Packers’ Rasul Douglas, Ben Sims fined for Week 3 actions

The NFL fined Packers CB Rasul Douglas and TE Ben Sims for actions during Week 3 vs. the Saints.

The NFL fined Green Bay Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas and tight end Ben Sims for penalties or actions in Week 3 that fall under the league’s “gameday accountability” umbrella.

Douglas was fined $11,473 for unnecessary roughness in the second quarter of the Packers’ 18-17 win over the New Orleans Saints. Sims was fined $4,167 for unnecessary roughness, also in the second quarter. Neither player was penalized on the field but the NFL reviews every play for safety-related actions.

A review of the time stamps: Douglas went low and hit a blocker below the knees while outside the tackle box on a play that should have been penalized. Sims lowered his helmet and struck a Saints player during a run block, another penalty-worthy play.

The league did not fine Kenny Clark for an unnecessary roughness penalty in the first quarter.

In Week 3, the NFL fined players for actions or penalties on 34 plays.

This is the second time in three weeks that Douglas has been fined. Overall, the Packers have had players fined for actions four times entering Week 4.

The league is posting all fined penalties and actions from the previous week on Saturdays this season.

From the NFL: “Players subject to accountability measures receive a letter informing them of what they did, a video of the play in question, why they are being fined and how much it will cost them. They also receive information on how to appeal the fine. If they choose not to appeal, the fine is withheld from their next game check.”

All appeals are handled appeals officers James Thrash and Derrick Brooks, two former players appointed by the NFL and NFLPA. Fines are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation.

Packers Wire will track the on-field penalties and resulting fines in recurring posts each week.

Week 1: LB De’Vondre Campbell ($10,927), CB Rasul Douglas ($13,659)
Week 3: CB Rasul Douglas ($11,473), TE Ben Sims ($4,167)

Where the Bucs rank statistically after Week 3

Here’s how the Bucs compare to the rest of the league after three weeks of football:

We’re a few weeks into the NFL season, and the rankings for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have changed significantly from Week 2 to Week 3.

Tampa Bay’s stout defense gave up 427 yards to the Philadelphia Eagles, while the team’s offense put up half the points it usually did over the first two weeks in its 25-11 loss. The Eagles are a tough team to beat, of course, so the team’s statistical rankings all across the league will eventually even out to the team’s true potential as the weeks go on.

Until then, though, this is how Tampa Bay stacks up to the rest of the league after its Week 3 game per Team Rankings:

The worst offensive players in Tampa Bay’s loss to Philadelphia, per PFF

PFF rated these five offensive players the lowest against the Eagles Monday:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive prowess certainly slowed down on Monday night after its first two weeks prior.

The Bucs offense scored 20 points in its first two contests but managed just 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 25-11 loss. The most notable lacking aspect of the offense was the run game, which only managed 41 yards on the ground. Much of this was due to the interior line’s poor stretch of play, which has been a notable problem this season.

Pro Football Focus took to grading the offensive players’ snaps for Monday’s game, and while there were some good performers, others struggled. Here are PFF’s five worst offensive players against the Eagles:

Trent McDuffie graded as NFL’s top CB by PFF through Week 3

Trent McDuffie has earned high marks from Pro Football Focus for his early-season dominance in the #Chiefs’ secondary.

Trent McDuffie has all the makings of a superstar at the cornerback position, and after a standout rookie season for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, he seems to have redoubled his efforts for the team’s championship defense campaign this year.

Through three weeks, McDuffie has managed to grade out as the best cornerback in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

In addition to having the best composite grade at his position, McDuffie is also the only cornerback to have recorded two games with a grade of 80 or higher.

Performances like the ones he has put together to this point in the season are a welcome development for fans who have yearned for a defensive resurgence in Kansas City.

The Chiefs offense has more high-end help than it has ever had in the Patrick Mahomes era, and McDuffie’s dominance has certainly helped the team get out to a 2-1 start to their 2023 season.

Broncos Wire podcast: Rants on Vance Joseph and Caleb Williams

On this week’s Broncos Wire podcast, Ryan O’Leary discusses Vance Joseph’s job status and Jon Heath rants about Caleb Williams pushback.

Whelp.

The Denver Broncos lost to the Miami Dolphins in humiliating fashion on Sunday, with a final score of 70-20. On this week’s Broncos Wire podcast, I joined host Ryan O’Leary to react to that loss and discuss much more going into Week 4.

You can listen to episode 86 below:

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Our unedited notes for this week’s pod can be seen below. 

