The Dolphins had gotten off to a 3-0 start, and surprised some people with how well they were playing. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots were struggling, having dropped two straight games, and were trailing Miami by two games already. This was the big test for the Dolphins, and they had the chance to de facto secure the AFC East, if they managed to pull off a huge win on the road up in Foxboro, to start off 4-0.
Well, that did not happen. The Dolphins were crushed, as the Patriots really managed to just overwhelm a Miami team that suddenly looked like the struggling franchise that they were last season. For many people, myself included, they did not exactly make believers just yet. Three wins to start the season is good, but there are plenty of teams that get off to a hot start, and then fade. The Fins had the chance to really prove themselves, and instead, they were embarrassed, allowing 38 unanswered points before scoring a meaningless touchdown to essentially avoid the indignity of being shut out on top of blown out.
They were not the only Florida team that got off to a hot start that got blown out today. The Buccaneers, who had started off getting a lot of people's attention, lost on Monday Night Football, but at least rallied to make a game of it towards the end. But today, they got humiliated, losing 48-10 in Chicago to the up and coming Bears, a team that I believe is a team of the future, a team with a very bright future. I'm talking Super Bowl success, potentially. Not this season, perhaps, although that is not looking completely out of the realm of possibility. But within two or three seasons, the Bears could find themselves in the Super Bowl with this group.
Well, that did not happen. The Dolphins were crushed, as the Patriots really managed to just overwhelm a Miami team that suddenly looked like the struggling franchise that they were last season. For many people, myself included, they did not exactly make believers just yet. Three wins to start the season is good, but there are plenty of teams that get off to a hot start, and then fade. The Fins had the chance to really prove themselves, and instead, they were embarrassed, allowing 38 unanswered points before scoring a meaningless touchdown to essentially avoid the indignity of being shut out on top of blown out.
They were not the only Florida team that got off to a hot start that got blown out today. The Buccaneers, who had started off getting a lot of people's attention, lost on Monday Night Football, but at least rallied to make a game of it towards the end. But today, they got humiliated, losing 48-10 in Chicago to the up and coming Bears, a team that I believe is a team of the future, a team with a very bright future. I'm talking Super Bowl success, potentially. Not this season, perhaps, although that is not looking completely out of the realm of possibility. But within two or three seasons, the Bears could find themselves in the Super Bowl with this group.
Let's take a closer look at all of the upcoming games for week 4:
Cincinnati 37, Atlanta - What a game! These two teams went back and forth for this shootout, with both teams needing this game. The Bengals needed to stay on pace with the Ravens, as it turns out, to stay atop the AFC North. And the Falcons needed to win to keep pace with some other teams in their division, especially since the Saints had such an easy time of it against the Giants. Andy Dalton had a great game, completing 29 of 41 passes for 337 and three touchdowns, although he also had one interception. But Dalton also threw the winning touchdown pass to A.J. Green with just seven seconds left to complete a huge comeback win on the road against a tough opponent. Matt Ryan also had a great day individually, completing 29 of 39 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause. Bengals tight end Tyler Eifer sustained a serious leg injury, apparently a broken ankle, and will likely be out for the duration of the season.
Chicago 48, Tampa Bay 10 - Mitchell Trubisky had the best day of his professional career yesterday, completing 19 of 26 passes for 354 yards, and an incredible six touchdowns - easily a career high. Chicago just pounded an overwhelmed Tampa Bay squad, in a game that felt more reminiscent of the one-sided rivalry that these two teams had back in the 1980's. Da Bears stay red hot at 3-1, with only that one loss to the Packers in the season opener. The Bucs, meanwhile, have cooled off considerably following their red hot 2-0 start, having now dropped two straight games.
Green Bay 22, Buffalo 0 - This is more of what we expected from both of these teams. A week after the Bills shocked the Vikings in Minnesota, while the Packers were beaten in Washington, the two teams reverted back to their more familiar roles. Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 40 for 298 yards, and had one touchdown and one interception. But the Packers played a complete game, and the defense clearly kept Buffalo's offense in check. Josh Allen had a miserable day, completing 16 of 33 passes for 151, with two interceptions. The Pack built up a 16-0 lead by halftime, and then just seemed to sit on the lead the rest of the way, wearing out the Bills, to remain within half a game of Chicago.
Tennessee 26, Philadelphia 23 (OT) - Carson Wentz completed 33 of 50 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort. Marcus Mariota was slightly better, completing 30 of 43 pass attempts for 344 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. The Eagles looked like they were well on their way to a blowout win, taking a 17-3 lead in the second quarter. But the Titans clawed their way back, actually taking a lead in the third quarter. The game went to overtime, and that is when Tennessee eventually kicked a field goal to win it, and had the defending champions their second loss in a three game span. The champs look like they are struggling a bit right now.
Houston 37, Indianapolis 34 (OT) - Another overtime game, and another shootout. Deshaun Watson completed 29 of 42 passes for 375 yards, with two touchdowns and one pick. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck completed 40 of a staggering 62 pass attempts, amassing 464 and four touchdowns. But the Colts seemed to be fighting an uphill battle all day, having to fight to stay in this one. In overtime, the Colts managed a field goal, but that was negated with the Texans managing two field goals, the final one coming as time expired to give Houston their first win of the season, and avoiding what would have been the third tie in this still young NFL season.
Jacksonville 31, N.Y. Jets 12 - The Jets, after a huge blowout win on the road to start the season, are starting to look a lot more familiar these days. They are losing with consistency once again. This time, they were blown out by Jax, with Blake Bortles having a solid day that proved too much for the Gang Green defense, as he completed 29 of 38 passes for 388, with two touchdowns and one interception. For the Jets, Sam Darnold struggled, completing 17 of 34 passes for 167, with one touchdown. It was late in the third quarter before New York even scored anything (a field goal), and they were already down 18-0 at the time. Jax got a touchdown shortly thereafter to put the game out of reach. As Warner Wolf used to say, turn off your television sets right there.
