PHILADELPHIA vs DENVER

BRONCOS WIN 21 – 17

• Story of the Game – The Eagles let victory slip away to a valiant effort by Bo Nix and the Broncos 

After a strong start from both defenses early on the Eagles were able to control the large part of the game by coming up with a handful of explosives plays on offense and their defense continuing to give Nix and this Denver offense issues by stacking the box and forcing them to be perfect to inch their way down the field. While the Eagles were able to control a large part of this game they never were able to fully pull away as they struggled to pay off the large majority of their drives as the #1 red-zone defense in Denver stood up to the test of this high end red-zone offense that the Eagles have. As the game inched it’s way closer and closer to the 4th Quarter the Broncos were finally able to put some points on the board and establish a rhythm as their run game on the edge started to find success. Along with the Denver offense starting to roll the Eagles offense set themselves back with penalties and mistakes which killed drive after drive and allowed the Broncos to creep back into this game despite having nothing going all day up to that point. While the refs had some frustrating calls and/or missed calls today ultimately this loss falls on the Eagles shoulders as they repeatedly beat themselves with penalties and mental mistakes that not only set them back but also gave the Broncos multiple chances to make up for any miscues or negative plays they had down the stretch.

• Key Notes for the Broncos

This entire offense struggled early as their run game was largely shut down by this Eagles front up until the 4th Quarter where they were able to find some success on their final edges. The stacked boxes and disciplined back end of the Eagles defense not only took away the Broncos’ run game but it also put a cap on everything the Broncos wanted to do in the passing game by forcing the ball out of Nix’s hand as fast as possible. Nix looked and played like he was incredibly frustrated as the first half ended and really up until their offense found their rhythm in the 4th Quarter as he was forcing passes down the field to no one at times and couldn’t seem to settle into the offense at all. While it was a struggle for the large majority of this game this Broncos offense rallied late as they finally put together long sustaining drives and the Nix to Sutton connection was alive and well in the 4th Quarter. 

The OL largely struggled today and while they only gave up 2 sacks Nix was dealing with pressure all game long. While pass protection struggled at times I thought it was at least manageable for Nix whereas the run game really struggled against this Eagles front. They were able to find some success later as they worked the edges of this Eagles front but anything in the middle of their line was shut down immediately.

This Broncos’ secondary was a let down as their defensive front had a really strong day against a tough Eagles OL group, managing to wrack up 6 sacks and holding the Eagles run game to 45 yards all game. While Pat Surtain II had a really solid day, aside from a bad PI call on AJ Brown that put the Eagles on the 2yd line, Riley Moss really struggled today and was targeted multiple times on deep routes and while not every explosive play came off of him too many did that it would be hard not to note. 

• Did an outstanding job holding their rush lanes up front and forcing Jalen into sacks when their coverage held up on the back end. 

• Key Notes for the Eagles

The Eagles passing game was wildly up and down as they were relying on explosives to make up for their lack of a run game or rather… an unwillingness to establish any running game. Jalen Hurts did a great job today finding his spots to push the ball down the field and he may have had an even bigger day had AJ Brown not slowed his route down after getting over top of the defense in the 3rd Quarter. While some may point to the sacks being on Jalen I point more to Denver being extremely well coached up front and executing at a high level and while the passing game had its own lulls I think that speaks more to the lack of commitment to the running game and in turn making the passing game more predictable and harder to execute. I thought the game was well called at times especially when they were able to work the run and play action pass game but as a whole they need to commit to running the ball and establishing Saquon and this OL consistently throughout the game regardless of results so they can compliment the explosives in the passing game. It seems this group can’t strike balance like they did at times last year and with the frustrations of players and their respective roles I’m worried this may spiral.

• I trust this team to win with talent but from a coaching and game planning standpoint this Eagles team seems lost at times and it has to be addressed and settled moving forward. Find your strength as an offense and lean on it so that you can build counters off of it moving forward. 

This defense played an incredible game and while there were some rough points in the 4th Quarter I can’t blame them as they gave their offense plenty of chances to pull away with a lead/win this game. Some rough and flat out dumb penalties came late in the game as well that allowed Denver to extend drives or make up for any of their own negative plays. 

