The third Sunday of the 2021 NFL season is in the books so here are the different thoughts and opinions I have on various things I witnessed this past weekend. Nice weekend with several close games with exciting finishes. Of course there were a few beat downs as well. The best one happened on Monday night. Nick Sirianni thought it was Beat Dallas Week? You were close dumbass, it was Beat Up By Dallas Week!

Ah, nothing makes me happier than watching my Cowboys kick the ever loving shit out of the Eagles. Anyway time to move on to the action.

Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.

Beat Up By Dallas

_{Zeke Elliott tells the Birds to get the hell out of his way
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New Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni tried to impress his team and the Philly media by wearing a Beat Dallas shirt ahead of the big Monday Night showdown. HaHaHaHaHa! Way to look like a clown buddy. My Dallas Cowboys completely manhandled the Eagles in a 41-21 slaughtering. You couldn’t knock the smile off of my face this week with a shovel!

Philly was lucky the final score was that close. The refs robbed Dak Prescott of a rushing TD and Greg Zuerlein missed an extra point. Plus Dak handed them a gift TD by fumbling in the endzone. Dallas wasn’t perfect by any means yet still won handily.

The Eagles defense had absolutely no answers in stopping the Cowboys offense. The Cowboys marched up and down the field all night through the air and on the ground. Dallas scored at least one TD in every quarter. And to my heart’s delight for the second week in a row Dallas put an emphasis on the running game instead of having Dak airing out 50+ passes.

Zeke Elliott (17 rushes, 95 yards, 2 TDs) ran with fire and anger. It was his most impressive effort in the past two years. Even better Dallas is using Tony Pollard (11 rushes, 60 yards) to help keep Zeke fresh. The Cowboys have finally learned to use a two-headed attack on the ground to great success so far.

Prescott (21/26, 238 yards, 3 TDs) was sharp again and is playing great. His one mistake was fumbling the ball in the endzone early to give the Eagles a gift TD. I dropped some f-bombs so loud I think I scared the dog.

The Dallas defense is miles ahead of last season’s disaster. They still give up some yards, but at least they are making the opposition earn them. And they are creating turnovers like crazy. Dallas leads the league after three weeks with 8 forced turnovers. It’s beautiful. The Cowboys improved to 2-1 and will host the Panthers next week.

The Eagles had a stupid game plan. They decided to completely abandon the running game and engage Dallas in a shootout. When your team’s best offensive player is a running back that is a piss poor idea. The Eagles called three running plays. Three! Miles Sanders (2 rushes, 27 yards) at least made the most of his carries.

Jalen Hurts had to shoulder the entire burden on offense. Hurts (25/39, 326 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) padded his stats a bit in garbage time. He struggled most of the night. Part of his problem was the play-calling as the Eagles repeatedly called for deep passes that were rarely successful. Nick Sirianni is getting ripped all over by the media today for such a lousy job in coaching. The Eagles fell to 1-2 and host the Chiefs next week. I wonder if they will try to engage KC in a shootout? Good Luck!

Statement Game

_{Justin Herbert is quickly becoming a superstar
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The Los Angeles Chargers traveled to Kansas City and let the Chiefs know there won’t be a cake walk in the AFC West this year. The Chargers punched the Chiefs right in the mouth in a 30-24 victory.

The Chiefs were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, turning the ball over on each of their first three possessions. Los Angeles took advantage to take a 14-0 lead. The Chiefs got their shit together in the second half and came back to tie the game at 24-24 in the 4th quarter. KC had the ball with 2 minutes left with a chance to take a late lead when Patrick Mahomes threw an interception for the Chiefs 4th turnover. Justin Herbert didn’t waste his opportunity as he led the Chargers on a game-winning TD drive.

Justin Herbert (26/38, 281 yards, 4 TDs) outdueled Mahomes on his own home turf. His main target was wide receiver Mike Williams (7 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TDs), who had the best game of his career. You have to play mistake-free to win in Kansas City and the Chargers did that. The impressive win improved the Chargers record to 2-1 and they’ll host the Raiders next week in another big AFC West match up.

The Chiefs shot themselves in the foot repeatedly with four turnovers while their defense didn’t force any. Even teams as good as KC will rarely win with that deficit in turnover margin. Patrick Mahomes (27/44, 260 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) had a weak day. The Chiefs had better results on the ground as Clyde Edwards-Helaire (17 rushes, 105 yards) led a running attack that racked up 186 yards.

Head coach Andy Reid was rushed to the hospital right after the game and gave all NFL fans a scare. Luckily it turned out to only be a case of dehydration. He’ll be on the sidelines next week as he makes a return to Philadelphia with the Chiefs, who’ll try to improve their 1-2 record.

NFC Title Game Preview?

_{Tyler Higbee bulls over the Bucs into the endzone
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In a possible NFC Title Game preview, the Los Angeles Rams went toe to toe at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and walked away with a 34-24 win. The Rams offense has been rejuvenated with the addition of Matthew Stafford.

Both teams got off to slow starts on offense as the first quarter featured 5 total punts and zero points. The Rams found their mojo first and the Buccaneers were forced to chase them the rest of the game. The Rams pulled ahead 14-7 by the half and never looked back.

Matthew Stafford (27/38, 343 yards, 4 TDs) has taken to the Rams playbook quick and their offense has been explosive. DeSean Jackson (3 recepetions, 120 yards, 1 TD) is a huge downfield threat and Cooper Kupp (9 receptions, 96 yards, 2 TDs) continues to be a consistent receiver. The Rams struggled on the ground as Sony Michel only gained 67 yards on 20 carries, but head coach Sean McVay was smart not to abandon the running game as it took pressure off of Stafford. The Rams are off to a hot 3-0 start and will host the Cardinals next week in a big NFC West game.

Tom Brady (41/55, 432 yards, 1 TD) balled out against the Rams, but he had to carry the offense by himself as the Bucs only rushed for 35 yards. You know your offense had a bad day when Brady (3 rushes, 14 yards) leads the team in rushing. Ridiculous. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians often forgets about his running game and it cost the Bucs here as not many teams can compete with the Rams in a shootout right now.

The Tampa Bay defense that was so good last season is getting bombed left and right this year by opposing offenses. The book is open on how to attack them now, throw deep early and often. In all three of their games this year opposing QB’s have topped 300 passing yards and thrown at least 2 TD passes. That includes Matt Ryan. Tampa needs to fix their secondary issues in a hurry. The Bucs fell to 2-1 and will head to New England next week for a Tom Brady revenge game.

Rodger's Revenge

_{Aaron Rodgers surveys the field before dicing up the Niners defense
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It is no secret that Aaron Rodgers has held a grudge against the San Francisco 49ers ever since they decided to draft Alex Smith over him in all the way back in 2005. It hasn’t helped that 49ers usually get the better of the Packers since then either. Yet this week Rodgers got some revenge as he lead a last second scoring drive that let the Packers escape from San Francisco with a 30-28 victory.

The Packers got off to the better start, at one point taking a 17-0 lead. Yet the Niners recovered from their poor start and battled back. Late in the 4th quarter they put together a 75-yard TD drive to take a 28-27 lead. The problem was they wasted a couple of chances to bleed the clock and left 37 seconds for Aaron Rodgers to work with. Despite having no time outs left, that was enough time for Rodgers to hit a few passes to set up kicker Mason Crosby for a game-winning 51-yard FG.

The Green Bay offense has really struggled against the 49ers lately, but on Sunday night they were able to use a balanced game plan to move the ball both on the ground and in the air. Aaron Rodgers (23/33, 261 yards, 2 TDs) leaned heavily on wide receiver Davante Adams (12 receptions, 132 yards, 1 TD) to abuse the San Francisco secondary. Aaron Jones (19 rushes, 82 yards, 1 TD) was solid on the ground. The Packers defense fell apart in the second half, but Rodgers and Crosby bailed them out. The Packers improved to 2-1 and will host the struggling Steelers next week.

The Niners are normally a run-first offense, but with several running backs out with injuries they struggled big time to rush the rock. The running back committee only gained 67 yards on 21 carries. Jimmy Garoppolo (25/40, 257 yrds, 2 TDs, 1 INT) had to step up to get them back in the game, using tight end George Kittle (7 receptions, 92 yards) as his top target. It worked as San Fran took a very late lead, but the defense blew it by letting Rodgers easily hit a few key passes with only seconds remaining. The tough loss dropped the Niners to 2-1. They will host the Seahawks next week.

Around the League

_{Derek Carr shook off early mistakes and led the Raiders to victory in overtime
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Raiders 31 Dolphins 28 OT

In a wild game in Las Vegas, the Dolphins took advantage of an early turnover to take a 14-0 lead over the Raiders, but the two teams battled back and forth the rest of the way until the Raiders hit a game winning FG as time expired in overtime.

Despite a slow start, Derek Carr (26/43, 386 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) fought back to have a huge game as he spread the ball around to nine different receivers. Peyton Barber (23 rushes, 111 yards, 1 TD) provided plenty of aid on the ground. Another impressive performance by the Raiders offense that tallied nearly 500 yards of total offense. The defense however was lackluster again. They need to step their game up or the Raiders will be in shootouts all year. The Raiders improved to 3-0 and play the Chargers next week in a big Monday Night game.

The Dolphins got their foot on the Raiders throat early, but couldn’t finish them off. Filling in for an injured Tua, Jacoby Brisset (32/49, 215 yards) was lackluster in the air, but he did lead a late TD drive (and successful two point conversion) to force overtime. Miami lacks weapons on offense and the defense is not making enough plays so far this season. The Dolphins dropped to 1-2 and will host the winless Colts next week.

Bills 43 Still Nameless Football Team 21

The Washington Football Team is supposed to be built on defense, but Josh Allen wasn’t impressed. Allen (32/43, 358 yards, 4 TDs, 1 rushing TD) blew up the sky in Buffalo. Allen had been off to a slow start the first two games, yet he showed this week he is still a force to be reckoned with. Buffalo didn’t forget about the run either as the running back committee rushed for 122 yards on 33 carries. Nice balanced assault by the offense. The defense chipped in with two turnovers. Strong performance all around for Buffalo. The Bills improved to 2-1 and host the Texans next week.

The defense that carried the No-Names last year has gone M.I.A. Washington’s defense ranks in the bottom three in the league for most defensive stats. And their offense isn’t capable enough to make up the difference. Taylor Heinicke (14/24, 212 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) can only take them so far. The 1-2 No-Names travel to Atlanta next week, somebody will have to win that crapfest I guess.

Titans 25 Colts 16

The Titans took advantage of a banged up Colts squad to get a nice divisional home win. Tennessee should have ran away with this one, but three turnovers prevented them from putting up a big score. Ryan Tannehill (18/27, 197 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) looked good when he was throwing the ball to guys in Tennessee uniforms. Derrick Henry (28 rushes, 113 yards) was solid, he didn’t need to unleash the beast this week as the Titans were cruising. The Titans improved to 2-1 and get a gift next week with a road game against the Jets.

Carson Wentz (19/37, 194 yards) started despite not practicing all week and played like a guy who didn’t practice all week. Jonathan Taylor (10 rushes, 64 yards) looked good in limited opportunities, maybe he should have got more carries since he did practice. That’s a little free food for thought for head coach Frank Reich. Turnovers kept the Colts in the game yet settling for FGs in the red zone doomed Indy. The Colts fell to 0-3 and are in a freefall. They head to Miami next week.

Ravens 19 Lions 17

One week after knocking off the Chiefs, the Ravens needed a couple of miracles to escape from Detroit with a win. A 4th and 19 conversion, the refs missing a delay of game penalty, and a record-breaking FG let Baltimore steal the game.

Per usual Lamar Jackson was pretty much the whole offense for the Ravens. Jackson (16/31, 287 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) wasn’t accurate, but still made some big plays with his arm. Marquise Brown dropping three passes didn’t help. Lamar also led the team in rushing with 58 yards on 7 carries. Justin Tucker however was the hero of the day as he nailed a NFL record 66-yard FG as time expired. I think Baltimore overlooked Detroit after last week’s big win. The Ravens improved to 2-1 and head to Denver next week in an intriguing matchup.

The Lions fell behind 10-0, rallied to take a late lead and then watched in horror as a series of bad and/or unlucky plays led them to defeat. The curse of Calvin Johnson is alive and well. The defense played great until they fell asleep on that 4th and 19 play. Jared Goff (22/30, 217 yards) was solid, but he is surrounded by very little talent. The Lions battle hard each week yet haven’t been good enough to win. Detroit dropped to 0-3 and travel to Chicago next week.

Falcons 17 Giants 14

My God was this game ugly. Each team played like they didn’t want to win. Matt Ryan (27/36, 243 yards, 2 TDs) finally showed some life in the 4th quarter, putting up most of his stats then. He got little help from the running game that compiled 70 yards on 19 rushes. Head coach Arthur Smith is supposed to be an offensive guru, but so far the Falcons offense looks terrible. It was good enough this week. The Falcons moved to 1-2 and host a team from Washington with no name next week.

The Giants might have pulled this one out if their defense showed up for the 4th quarter. Atlanta scored 10 points and gained nearly half of their total offense in the final period. Daniel Jones (24/35, 266 yards) has looked O.K. this season, but he is getting little help from his teammates. Saquon Barkley (16 rushes, 51 yards, 1 TD) still doesn’t look fully recovered from last season’s horrible knee injury. Head coach Joe Judge also made a dumb move by punting from the Atlanta 39-yard line. It was 4th and three, if you don’t trust your kicker just go for it from there you idiot. He showed no confidence in his team. The Giants fell to 0-3 and head to New Orleans next week.

Cardinals 31 Jaguars 19

At one point the Jags actually held a 19-17 lead in the 3rd quarter. Amazing. Then reality returned and the Cardinals scored two TDs to ice this game.

The Cardinals got off to a slow start, but when they found their groove they ran away from Jacksonville. Kyler Murray (28/34, 316 yards, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD) continued his hot start to the season with the help of wide receivers A.J. Green (5 receptions, 112 yards) and Christian Kirk (7 receptions, 104 yards). Good thing for Arizona since the running attack only gained 91 yards on 31 rushes. The Cardinals improved to 3-0 and head to L.A. next week for a huge showdown with the Rams.

Jacksonville made it a game for a while with the help of a special teams TD, but they were doomed by 4 turnovers. Trevor Lawrence (22/34, 219 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) is still finding it tough sledding in adjusting to the NFL. He tied a NFL record by throwing at least 2 INTs in each of his first three starts. However he is in good company as he is tied with Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman. Jacksonville fell to 0-3 and travel to Cincinnati for a Thursday night game.

Bengals 24 Steelers 10

If my Dad was still alive this game might have killed him. The Bengals marched into Pittsburgh and beat the hell out of the Steelers.

Cincy finally managed to protect Joe Burrow, who wasn’t sacked the entire game. Burrow (14/18, 172 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) rewarded them with a strong game. He is showing great chemistry with his former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase (4 receptions, 65 yards, 2 TDs). Running back Joe Mixon (18 rushes, 90 yards) pounded Pittsburgh on the ground. The Cincy defense was in the Steelers backfield all day and sacked Ben Roethlisberger 4 times. Excellent showing by the Bengals on the road, who improved to 2-1 and host the Jaguars on Thursday.

The nicest thing I can say about the Steelers is they looked like garbage. Ben Roethlisberger (38/58, 318 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) is looking old, probably because he is. The rushing attack remains nowhere to be seen, the Steelers could only muster 45 yards on 15 carries. Missing superstar T.J. Watt, the defense couldn’t bring down Joe Burrow even once. Overall it was a terrible performance, especially at home. The Steelers fell to 1-2 and things won’t get easier next week with a trip to Green Bay.

