We're now three weeks in to the season already, and the good teams are now starting to separate themselves from the bad teams in the league. After Week 4, I may switch up my Snap Judgments a bit more, but I will refrain from talking about details over that until next week.
1. If you want to check out the bad teams, start with the Giants. Umm....wow. If anyone had told me on Friday the Giants would not only lose to the Panthers, but be shut out 38-0, I'd have laughed in their face. I don't even know what the Giants' main problem is. They're obviously turning the ball over at alarming rates, but is that a by-product of awful offensive line play? Eli making bad decisions again? The defense failing to make plays and stop opposing offenses? I know I wouldn't want to be watching film of Sunday's game with Tom Coughlin this week, that's for sure.
2. In fact, the Goat of the Week Award goes to the Giants' offensive line. Through three games, Eli Manning has been sacked a total of 10 times. That puts him on pace for 53 sacks on the season, which is a brutal beating for any quarterback to take. He's also thrown 8 interceptions thus far, which isn't always directly related to poor o-line play, but he's certainly been forced to make some bad throws thanks to his line not protecting him.
3. I was originally going to say the Browns were playing for a .500 season in 2018, but they actually have a little fight in them. Arguably the biggest surprise of the weekend was the Browns' offense giving the Vikings the business. Bryan Hoyer - Bryan Hoyer!!! - looked like a competent quarterback, and could possibly have the starting job the rest of the season, given how the organization clearly is not enamored with Brandon Weeden. Trading away their best offensive weapon in Trent Richardson looked like a sign the team was waving the white flag in Week 3, but they can clearly put some points on the board. They will still likely end up with a top 10 pick (and maybe even a top 5 pick) in the draft next year, but they aren't the pushover they were perceived to be.
4. The Ravens' defense has brushed off the cobwebs. After a dismal opening game in Denver, the Ravens' defense has started to show just how good it can be. They haven't allowed a touchdown in their last two games, including this weekend's dominant performance against the high-powered Houston offense. They took Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, De'Andre Hopkins, and Owen Daniels out of the game. And not to be outdone, but Marshall Yanda on the offensive line also took out Houston's best defensive player in J.J. Watt. That's a very impressive feat.
5. Meanwhile, just who are the Texans? They managed to win their first two games on their final possessions, including an overtime win over the Titans last week. This week, they struggled to move the ball after the first quarter, and even with the offensive weapons they have they couldn't find the end zone at all. They were heavily expected to beat the Ravens, but once again they could not beat one of the top tier teams in the AFC. I still stand by my prediction that the Colts win the AFC South this year, and the Texans are forced to fight for one of the Wild Card spots.
6. Raise your hands if you expected the Dolphins, Chiefs, Bears, and Saints to be 3-0 at this point so I may promptly bop you on the head for lying to my face. It's easy to proclaim the Chiefs as the most improved team in the NFL this year since they've already eclipsed their entire win total from last year, but how 'bout them Dolphins? Did anyone think they'd be 3-0 at this point, beating the likes of the Colts and Falcons along the way? The Bears and Saints are less surprising, though the Bears' first two wins were pretty miraculous. All four of these teams will likely be in the hunt for the playoffs come December, and I'm even more convinced now that the Dolphins will wind up winning the AFC East than I was prior to the season starting.
7. The 49ers could be in real trouble. I've seen quite a bit of discussion over the fact that the 49ers are under .500 for the first time under Jim Harbaugh as head coach. To say such a statement is an insane overreaction is putting things mildly. However, they are going to be without Aldon Smith for the foreseeable future following his DUI last week, which means their pass rush will take a major blow. Their next 4 games include at St. Louis, Houston and Arizona at home, and then at Tennessee. If they went 2-2 during that span I'd be impressed, though that still wouldn't get them back to .500.
8. When was the last time you saw a game where a team was penalized 20 times and still won? I caught the tail end of the Jets/Bills game, around the point where the Bills had scored a touchdown and a game-tying 2-point conversation midway through the 4th quarter. Had the Jets gone on to lose the game, Kyle Wilson would have easily been the Goat of the Week for me since he had committed three back-to-back-to-back personal foul penalties on Stevie Johnson. He was eventually taken back to the sidelines to cool off, and amazingly the Jets still held on to win the game despite being so undisciplined on the field. I'm really surprised the Jets are 2-1 at this point, though I expect reality will settle in over the next few weeks for them.
9. Another game, another incredible performance by Peyton Manning. Honestly, is anyone getting tired of what to say about Peyton? I think I'm out of words to describe him without resorting to cliche after cliche. I have to admit, I'm at the point where I care more to see what he can do come December and January than what he can do in September. He has crashed and burned in the playoffs far more often than not, so until I see him able to play at or near this kind of level in cold weather I will remain skeptical over Denver's chances of playing in Super Bowl 48.
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