Month: September 2020

Is it too early to panic? Maybe not, but the talk of benching Haskins has begun, which is insane because the kid has only started 10 games in his young NFL career, so no, he should not be benched. Well… unless something disastrous happens, then maybe we can start talking about Alex Smith taking over. Ron Rivera said right after the game that he is sticking with Haskins — which is the right thing to say after a rough game where Haskins threw 3 interceptions. This coaching staff will give Dwayne Haskins all the chances they possibly can to develop this season. However, if by season’s end, he has not shown enough signs of vast improvement, then the Quarterback position will need to be addressed yet again in the offseason.

There were a few bright spots in this game: Montez Sweat looks better and better each week. It was great seeing Kendall Fuller back on the field, and Terry McLaurin continues to be the brightest star of this offense.

We still have not established a solid running game; Antonio Gibson had some nice runs but only 9 rushing attempts. J.D. McKissic only had 5 rush attempts in this game. This is not an effective way to support a young quarterback and a suspect offensive line. The running game has got to be more consistent — I’m hoping Bryce Love gets into the mix soon and show what he has to offer. 

Look, things were looking promising early in the game until Chase Young got injured and exited the game. The team seemed to have lost some confidence without him — the defensive line did not look as dominant after his absence, and Cleveland began to run the ball more effectively. Hopefully, this injury isn’t a serious one, and Chase Young can get back soon. Hell, we have Lamar Jackson and the Ravens next Sunday. This game will be, by far, our toughest test this season.

And for the rest of the league:

49ERS 36 —GIANTS 9:

San Francisco came to this game, all banged up, and still pulled off a dominant victory. Nick Mullens was effective replacing Jimmy G. I don’t know if there is a quarterback controversy in San Francisco yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is one soon. New York is a disaster right now; nothing is working, and it seems like the Daniel Jones experiment might be coming to an end soon. 

EAGLES 23 — BENGALS 23:

Philadelphia cannot catch a break, this tie might help them at the end of the season, but they are still winless at 0-2-1 for the year. If Carson Wentz continues to struggle, there might be talk of a quarterback switch pretty soon. Cincinnati seems to have found their quarterback of the future; Joe Burrow is playing well so far this season — he threw for over 300 yards with 2 TDs and zero interceptions— pretty impressive for a rookie.

SEAHAWKS 38 — COWBOYS 31:

Russell Wilson was on fire, throwing for over 300 yards with 5 TDs and zero interceptions, setting a scoring record with the most TDs this early in the season. Dallas continues to struggle defensively, especially in their secondary, and next week’s game against Cleveland will be an interesting test for them. Can they stop Cleveland’s dynamic run game? can they contain OBJ and Landry? I think not. 

CHIEFS 34 — RAVENS 20:

This was supposed to be the most anticipated game this week, and in a way, it kinda was. Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City seem to have Baltimore’s number; Lamar Jackson has lost 3 straight games against Mahomes and the Chiefs. However, next week’s game against Cam Newton’s Patriots will be another highly anticipated matchup for Kansas City. Baltimore plays Washington next week, and it should be a fun game to watch, especially if Washington defensive front can contain Jackson. 

PACKERS 37 — SAINTS 30:

Everyone keeps pointing at Drew Bress as the problem in New Orleans, but I don’t see it this way. There seems to be a movement in sports media to establish a narrative that Brees has lost a step, which I do not see as much as they claim to see. The Saints defense had a hard time stopping Rodgers, while Brees ended up with 288 yards and 3 TDs with zero interceptions. Those are substantial numbers, and they are statistical proof that Drew Bree’s is NOT on a decline.

TITANS 31 — VIKINGS 30:

Minnesota is a complete mess right now; their defense cannot stop anyone. Their offensive line cannot protect Cousins, and now they find themselves at 0-3 for the season, which is probably the most surprising thing this early in the football year. I thought they were poised to make a playoff run this season, and climbing out this whole seems unlikely. Tennessee is undefeated and looking like the playoff team they were late last season.

BILLS 35 — RAMS 32:

This was a rollercoaster game. Buffalo was ahead 21-3 halfway through the game, and by the end of the 4th quarter, the Rams were up 32-28, but with 15 seconds left in the game, Josh Allen threw a game-ending TD to put away Sean McVay’s team. Both of these teams will be contending for their divisions this season. The Rams get an easy game next week against the Giants, and Buffalo gets a banged-up Vegas Raider team.

STEELERS 28 — TEXANS 21:

Next to the Vikings, Houston is the most disappointing team this season. They are 0-3, and it feels like poetic justice that they are actually playing Minnesota next week. I think it is time to press the panic button for both of these teams. Pittsburg is now on top of the AFC North, looking forward to their matchup against Baltimore in week 7. 

COLTS 36 — JETS 7:

The Colts seemed to have figure out the formula to minimize Phillip Rivers’ interceptions, and it looks like the AFC South divisional title will come down between Indianapolis and Tennessee. The Jets were supposed to be better than what they have shown so far, and Adam Gase’s time in NY might be coming to an end soon.

PATRIOTS 36 — RAIDERS 20:

Cam Newton was contained, but New England still had enough in their arsenal to put up 36 points on a banged-up Raiders team. Next week New England visits Patrick Mahomes, which should be an excellent game.

BEARS 30 — FALCONS 26:

Trubisky finally got benched when Chicago was down 26-10, and Nick Foles came in to put up 20 answered points to keep Chicago at 3-0 and Atlanta winless. The Falcons should be in panic mode at this time, and it doesn’t get any easier for them against Aaron Rodgers next Sunday.

DOLPHINS 31 — JAGUARS 13:

Ryan Fitzmagic looks good yet again early in the season, and Jacksonville’s struggles are proof that Nick Foles wasn’t the real issue offensively for the Jaguars. 

PANTHERS 21 — CHARGERS 16:

Carolina, without McCaffrey, managed to dominate still and put away a tough Chargers team.

LIONS 26 — CARDINALS 23:

Detroit made things tough for Kyler Murray and essentially gave Matt Patricia a life-line for another week. Can the Lions do the same to Drew Brees next Sunday? I doubt it, but I cannot wait to watch this game. 

BUCCANEERS 28 —BRONCOS 10:

Tom Brady continues to look good in Tampa Bay, and they finally got Rob Gronkowski involved significantly in their offense. Denver is a complete mess, and they have not figured out a way to contend since Payton Manning retired. Maybe it is time for John Elway to step away from football operations.

Man, does it feel good to start the 2020 NFL season with a signature victory. 

The Washington Football team was tested early, but they found a way to win. It was 17-7 at halftime, and things were looking rough for the ol’ burgundy and gold. Haskins looked shaky at times during the first half but managed to keep things steady and went into the second half more poised. The key for me was that he did not turn the ball over and made smart plays when needed. Scott Turner called a solid game in the second half, which made a difference in the final outcome. Nevertheless, the run game seems questionable still… maybe we pulled the trigger on Adrian Peterson too soon? we will see…

The defense was spectacular, especially the defensive front. Ryan Kerrigan seemed loosed and played well, becoming the all-time sack leader in team history. He seems to be at the perfect spot, surrounded by all these young talents. The pass rush overall looked furious, and it was coming from all over the place. Chase Young and Montez Sweat are a force to be reckoned with. This season is all about establishing a dominant defense that will set the pace for the future.

There is an evident and drastic difference between Jay Gruden and Ron Rivera. 

Rivera seems to command complete respect from his players. This team showed guts and swagger, which I have not seen since the Marty Schottenheimer team of 2001 and the Joe Gibbs 2.0 team.

Still feels hard to call them the Washington Football Team, but that is what they are……for now—excited about this young football team. 

Bring on Kyler Murray next week!!

• 

WFT 27 — EAGLES 17

….and for the rest of the league:

CHIEFS 34 —TEXANS 20:

Clyde Edwards-Helaire seems to be the real deal, and Kansas City and Pat Mahomes look like early SuperBowl favorites. Houston got in a hole early in the game, and they did not have enough in their arsenal to mount a comeback. Everyone will be watching what goes down with this Houston team, and Bill O’Brien’s future as the Head Coach depends on the Texans making a deep run in the playoffs.

BEARS 27 — LIONS 17:

After struggling for the first 3 quarters, Trubisky threw 3 TDs in the 4th quarter to quiet the calls for Nick Foles to replace him. Detroit had this game almost wrapped up, and for some strange reason, they decided to switch defensive schemes, which allowed Chicago to get things going offensively. These 2 teams will be fun to watch this season.

SAINTS 34 — BUCCANEERS 23:

Tom Brady did not look as bad as some of the talking heads have claimed. I watched this entire game, and there were many drops, misreads, and bad protection. Tampa Bay will be better as the season progresses. New Orleans looked good, but I’m still not sold on them. 

SEAHAWKS 38 — FALCONS 25:

Russell Wilson was on fire, throwing 4 TDs: 2 in the 1st quarter, and 2 in the 3rd quarter with zero interceptions. Atlanta could not get their best playmakers like Julio Jones or Todd Gurley involved as much, and it cost them. 

BILLS 27 — JETS 17:

Josh Allen had himself an excellent season opener throwing for 2 TDs and running for another. The Jets fell behind early — they finally got their offense going in the 3rd and 4th quarters, but it wasn’t enough. 

PACKERS 43 —VIKINGS 34:

Aaron Rodgers had himself a monster day with 4 TDs and made a subtle statement to those who think he might be in decline. Minnesota got caught napping and fell behind. The Vikings are better than what they showed in the first half of this game. 

PATRIOTS 21 — DOLPHINS 11:

Cam Newton looked renewed and inspired, and Miami did not. Although, I expect the second year for the Dolphins under Brian Flores to be more competitive than the previous season. 

RAIDERS 34 — PANTHERS 30:

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking like contenders. The entire AFC West seems to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. Carolina, without Cam Newton, seems to be a pretty dynamic team still. 

JAGUARS 27 — COLTS 20:

Gardner Minshew threw 3 TDs and seemed to have picked things up right from where he left off last season. On the other hand, Phillip Rivers did not change his ways from his days as a Charger and threw for over 300 yards and 2 interceptions. The colts need to establish a running game and limit the air game from Rivers. 

RAVENS 38 — BROWNS 6:

Lamar Jackson is, without a doubt, the most dynamic player in the NFL, and Baltimore is poised to make some noise this season. The Browns are just pathetic, and its only a matter of time until Baker Mayfield gets benched. 

CHARGERS 16 — BENGALS 13:

Tyrod Taylor was effective in his debut as a charger, and although he did not score any TDs, he did not create any costly mistakes like his predecessor would have. Cincinnati might be the surprise team this season. 

CARDINALS 24 — 49ERS 20:

Jimmy G struggled in parts of this game, and I think this season will be a referendum on him. Kyler Murray has an excellent weapon in Deandre Hopkins, and they seem to be on the same page already. 

RAMS 20 — COWBOYS 17:

Jared Goff was productive and more effective than Prescott. Dallas always gets hyped up by the media, but they are way overrated. The Rams are still an enigma, and next week they play Philly, which will be an interesting game to get a better sense of who they are. 

TITANS 16 — BRONCOS 14:

The kicking game was the storyline here, where Stephen Gostkowski missed every single field goal attempt and even an extra point, but he made the final kick of the game count, and that was all Tennesse needed to secure the win. Denver seems to be building around Drew Lock, and they might be a few pieces away from contention in the AFC West. 

STEELERS 26 — GIANTS 16:

Pittsburgh’s defense was solid, their running game was effective, and Big Ben threw 3 TDs with zero interceptions to put away the feisty Giants and spoil Joe Judge’s Head Coaching debut.