Dallas, 26, Detroit 24 - Speaking of losing teams looking more familiar, the Lions really had a shot in this one. But in a tight game that could have gone either way, the 'Boys got a late field goal to bury Detroit, and send them back to their normal, losing ways. Dak Prescott completed 17 of 27 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit's Matthew Stafford, who signed a huge contract making him one of the league's highest paid players, completed 24 of 30 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns in a losing cause. The 'Boys are tied with Philly for second in the NFC East, and both teams trails 2-1 Washington, who had a bye this weekend.
Oakland 45, Cleveland 42 (OT) - The Browns offense had looked like one of the worst units for several seasons now, but they looked positively explosive on this day! Baker Mayfield completed 21 of 41 for 295 yards, including two touchdowns, although he also had two INT's. Nick Chubb had an incredible 105 yards on just three carries, scoring two touchdowns. Yet, despite all of this offensive production, the Raiders proved slightly better. Derek Carr completed 35 of 58 pass attempts for 437 yards, while throwing four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Several times, Oakland flirted with another loss, which would have put them at 0-4 on the year. But Carr completed a touchdown pass to Jared Cook with 30 seconds left to cap a six play, 58-yard drive. The two-point conversion tied it, and then the Raiders managed to kick a field goal late in the overtime period to clinch their first win of the season.
New England 38, Miami 7 - After starting off 3-0, the Fins were looking for some respect, and hoping to take a stranglehold on the AFC East. But the Pats scored fairly early and then scored often, taking the game completely over in the second quarter with three touchdowns that effectively put the game out of reach. Tom Brady was stellar, completing 23 of 35 passes for 274 yards for three touchdowns, although he also had two picks. Ryan Tannehill had a very subpar game, completing 11 of 20 passes for an even 100, with one interception. New England simply proved to be too much for Miami on this day.
L.A. Chargers 29, San Francisco 27 - The Chargers came from 14-0 down early to take control of this game for a while, before the Niners battled their own way back to make it very tight. In the end, thogh, the Chargers got a field goal by Caleb Stugis midway through the fourth quarter to take a two-point lead, but they were able to hang on to that for the win. Philip Rivers completed 25 of 39 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns, although he also had a pick. C.J. Beathard started in place of the injured Garoppolo, completed 23 of 37 passes for 298 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions in a losing cause. The Niners are 1-3, and fell behind Seattle to third place within the division, and now trail the Rams by three games. The Chargers, meanwhile, reach 2-2, and will wach what happened between the Broncos and the Chiefs tonight.
New Orleans 33, N.Y. Giants 18 - Sometimes, you get one team that just seems to always beat the other team. Under Eli Manning, the team that the Giants never seem to really beat are the New Orleans Saints. The game got off to a good start for the G-men, as they took a 7-0 lead when Manning tossed a two yard touchdown pass to Sterling Sheppard midway through the first quarter. But the Saints got four field goals in the second quarter, taking a 12-7 lead into halftime. In the second half, they were scoring touchdowns instead, and put the game out of reach for the hosts. Drew Brees completed 18 of 32 passes for 217 yards, while Eli Manning completed 31 of 41 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown. Alvin Kamara was a workhorse for New Orleans, picking up 134 yards on 19 carries, and he ran for three touchdowns in the second half, helping his team take over the game. The Saints now sit atop the NFC South at 3-1, while the Giants are the cellar dwellers once again in the NFC East at 1-3.
Seattle 20, Arizona 17 - Anyone else get the impression that the Cardinals are done for the season already? I have picked them to be a playoff team for the two prior seasons, and they were huge disappointments instead. So I learned my lesson, and picked them to be just awful this season and, low and behold, they are. The Cardinals are the only remaining winless team in the league. This game went about the way you might expect it to go between these two teams. It was low-scoring, and came down to the Russell Wilson completed 19 of 26 passes for 172 yards, while Josh Rosen went 15 of 27 for 180 yards and a touchdown in his first start. This game was decided with a 52-yard field goal attempt by Sebastian Janikowski that split the uprights to give the Seahawks the road win.
Seattle 20, Arizona 17 - Anyone else get the impression that the Cardinals are done for the season already? I have picked them to be a playoff team for the two prior seasons, and they were huge disappointments instead. So I learned my lesson, and picked them to be just awful this season and, low and behold, they are. The Cardinals are the only remaining winless team in the league. This game went about the way you might expect it to go between these two teams. It was low-scoring, and came down to the Russell Wilson completed 19 of 26 passes for 172 yards, while Josh Rosen went 15 of 27 for 180 yards and a touchdown in his first start. This game was decided with a 52-yard field goal attempt by Sebastian Janikowski that split the uprights to give the Seahawks the road win.
Sunday Night Football - Baltimore 26, Pittsburgh 14 - Well, the Steelers woes this season continue. Joe Flacco was hot in the first quarter, throwing two touchdowns to give the Ravens an early 14-0 lead. But the Steelers managed to tie it up by halftime. Baltimore notched four field goals in the second half and capitalized on Pittsburgh turnovers to effectively ice this game. Joe Flacco completed 28 of 42 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger completed 27 of 47 passes for 274 yards. He had one touchdown, and one costly interception in the second half. The Ravens keep pace with the Bengals to stay tied for first in the AFC North, while the Steelers remained tied with the Browns for last place.
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