Saints 28 Patriots 13

The Saints have been a Jekyll & Hyde type team early this season, either looking great or awful. They looked great in New England with a healthy beating of the Patriots.

The Saints defense forced three turnovers and stymied the Patriots offense, setting up short fields for the offense. New Orleans only needed 252 yards of offense to score 28 points, could have been more if their kicker didn’t miss two field goals. Jameis Winstson (13/21, 128 yards, 2 TDs) protected the ball and made enough plays. The Saints piled up 142 yards on the ground with Alvin Kamara (24 rushes, 89 yards) leading the way. The Saints improved to 2-1. We’ll see which team shows up when they host the Giants next week. Probably doesn’t matter, right now Jekyll or Hyde could beat the Giants.

It was an untypical sloppy performance by the Patriots, who made big errors in all three phases of the game. You know it was an awful game for the offense when Mac Jones (30/51, 270 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs) lead the team with 28 rushing yards. Woof. As if gaining only 270 yards on 51 passing plays wasn’t bad enough. The defense blew several coverages, leaving Saints wide open on the field. Belichick might vomit when he watches this film. The Patriots fell to 1-2 and have to contend with the return of Tom Brady next Sunday night.

Browns 26 Bears 6

The Bears faithful have been screaming for Chicago to start rookie Justin Fields at quarterback. Be careful what you wish for Bears fans. Fields was completely dismantled by the Browns.

Not much to say here. Fields (6/20, 68 yards) was putrid. In his defense he was running for his life the entire game. The Browns sacked him 9 times. 9! Ouch. All those sacks led the Bears to having one yard in passing offense for the game. One freaking yard. Add in their 46 rushing yards and the Bears had 47 yards in total offense. Dumpster fire. They have to do better when they host the Lions next week, right? The Bears fell to 1-2 and are a mess.

With the defense destroying the Bears, the Browns offense didn’t need to work very hard. They racked 418 total yards anyway. Baker Mayfield (19/31, 246 yards, 1 TD) was fine. The Browns ran all over Chicago for 215 yards. Easy win for Cleveland who improved to 2-1 and head to Minnesota next week.

Broncos 26 Jets 0

Even less to say about this one. The Jets are a total disaster, looking worse each week. Which I didn’t even think was possible. Zack Wilson (19/35, 160 yards, 2 INTs) has no help. The Jets fell to 0-3 and host the Titans next week.

The Broncos are now 3-0, which sounds good but their opponents are a collective 0-9 on the season. Talk about a favorable early schedule. Teddy Bridgewater (19/25, 235 yards) has looked good against terrible competition. Denver finally gets a real opponent next week when they host the Ravens.

Vikings 30 Seahawks 17

The Seahawks seem to follow the same script each week, play well in the first half and then disappear for the second. This week was no different as they fell to a desperate Vikings squad.

No Dalvin Cook? No problem for Minnesota. Running back Alexander Mattison (26 rushes, 112 yards) filled in just fine. Kirk Cousins (30/38, 323 yards, 3 TDs) was on fire, leading the Vikings to six scores on their first seven possessions. The defense did the rest by shutting out Seattle in the second half. Easily the best showing by Minnesota so far this season, who improved to 1-2. They’ll host the Browns next week.

The Seattle defense never did figure out how to stop the Vikings, who were content to bleed the clock in the second half. On offense the Seahawks got good games from Russell Wilson (23/32, 298 yards, 1 TD), Chris Carson (12 rushes, 80 yards, 1 TD) and D.K. Metcalf (6 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD) yet still only scored 17 points. That is not good. Seattle fell to 1-2 and are heading into a brutal stretch of the schedule that starts next week in San Francisco.

Well that's a wrap for Week Three. I'll be riding high all week after the Cowboys dismantling of Philadelphia, but the NFL is a week-to-week league so things can turn sour quickly. That's why you have to enjoy wins while you can.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment below.