Week 3 is here! The week before, the NFL experienced drama and action-packed games on all ends of the spectrum. All the players and coaches began to settle into their permanent roles for the first time this year. But enough talking from me, let’s get into what went down in Week 3.
The Saints Are Just Fine Without Drew Brees
Going into their Week 3 game against the Seahawks, a lot of people (including me, a huge Saints fan) thought that New Orleans wouldn’t be able to pull it out against Seattle without star field general Drew Brees.
Wow, was I wrong.
Alvin Kamara played like a beast against the ‘Hawks. He scored 2 TDs against one of the better defenses in the NFL. Teddy Bridgewater also played very well. He played better than I expected him to (sorry, Teddy), throwing for 177 yards and two touchdown passes. I believe that if this game is any indicator, the Saints are going to be just fine without Brees. They’ll have to take care of business against some tougher opponents down the road. However, there’s too much talent on this team for much to go wrong.
Jackson vs Mahomes Lived Up to the Hype
The two quarterbacks sitting atop the AFC coming into Week 3 were the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. Everyone assumed that Mahomes would continue to work the magic he displayed in 2018, but Jackson was a bit of a surprise. Many critics were saying that his throwing ability was questionable at best. This game was action-packed. Both teams threw the ball all over the place. In the end, of course, Kansas City ended up stealing a 33-28 win after Baltimore’s comeback attempt fell just short. This game had everything you’d ever want to see in a battle of the league’s best field generals.
What’s Up with the Eagles?
The Philadelphia Eagles were, in my opinion, one of the most hyped-up teams coming into this season. Carson Wentz was fully recovered, the receiving core got a much-needed boost with the acquisition of DeSean Jackson, and yet, through the first three games of the season, Philadelphia looks…overwhelmed and outplayed. They lost to the Lions by three points on Sunday. The team managed to beat the lowly Redskins by only five. I thought this team was going to be classified as a perennial Super Bowl contender come winter. My early take on the Eagles is that it doesn’t look like that’s the case.
Rams Continue Their Dominance
The Los Angeles Rams are looking to rebound from that nightmare of a Super Bowl last year, and they got another win over the much-too-overhyped Browns on Sunday Night Football. I like the way LA played on both sides of the ball, as their defensive line made Baker Mayfield’s life a living hell most of the night, and Jared Goff delivered some very good passes through the air, and his receivers would do the rest. Even though I don’t like the Rams as a team (I’m a Saints fan), I was nonetheless impressed with their performance against Cleveland. But, if they want to take their play to yet another level, they’ll need to show that they can take on any challenger that comes their way.
There are better teams out there than the Browns, Sean McVay.
Bears Defense is Shouldering the Load
The words “Bears defense” and “elite” seem to be thrown around a lot in a sentence these days, huh.
But NOT if it’s something like, “The Bears’ defense is not elite.”
Just wanted to get that out of the way. Anyway, the Chicago defense once again carried the burden for the team, and this was evident with plenty of defensive highlights against the Redskins, such as Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix’s pick-six or Khalil Mack’s two sacks on Washington quarterback Case Keenum. The Bears walked out of FedEx Field with a 31-15 win once everything was all said and done. Yes, Mitchell Trubisky did have a very solid game and he showed some improvements, but Chicago wants to make a championship run in January, Trubisky needs to stop being carried by the defense every single game.
That’s all I’ve got for Week 3, but be sure to stay tuned to The Roundup for more NFL and sports news!