Broncos lost 70-20 to the Dolphins 
  • Life is pain.
  • Mike McDaniel went easy on them and didn’t go for the regular-season record of 72 points. They were in field goal range at the end.
  • Miami rushed for 350 yards and threw for 376 yards, scoring 10 TDs.
  • Tackling was terrible. Effort was poor in the second half.
  • Only bright spot was Marvin Mims making plays once again.
Denver’s not firing Vance Joseph (at least not yet)
I have a rant for Twitter replies about Caleb Williams
  • I tweeted a GIF of Caleb Williams from Broncos Wire’s page. I want to vent about the replies from Broncos fans.
Loser of Sunday’s game gets Caleb Williams? 
  • The Bears (also 0-3) will host the Broncos on Sunday. Denver is considered a 3.5-point favorite. Can we trust the Broncos this week?

Ryan and I will return each week during the season to react to every game.

If you enjoy this podcast, you can check out previous episodes on Apple PodcastsSpotify or on your podcast service of choice. Please consider giving the podcast a positive rating and review!

You can listen to every past episode below or at this link.

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The worst defensive players in Tampa Bay’s loss to Philadelphia, per PFF

These five players were graded the lowest by Pro Football Focus in the Bucs’ Monday Night Football loss:

There was some good and bad in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive performance against the Philadelphia Eagles.

While the team managed to stop the Eagles on third down in the red zone numerous times over the night, Philly seemed to be there quite often. On top of that, the Bucs gave up 472 total yards of offense on the night, 201 of which was purely in rushing yards. While the Eagles only scored 25 points in their win, it was a bit of a rough outing for head coach Todd Bowles’ unit.

Pro Football Focus took a look at every Bucs player’s performance and graded their efforts, and even their highest-graded players didn’t amaze. Here are PFF’s five worst defensive performers from Tampa Bay’s game against the Eagles:

Sean Payton shouldn’t tolerate continued poor performances on defense

Broncos coach Sean Payton said in February that he would be slow to hire and quick to fire coaches, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

When Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was building his coaching staff this offseason, some fans and pundits were perplexed by how long the process dragged on.

Payton explained in February that he has a philosophy of being slow to hire and quick to fire. We know the first part is true, but the second part of Payton’s stance hasn’t come true in Denver yet.

The Broncos are not firing defensive coordinator Vance Joseph despite his unit allowing 70 points to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3.

Payton was clearly frustrated with the defense after Sunday’s loss — just like he was in Week 2 — but he’s not giving up on Joseph.

“Listen, we knew we were playing a really good offense,” Payton said after Sunday’s game. “But we’ve got to look closely at what we were doing. When someone runs the ball up and down the field like those guys did, throw it up and down the field, it’s not acceptable. We can’t — well, we just got to get to the tape. Next question.”

Payton has preached accountability and establishing a winning mentality since arriving in Denver, but so far, there have been no consequences for the defense’s underwhelming performances. Payton was slow to hire, but he hasn’t been quick to fire, and that could end up burning him in the end.

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The top defensive players in Tampa Bay’s loss to Philadelphia, per PFF

PFF wasn’t too impressed with Tampa Bay’s defense across the board on Monday.

It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense on Monday.

While the Bucs were able to force some red zone field goals and a turnover on downs against the Philadelphia Eagles in their 25-11 loss, the team had a tough time limiting yards. Tampa Bay gave up 472 total yards and a staggering 201 rushing yards, allowing Philadelphia to generally control the game the whole way through. Pro Football Focus took to grading every Bucs player who played in the game, and their defensive grades didn’t reflect well on the team’s overall performance.

Here are PFF’s top 10 performers in Week 3 for Tampa Bay:

Where the Chargers rank statistically after Week 3

Looking at the major metrics, here is where the Chargers stand after the third game.

The Chargers picked up their first win this past Sunday, defeating the Vikings, 28-24.

Now that Week 3 is in the rearview, we now know how the Bolts rank statistically compared to the rest of the NFL. Looking at the major metrics, here is where L.A. stands.

Bucs Report Card: How we graded Tampa Bay’s loss to Philadelphia

Here’s how we saw the Bucs’ performances in its Week 3 loss to the Eagles:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are undefeated no longer.

The team dropped to 2-1 on Monday after a rough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, falling in the contest 25-11. There was little good to take from the defeat, and the Eagles generally proved that some teams are simply out of Tampa Bay’s range when it comes to winnable football games. Nevertheless, the Bucs managed two turnovers ont he defensive side of the ball and had some success defensively in the red zone, so it wasn’t quite all doom and gloom at the end of the night.

Bucs Wire took a look at the team’s offense, defense, special teams and coaching and analyzed all four facets of the game to grade each one below: