Tag: NFL Week 3

Should the Cardinals Sign Pro-Bowl S Earl Thomas?

Following the Cardinals’ 23-26 loss to the Detroit Lions and glaring needs at safety, should the Cardinals bite the bullet and sign Pro-Bowl safety Earl Thomas?

The Arizona Cardinals experienced one of their more gut-wrenching losses in recent memory to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, falling 23-26. The team has lost to worse teams before, but this one felt different for both the Cardinals and their fans. This team is full of talent and potential, but can’t seem to reach it.

Part of Sunday’s disappointing loss came as a result of a very thin secondary for the Cardinals. By the time Detroit was at midfield in their game-winning drive, the Cardinals had backup safeties to their backups playing. The result was Marvin Jones breaking a tackle to move Detroit into field-goal range.

The incredible Budda Baker played through a thumb injury that requires surgery, but his availability in the future is uncertain. He will have surgery this week.

Baker’s plans are to only miss next week’s game against Carolina, but that is far from a certainty. He could end up missing a few weeks. This injury unfortunately pairs with the injuries to safeties Jalen Thompson, who is on injured reserve with an ankle injury, and Chris Banjo, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

So, what can the Cardinals do to add talent to their safety room? Many fans have expressed their desires to sign former Cardinal Tony Jefferson, though he does not appear ready to return to football as he recovers from a season-ending knee injury in 2019.

The obvious most talented option left for Arizona is none other than seven-time Pro-Bowler Earl Thomas III. After being an anchor in Seattle’s legendary Legion of Boom, Thomas signed with the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal. He was a large part of Baltimore’s stout 2019 defense. Thomas was released by Baltimore before the start of the season.

A seven-time Pro-Bowl and three-time First-Team All-Pro safety doesn’t get released in training camp very often. Thomas allegedly got into a fight with a teammate that led to him throwing a punch. This came months after he reportedly got into a scuffle with DT Brandon Williams after their loss to Cleveland. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has also reported Thomas missing or being late to some team meetings in his one-year stint with Baltimore.

Arizona would have to believe Thomas can prevent these type of incidents from occurring again for them to have any interest. There is certainly a risk in bringing a player into a locker room with that recent track record, but the payout if all works out is an All-Pro safety to bolster the secondary.

Budda Baker has settled in nicely in his role at free safety, which is the same role occupied by Thomas. While Baker has shown his positional versatility on the field, Thomas is usually locked into free safety. That becomes an issue when Baker returns, unless Vance Joseph wants to have Baker roam the field.

The bottom line is, Earl Thomas is a great player who makes the Arizona Cardinals better in the secondary. However, his release from Baltimore likely deters Steve Keim from bringing in the former All-Pro.

Depending on the status of Baker’s thumb surgery, Arizona would be better off adding one of the other free agent safeties given the hopeful short term injuries to their two starting safeties. Thomas may be a great player, but Arizona made Baker the highest-paid safety in the NFL. They rightfully believe in him.

Other free agent safeties include Tony Jefferson, Haha Clinton-Dix, Eric Reid and Demarius Randall. It would be a surprise if Arizona didn’t look into at least one of these options before Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

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Browns snap counts from Week 3: All hands on deck at cornerback

Five CBs played at least 22 snaps in the win over Washington

A quick look at the Cleveland Browns snaps counts from the Week 3 win over the Washington Football team shows a secondary in injury-related disarray and a stable, dominating offensive line.

The teams each ran 62 actual plays on offense, though the snap counts are elevated by kneel-downs that inflate the Washington total to 65 and Cleveland’s to 63.

Thanks to injuries, both before and during the game, six different cornerbacks took the field. That includes undrafted rookie A.J. Green, who made his NFL debut by playing exactly one snap on defense. The other five who played all logged at least 22 snaps.

The breakdown at CB:

  • Terrance Mitchell – 65
  • Kevin Johnson – 38 in his Browns debut
  • Tavierre Thomas – 30
  • Denzel Ward – 29
  • M.J. Stewart – 22
  • Green – 1

The RB workload continues to be fairly straightforward. Nick Chubb played 34 snaps while Kareem Hunt saw the field for 29. They did not play a single snap on the field together. FB Andy Janovich, who caught his first pass as a Brown on Sunday, played 17 reps.

Rookie tight end Harrison Bryant was on the field for 40 snaps, with Austin Hooper playing 54 of the 63. That speaks to the volume of two-TE sets in Kevin Stefanski’s offense. Bryant caught his first career TD in the game. Bryant logged more snaps as the No. 2 TE than third wideout KhaDarel Hodge (35) played. No. 3 TE Stephen Carlson also out-repped No. 4 WR JoJo Natson, six to four.

Cleveland’s starting offensive line played all 63 snaps together, joined by Baker Mayfield at QB as the only offensive players to log every rep. On defense, safeties Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo played all 65, as did Mitchell at CB,

By the numbers: Breaking down the key stats and figures from the Browns Week 3 win

By the numbers: Breaking down the key stats and figures from the Browns Week 3 win

The most important numbers are 34 and 20, the points on the scoreboard posted by the Cleveland Browns and Washington Football Team on Sunday. A lot of other numbers, stats and figures help explain how the two teams arrived at the final score in FirstEnergy Stadium.

0 – INTs thrown by Baker Mayfield, his first clean slate in eight games

2 – sacks from Myles Garrett

2 – made Cody Parkey field goals, on two attempts

3 – 3-and-out-possessions by the Browns offense, including two in the third quarter

5 – total takeaways by the Browns defense, the most they’ve had since Week 1 of the 2018 season

6 – Browns penalties, costing Cleveland 50 yards

7 – different Browns catching a pass; none had more than four catches

13 – receiving yards for FB Andy Janovich on his first touch as a Brown

31 – kick return yards from JoJo Natson, the first Browns kick return of the season

50 – rushing yards by Nick Chubb in fourth quarter, almost half of his 108 for the game

62 – plays run by each team, a symmetry that almost never happens

94 – net passing yards for Washington after halftime

117.3 – QB Rating for Baker Mayfield

 

Detroit Lions Studs and Duds from the Week 3 win over the Cardinals

The studs prevailed in helping Detroit notch the first win of the young season

There’s a lot to like about the Detroit Lions after their 26-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. 

For the first time this season, they played like a team and stayed focused throughout all four quarters.

With that victory, the Lions had a ton of players who stood out in a positive way, and a few who did not.

Here are the studs and duds for this week:

Stud: Matthew Stafford

After a poor performance in Week 2, Stafford bounced back in a big way versus Arizona. With Kenny Golladay healthy, Stafford had another weapon at his disposal and made the most of it.

The 31-year-old quarterback finished the game completing 22 of his 31 pass attempts for two touchdowns and did so without throwing an interception.

Dud: Halapoulivaati Vaitai

Vaitai signed a five-year, $50 million contract to come to Detroit and play right tackle. Instead, his first game as a Lion was at the right guard position.

Vaitai struggled early on, allowing two sacks on Matthew Stafford in the first half.

While he held his own against the Cardinals’ defensive line for much of the game, those sacks plus one costly penalty late in the fourth quarter nearly caused the Lions to lose this one.

Just before the two minute warning, as the Lions were attempting to make their comeback, Matthew Stafford was able to get a 52-yard pass down the field to Marvin Hall for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Vaitai committed a holding penalty on the play, and the Lions had to replay the down.

Luckily, Detroit was able to run down the clock and get a last-second field goal to win, and Vaitai didn’t have to be the cause of another heartbreaking Lions loss.

Stud: Jeff Okudah

Asking any cornerback in this league to cover Deandre Hopkins is a tough thing to do. For a rookie in his second game as a pro, it’s near impossible.

While Hopkins did put up a good game against Okudah, there are a lot of things that the rookie did that warrant him being listed as a stud today.

The rookie made six tackles today, two of which went for a loss. He also notched his first career interception. Okudah was able to get ahead of Hopkins on a route and snag the ball before the Pro Bowl receiver could get to it.

Welcome to the league, rookie.

Dud: Darryl Roberts

The Lions have had to deal with more than their fair share of injuries at the cornerback position already this season. With Justin Coleman on injured reserve, the team has opted to use former New York Jets starting cornerback Darryl Roberts in the slot.

Roberts didn’t make any major mistakes in this game or do anything too costly for Detroit, but he did find himself unable to stop Andy Isabella on both of the speedy young receiver’s touchdown receptions.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Hockenson has become one of the most productive players on the Lions offense throughout the last three games.

The former first-round pick had four receptions for 53 yards against Arizona. While these stats weren’t team-leading or on scoring plays, three of those receptions went for first downs on drives that resulted in Detroit putting points on the board.

Stud: Kenny Golladay

In his first game of the season, Golladay nearly single-handed lay revived the Lions offense.

He lead the team in both receptions and receiving yards, with six catches for 57 yards. Add that to his 15-yard touchdown reception, and it’s clear that he is fully healthy and ready to make a difference for this team.

Stud: Jack Fox

Fox punted four times and pinned three of those punts inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line.

His leg helped Detroit flip the field and make it more difficult to Arizona’s offense to move the ball.

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DE J.J. Watt frustrated with Texans’ run defense after 3 weeks

Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt is tired of the defense’s inability to shutdown the run, which was a focal point in Week 3’s 28-21 loss in Pittsburgh.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is frustrated.

The Texans held the Pittsburgh Steelers to 79 rushing yards in the first half Sunday in Week 3 at Heinz Field. Running back James Conner had nine carries for 39 yards, his longest run being 13 yards. Houston’s defense had him bottled up, and the score reflected as much with the Texans leading 21-17 at the break.

By the end of the game, the Texans gave up 169 rushing yards with Conner gaining an extra 70 yards on nine more carries. Houston’s run defense, as it had the first two weeks of the season, bent to the point it broke.

“I don’t know why we can play the run well early on and not finish it,” Watt told reporters after the 28-21 loss to Pittsburgh. “So, I need to get that answer so we can figure it out. We have to — I mean, whether we’re not playing our gaps because — I don’t know what it is, but we got to figure it out. You’re going to lose football games and we are losing football games, and we need to win.

The problem puzzles Watt because they excel at all other aspects of stopping the run. However, when teams run to the outside, they find their yards.

“We got a sudden edge, we got to get hands to the ball, and we make the plays,” said Watt. “We’re just giving up runs around edge like it was easy. We can’t do that. We cannot do that.”

The Texans have the Minnesota Vikings coming into NRG Stadium on Oct. 4. Both teams are 0-3 and will be deploying their best schemes to get that elusive first win of the season.

Said Watt: “We got to watch film, we go to figure it out, but we cannot — I mean, we’re not going to win football games doing what we’re doing in the fourth quarter these last two weeks of giving up these runs.”

NFL Week 3 Awards: Dallas’ Tony Pollard had the most dreadful kickoff return

Not great, Tony Pollard!

Sunday’s Week 3 action had a little bit of everything, including a tie game that was one of the most embarrassing tie games that you’ll ever see in any sport.

Russell Wilson continued to look like the MVP candidate that he deserves to be as he threw five more TD passes in the Seahawks’ win over the Cowboys.

Tom Brady looked like Tom Brady in throwing three TD passes while leading the Bucs to an easy win over the Broncos.

And the Atlanta Falcons pulled an Atlanta Falcons by coughing up yet another big lead in the fourth quarter in their loss to the Bears.

Let’s look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Sunday.

Worst job of tackling by a professional football team: Green Bay Packers.

Nice TD by Alvin Kamara… but man, that was some awful tackling!

The worst kick return: Tony Pollard. 

Pollard dropped that kickoff but was able to recover the ball… at his 1 yard line. The Cowboys’ offense then went out on the field and… took a safety after Ezekiel Elliott couldn’t get out of the end zone. Not great, Tony Pollard!

