Garden Minchew, who seems to have a huge fan base all of a sudden, lit up the Tennessee Titans last Thursday. I feel bad for Foles since he was looking good at the start of the Kansas City game just before his injury. But, maybe he will heal quick enough to get the Jaguars into the playoffs.
Mason Rudolph in Pittsburgh wasn't horrible, but his inexperience was obvious and the 49ers took advantage of that. Teddy Bridgewater showed how he was able to be a starter in Minnesota for a couple of season, before a devastating injury.
The Jets? Well, they're the Jets. They went up against Tom Brady and the Patriots and I'm sure hardly anyone gave them much of a chance to win that. Patriots backup Jarrett Stidham got in a few reps in some mop up time at the end of the game.
The New York Giants benched Eli Manning in favor of rookie Daniel Jones. Jones had a great game, leading Big Blue back over the Buccaneers and winning on a last second missed field goal by the Bucs. All the headlines are now, "Ooooh here is the next franchise quarterback of the Giants," "This is the future of New York." I was impressed by his performance, he even ran for two touchdowns. Let's not forget this is one game. The Giants were 0-2 coming into this contest and a good performance by a rookie, against a mediocre team, is not enough to start carving his bust for a spot in Canton. Let's give him a few years and see how he does. How many times have we seen a player have a great rookie season, or a few really good games, then we never hear about them again? It happens a lot. I hope the kid succeeds and I hope Eli is okay with the fact that he's older and it might be time to move on.
Results from last weeks games to watch
Minnesota pretty much manhandled Oakland the entire game. The Raiders did their best but came up way short. I'm curious if Raiders owner Mark Davis is starting to dread the 10-year contract they signed with Jon Gruden a couple years ago. I've not seen any improvement in how they play or the results of the games, they are flat and play almost confused at times. Great example of how blind one can be if they don't focus on what's really important. I hope I'm wrong, I like Gruden, but I just don't really see him being successful with the Raiders (in Oakland or Las Vegas) this time around.
Kansas City with their young superstar Pat Mahomes and Baltimore with their young superstar Lamar Jackson. I really thought this would be a game of the week and it didn't disappoint. Mahomes just did what he does and gave Jackson a lesson in flight. LeSean McCoy scored a touchdown on the ground and through the air. The tools Mahomes has at his disposal are powerful...and he's getting another back in a few weeks, when Tyreek Hill gets healthy from a collarbone injury.
New Orleans and Seattle. Teddy Bridgewater hadn't started an NFL game in a couple of years, but he came in, and in a hostile environment, and gave the Seahawks their first September loss at home under Pete Carroll. Brees will be back in a month and a half or so, and Bridgewater will have earned himself a spot for next year to be a starter somewhere.
Los Angeles Rams are a really good team. I don't think they are as good as they were last year, though. Cleveland is a good team and I think they are better than they were last year. A year ago the Browns would not have made this game as exciting as it was. Just like everyone else I was very excited about Cleveland this year, but I think I'm a bit premature. I don't think they're quite there yet, with the killer mentality of putting teams away down the stretch. Maybe they can hit that later on this year, and if they do, watch out.
Games to watch:
Philadelphia @ Green Bay. Rarely do we get a good match up on Thursday nights. But we do this week. I think the Eagles will still be a bit thrown off by their loss to the Lions last week and won't be able to hold down the Packers offense, especially with what seems like a revitalized Aaron Rodgers behind center. Also, this is the first game this season being broadcast on Amazon Prime, in addition to Fox and the NFL Network. If you have access, watch via Prime and, using the language controls, listen to "Middle Earth" option (if it's still available). The announcers are two guys that are undoubtedly very good at calling soccer games, but they are doing American football. They are good and entertaining, just a different way to listen.
Kansas City @ Detroit. Basically, we have two undefeated teams here (3-0 @ 2-0-1). Matt Stafford has shown some guts and endurance this year so far, the Lions may give the Chiefs some trouble, but I don't think enough to keep the Chiefs from winning.
New England @ Buffalo. Normally this wouldn't qualify for a "game of the week" type scenario. But both teams are 3-0, for one that's not surprising. For the other, this is a big deal. I've always kind of liked the Bills and would love to see this fall their way...but I've learned the hard way, and many times, don't bet against the Patriots.
Dallas @ New Orleans. Another great Sunday night matchup. Initially when Brees went out I appreciated that Dallas would not have to face the Saints with Brees there. But, as I stated earlier, Bridgewater has done a great job so far. With that being said, Dallas is on a tear. Yes, the first three opponents were not in the playoffs a year ago (Giants, Redskins, Dolphins) so do we really know what Dallas is made of? This will be an exciting game to watch and see if the 'boys can hold onto the momentum they have. This could also be a big game as the playoffs come around, playing away from home during the playoffs is daunting, so this could eventually affect a homefield advantage situation.
Things that happened...
Terrell Suggs, of the Cardinals, didn't get the 1 1/2 sacks he needed to surpass Jared Allen.
Frank Gore passed LaDanian Tomlinson and is now the #5 all-time scrimmage yard leader. This is impressive, and Gore is showing there is still some life in his legs.
Adrian Peterson didn't get his 37-yards he needed Monday night, well, okay, yes, he got 37-yards rushing, but -3 receiving. He also will have to wait until this Sunday against the Giants to see if he can get past Edgerrin James on the all-time scrimmage yards list.
Larry Fitzgerald did not get his 9 catches Sunday, but I'm positive he will this Sunday and he can pass up Tony Gonzalez on the all-time receptions list to #2
What to watch for this week...
Matt Bryant in Atlanta needs just 5-points to pass David Akers on the all-time points scored list.
Frank Gore needs just one touchdown to pass Lenny Moore and Antonio Gates on the all-time touchdowns list.
Terrell Suggs still needs his 1 1/2 sacks.
Adrian Peterson is hoping to get 4 scrimmage yards to get passed James.
Larry Fitzgerald needs 5 catches to pass Gonzalez.
Robbie Gould needs just 7-points to pass Norm Johnson on the all-time points scored list.
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