2 weeks into the season and there seem to be more questions going into week 3 than there were heading into week 1. Football is strange in that the more games you see, the less you know. Surprising results as well as unexpected results create a difficulty in predicting what may happen next. Heading into week 3 things may become even more muddled. Teams you thought were bad might beat a team you thought was good. That’s the beauty of the NFL. You just never know what is going to happen. Here is a look at the week 3 games. Take this with a grain of salt as I tend to fall victim to the recency bias of this league which has put a dent in my wallet for years and years. But I won’t stop. It is too much fun. Man I love this league. Lets get started.
Thursday Night Football – Panthers @ Texans
I love how Thursday Night football is basically like giving an addict the worst possible drug in the world, but since they’re an addict and there is nothing else to pick, they will continue to take the drug knowing full well that it will be an inferior product. This week is no different as on the surface it just smells like an ugly 22-17 game with a few missed extra points and a whole bunch of 3 and outs. Now I will say that there is definitely something exciting in this game. Christian Mccafery. This guy is electric. He is a swiss army knife of a player and may just be the single most exciting player at his position in my lifetime. But I won’t waste time on him because everyone knows his greatness. I am most interested in Sam Darnold. This guy was seeing ghosts in New York and was completely written off as a bust. But, much like the Ryan Tannehill renaissance in Tennessee, Darnold is off to an impressive start with his new team. Success in Football, more than any other sport I would argue, is a product of situation. In the case of Tannehill, it is clear that by providing him with adequate weapons, a half decent coaching staff, and a clear expectation that he does not have to do everything, he has has excelled. Darnold is in a similar situation. His support system is infinitely better than anything he ever had in New York. With a decent offensive line and a back like Mccaffery who is able to take some of the pressure off of his shoulders, Darnold is showing that he was not the issue with the Jets. I think it is so easy to write off quarterbacks because the eye test can be a liar so often. Did he look atrocious with the Jets? Absolutely. But was that him being a poor quarterback? Or was it a combination of a defence that could not stop anyone, thus forcing the offence to be in predictable throwing plays, a historically horrific coach, or perhaps playing in a market where the scrutiny is exponentially more intense than most other teams in the league. I am happy that Darnold is getting an opportunity to show why he was drafted third overall. By no means is this Panthers team a juggernaut, but if Darnold can produce the way he was expected to out of college, I can see Carolina being a playoff team that turns a lot of heads this season. I am of the belief that Darnold was a guy in a horrible situation, much like Tannehill, that is going to relish the opportunity to play for a team that is not cursed and has reported 0 ghost sightings.
Hear me now, Sam Darnold is good! This will be the Panthers first road game, and allbeit against a less than average Houston Texans team, it will be interesting to see Darnold play in a primetime game for the first time with his new team. I don’t predict this game to be very close as the Texans are going with Davis Mills (who?)… and if the Panthers are a true playoff team, they should go on the road and take care of business. I bought all the Darnold stock when it was announced he was going to be a Panther. This won’t prove one way or the other if my investment will pay dividends, but its a dam good place to start. Win this game and throw a couple TD’s. Panthers win 27-13
Colts @ Titans
Coming into the season it looked like the battle for the AFC South was going to be a battle between these two teams. It still looks very much like that as the Jags and Texans are probably going to end up being bottom 10 teams in the league. The Titans had a huge win in Seattle last week and Derrick Henry looked like his usual self again. Meanwhile the Colts fought hard against a SuperBowl hopeful LA Rams, though they ultimately fell short as Carson Wentz got hurt (duh) right at the end of the game.
If Wentz is hurt for any amount of time, I think the division is already over. Even if he isn’t hurt, I think the Titans figured something out in their win last week and will be a really tough team to play against the rest of the way. Tannehill is a really good QB on a team that doesn’t ask him to do that much. He might be the best play action QB in the league as he just seems to throw dimes when faking the hand-off. The play action for the Titans is so lethal because teams have to respect Derrick Henry. You have to stop the run first or else the Titans will just roll you. So that opens up a lot of opportunities to throw to their 2 superstar receivers. AJ Brown and Julio Jones seem like they haven’t fully shaken off the rust from the early season, but as soon as they get going this offence is going to be absolutely lethal. Meanwhile the Colts are dead in the water if Wentz is hurt as Jacob Eason (who?) is the next man up. I personally don’t think Wentz is very good anyways but he at least is capable of keeping his team in games. The Colts have an awesome O-Line and that is so key in todays NFL. Giving your QB time and creating holes for your running back is really what the game comes down to. I expect this game to be close just because division games are always close and the Colts are coming off a really close loss. The only way I see the Colts winning is by getting a few turnovers and holding a lead against the Titans. Tennessee’s offence completely relies on playing tied or with the lead. If the Colts can somehow get out to a lead, it will force the Titans to throw more than they want to in obvious passing situations. The Titans D is trash, but I don’t think the Colts offence is good enough to take advantage of that. Titans win this one. 28-14
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