Most absurdly beautiful throw by a man named Aaron Rodgers: This one.

I mean, wow does he make things look easy a lot of the time. Nice catch, too,  by Allen Lazard.

The most amazing/depressing stat about the Falcons’ collapse: This one. 

Falcons gonna Falcons but yeah, Sunday’s loss to the Bears was stunning, even for them.

Best reaction by a QB while talking to a teammate on the bench: Cam Newton.

I don’t know what N’Keal Harry said to Cam Newton there but the QB’s reaction was one of the best things I saw on Sunday.

Worst job of trying to finish off a long TD: D.K. Metcalf.

Metcalf had a nice little tribute to Leon Lett on that one. The WR did make up for it in the final minutes of the game when he hauled in the game-winning TD.

Best job of a WR keeping his concentration while making a catch with a defender being annoying: Scotty Miller. 

The Bucs WR did an incredible job of bringing in this long pass from Tom Brady.

The most Jets move: This failed hurdle by Kalen Ballage. 

The Jets got blown out again and nothing says Jets like their running back trying to hurdle a defender but instead getting thrown to the turf.

Most ridiculous TD run by Kyler Murray: This one. 

Murray ran for a TD in a third straight game and he broke a defender’s ankles in the process.

The reason why the city of Cleveland partied all Sunday night: They finally have a winning record. 

The Browns beat Washington on Sunday to move to 2-1 on the season, which is shockingly their first winning record in six years. Wow.

Best proof that Russell Wilson is the MVP so far: This TD stat.

Russ is definitely cooking thus far into the season.

Best job of showing how everyone felt watching that Bengals-Eagles tie game: This helmet slam by Carson Wentz. 

We know how you feel, Carson.

Why was Texans DT Ross Blacklock inactive versus the Steelers?

Houston Texans defensive end Ross Blacklock was inactive for the club’s Week 3 tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which they lost 28-21.

Houston Texans rookie defensive tackle Ross Blacklock was inactive for the club’s Week 3 encounter with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field.

The second-rounder from TCU was inactive for the first time this season, and it comes right after his ejection in Week 2 in the 33-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, when he allegedly threw a punch.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien was asked about why Blacklock was a healthy scratch for the Steelers, and the seventh-year coach did not provide much information.

“We just try to make decisions for the best interest of the team for that week, and that’s what we decided to do,” said O’Brien.

Getting the spot on the active roster was defensive lineman Carlos Watkins, who provided two total tackles, 1.0 sack, a quarterback hit, and a tackle for loss.

However, the swapping of Blacklock for Watkins did not help Houston’s run defense. The Steelers gashed Houston with 38 carries for 169 yards and a touchdown. Running back James Conner led all rushers with 18 carries for 109 yards and the Steelers’ score on the ground.

On the season, Blacklock has one tackle for the Texans. Houston will need more contributions, either from Blacklock or others, if they want to stop the run and rebound from their 0-3 start.

Is it time to panic about the Houston Texans?

The Houston Texans are 0-3 for the second time in three years. Is it time to panic about the hole they have dug themselves in?

The Houston Texans are 0-3. Indeed, they are two seasons removed from similarly being 0-3, but not many 0-3 teams have made the playoffs: try four since 1990.

0-3 escalates the talk of playoff qualification to September, a time when teams are getting their feet wet and acclimating to the new season.

Going three weeks into a season might panic some teams, but Texans coach Bill O’Brien believes his veteran roster knows 0-3 means it is time to focus, not time to panic.

“We have to get our sights set on Minnesota, back home,” O’Brien told reporters after the Texans’ 28-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field. “Minnesota is a good team. We haven’t played anybody in the division yet. There is a lot of football left. It’s not where you want to be, but we have a really veteran team in many aspects. So, I don’t think anybody is panicking, but everybody knows that 0-3 is not where we want to be. It’s urgency more so than it is panic.”

For the Texans to play with more urgency, it is going to take constant improvement. For defensive end J.J. Watt, who collected four total tackles against the Steelers, improvement is the essence of pro sports.

“If you’re not interested in getting better and finding ways to get better, then you’re probably in the wrong profession and you shouldn’t be in sports, because that’s what this job is,” said Watt. “It’s finding a way every day to get better, every week to get better, and right now we need to do that in a hurry.”

Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been the focal point of the Texans’ offseason moves with the team trading for running back David Johnson, receiver Brandin Cooks, and signing receiver Randall Cobb. Though the two-time Pro Bowler has taken 13 sacks, the most ever in his career through the first three weeks, Watson chooses optimism, not pessimism.

“We are where we are, 0-3, but there’s a lot of positivity in this,” said Watson. “We can’t get caught up in the negativity. There’s a lot of football to go. We got 13 more games. Anything can happen in 13 games. We haven’t even played our division teams. So, there’s a lot of opportunities out there.”

Watson completed 19-of-27 for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the loss.

“I can’t let myself get discouraged,” Watson said. “very week is a new week. We missed it all this week, and now we’re sitting at 0-3. But at the end of the day the one thing we can try to do is win next week and continue on.”

All it takes is one win for the Texans. In 2018, they ripped off nine straight, but they had to get that elusive first. If the Texans can beat the Vikings at NRG Stadium on Oct. 4, it may create the spark of optimism needed to recover their 0-3 start.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien says they have to figure out keeping QB Deshaun Watson from getting hit

Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson has taken 13 sacks through the first three games. Coach Bill O’Brien says they have to find ways to protect him.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has taken hits galore through the first three weeks of the regular season.

After the Texans’ 28-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 at Heinz Field, the two-time Pro Bowler has now been sacked 13 times, the most he has ever sustained through the first three weeks of a season.

Coach Bill O’Brien knows his franchise quarterback can’t take that many hits, but he won’t place the blame exclusively on the offensive line.

“We got to protect him better,” O’Brien told reporters after the loss. “Again, like I say, it’s not always the offensive line. Sometimes it’s getting rid of the ball a little bit quicker or tight ends and receivers, running backs understanding the protections and what we’re trying to do.”

Watson completed 19-of-27 for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the loss that sends Houston to 0-3 for the second time in three seasons. Even in that similarly dismal start, Watson took 10 sacks through the first three games, not 13.

“We can’t keep going that way,” O’Brien said. “And you’re right: he’s taken a lot of hits and we got to get better. We work hard on it, we got to keep working hard on it, and we got to figure it out.”

If the Texans don’t figure it out soon, they may start seeing more of A.J. McCarron than just in the QB meetings.

Baker Mayfield knows ‘I could have played way better’ in win over Washington

Mayfield’s stat line looks better than his actual play did on Sunday and he knows it

Baker Mayfield played well enough to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 34-20 victory over the visiting Washington Football Team. But Mayfield knows he should have done a lot more to help his team, which needed five takeaways from the defense to prevail on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon in FirstEnergy Stadium.

Mayfield’s stat line — 16-for-23, 156 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs — looks a lot better on paper than it did in real-time. In his postgame Zoom with reporters, Mayfield admitted as much.

“I could have played way better,” he said. “I could’ve gotten the ball out and saved a couple of those sacks. The protection was great. I could’ve re-ID’d the play where the intentional grounding happened and the first play coming out where I got sacked. Some things that I can be a lot better on.”

It’s a good sense of self-awareness from Mayfield. Odell Beckham Jr. bailed him out with a fantastic defensive play to break up a would-be interception by safety Troy Apke. The intentional grounding penalty was an embarrassing decision, but also the second week in a row he’s made it.

He also missed a wide-open Kareem Hunt on a play that should have been an easy touchdown. Instead, it required a truly spectacular one-handed grab by Hunt.

Mayfield’s recognition that he needs to play better if the Browns are to keep winning is a good sign. Yet it’s also a sign of how good the team around him can be that it doesn’t need Mayfield to be perfect to claim a win.

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