of the gate and again out of halftime. Honestly, I tuned out when the Ravens went up 28-6 in the 3rd quarter, so I missed most of the Cowboy comeback, but I don't think I missed much. The Cowboys really need to take more care in the opening drives but otherwise I think they're pretty good (one disturbing trend, though, going back to last year: DE Micha Parsons is starting to get disappeared in games, I think teams have kinda figured out how to use his aggressiveness against him and schemed him out; he's still great but he needs to figure some things out) and I think that offense will win plenty of games this season. As for the Ravens, well, they've kinda sucked so far, they needed this win, we'll see if they can keep the winning vibe.
Chiefs 22-17 Falcons
Dang, Falcons....you had so many chances to win this game.... The Chiefs are what we thought they were: Patrick Mahomes and a bunch of dudes. Hey, man, the Patriots won Super Bowls with Tom Brady and a bunch of dudes, but that was a tough way to go and as great as Mahomes is, even he is starting to look a little sideways to me. At the end of the 1st half, Mahomes had two plays in a row that made me go 'wtf was that?' So even Mahomes doesn't look as top dawg-ish as usual and that D is built to make mistakes. The story of this game was Atlanta's crumbling O-line and how long it takes QB Cousins to get the ball out. When Cousins is upright, he can be the man on this team; but the second he starts running for his life, this team is dead. The Falcons blew this game twice in the 4th quarter (and it's worth remembering that Mahomes, too, had chances to put this one away and he couldn't get 1st downs, either), nail-biting in a way, but frustrating mediocrity all around in another.
Commanders 38-33 Bengals
The Bengals offense looks good, their D does not. Likewise, with the Commanders. But the Commanders got TD's, the Bengals got FG's. That was pretty much that. QB Daniels big bust out game, love to see him keep it going. QB Burrow looked good, too, but not good enough. The two teams are probably identical--but while this is a godsend for the Commanders, it is a calamity for the Bengals.
The rest of the slate:
Giants 21-15 Browns. Man, the Browns gotta figure out what to o ith QB Watson or this season is already over.
Bears 16-21 Colts. Two Clouseau-esque squads, I'm guessing one of these teams will be pretty good by season's end....not sure which one.
Texans 7-34 Vikings. Man, Vikings came to play, Texans did not.
Eagles 15-12 Saints. I kinda wish I'd watched this one and then again maybe I'm glad I missed it. Seems like the Saints offense is now back to earth, seems like the Eagles are back to being a defense-first team, which is probably a good idea.
Broncos 26-7 Bucs. Nice win for the Broncos, but where did the Bucs go on this day?
Panthers 36-22 Raiders. Break up the Panthers! Welp, turns out QB Bryce Young is in fact responsible for all of the Panthers' awful-ness so far this season.
Dolphins 3-24 Seahawks. The Dolphins are in a bad way right now.
Niners 24-27 Rams. The Niners had this, let it get away. This Rams team is not one to sleep on, they are classic old guy Charles Bronson just waiting to get disrespected by the wrong clueless idiot.
Lions 20-13 Cards. The Lions are good but it would behoove them to actually be good every week instead of just getting by and getting lucky. The Cards have a nice offense, not so nice defense, it appears.
Jags 10-47 Bills. The Jags are sagging, the Bills are riding QB Josh Allen til his body completely breaks down (probably the right choice).
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