• Standout Performers 

DEN

Bo Nix – 24/39  242  1/0 – 3/22 rush

Courtland Sutton – 8/99 

Pat Surtain II – 6 Tackles (5 Solo)  2 PBUs

Ja’Quan McMillian – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  1 Sack  1 TFL

Nik Bonitto – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  2.5 Sacks  2 TFLs 

PHI

Jalen Hurts – 23/38  280  2/0 – 2/3 rush

DeVonta Smith – 8/114 

Cooper DeJean – 3 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 TFL  1 PBU

Zack Baun – 12 Tackles (7 Solo)  1 Sack  1 TFL 

Quinyon Mitchell – 7 Tackles (5 Solo)  1 PBU

TAMPA BAY vs SEATTLE

BUCCANEERS WIN 38 – 35

• Story of the Game – The two QB castoffs of the 2018 draft and their Ohio State WRs have a shootout 

While each of these offenses had their struggles throughout the first half neither Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield were responsible for it as they were sharp throughout the entire game. Whether it was through penalties, turnovers, or even a missed FG attempt Seattle seemed to be getting in their own way offensively in the first half and the Buccaneers despite stalling out in the red-zone a few times were able to come away with points more often than Seattle by not beating themselves with mistakes as often. As the second half started the Seattle offense started to take off and exploit anything and everything the Buccaneers defense wanted to do to slow them down. But the Buccaneers offense answered right back time after time as the Baker and Emeka Egbuka connection started to take flight just as much as the Darnold and Jaxson Smith-Njigba connection did as well. Despite both teams having really strong defenses there was no stopping how well Darnold, Mayfield, and these two Ohio State WRs were playing. Well… up until Darnold had his pass hit one of his linesman’s helmets and in turn be picked off by Lavonte David which led to the game winning FG by Tampa. Truly an amazing game to watch as both of these Quarterbacks were on fire all game and not to mention the uniform combination was absolute perfection out there. Great to see Darnold and Baker continue to have success despite the up and down starts of their careers and I think both of these teams will be an issue in the NFC moving forward. 

• Key Notes for the Buccaneers 

Baker Mayfield and Emeka Egbuka clearly have an incredible connection that only seems to be getting better and better as the season goes on. The most promising thing to me about this connection between Mayfield and Egbuka is the fact it’s held up through injury and role change as Egbuka has had to move around the field and play a bigger role overall within the Buccaneers offense with the injuries they’ve suffered to their WR corps already. When this group gets Mike Evans back and Chris Godwin Jr is able to work fully back into shape this group is going to an issue for any team as they have guys that can do it all at nearly every possession with those guys on the field. 

• Josh Grizzard continues the incredible stretch of offensive play callers for the Buccaneers as he called an amazing game against a really tough Seattle defense, who was playing well despite some key injuries. 

Defensively I do have some worries for this group moving forward as I need to see more out of someone from a pass rush standpoint. I like the group of players they have here and their undoubtedly talented by the loss of Calijah Kancey in the middle providing a punch as a pass rusher is clearly hurting this team as they didn’t sack Darnold once this game despite this Seattle OL having some flaws at times. Still a very solid group but I’m worried that as the year goes on and especially in the playoffs they may be forced to rely on blitzes more than they should have to which could open up some real issues against the top class of the NFL.

• Key Notes for the Seahawks  

As Sam Darnold has settled into this offense and devolved more and more of a connection with guys like AJ Barner, who had a phenomenal game, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba he’s really picked up right where he left off in Minnesota. He looks incredibly sharp, his decision making is nearly perfect, and he’s absolutely deadly accurate. While he’s not perfect and he’s certainly not one of the top end QBs in league he’s clearly floating around where Kirk Cousins was when he was in Minnesota where he may not be in that top 10 category but he’ll out play those guys on any given day when he’s right. He’s a perfect fit here and I believe the combination of Darnold and OC Klint Kubiak with the weapons they have here will serve them much better than the core they’ve had here the last few seasons.

One thing this offense has to work on is beating themselves. It feels like every week I turn on a Seahawks game they manage to find new ways to put themselves behind or overall just make things harder on themselves. It’s not one crucial flaw they have it’s just little mistakes every couple of plays or once a drive that set themselves back and while I love this offense they don’t have the guys to consistently dig themselves out of holes, really only a handful of teams do and if they want to compete with those teams that have those special guys they have to clean these mistakes up moving forward.

Defensively they had some crucial injuries to their secondary with their two best players Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love missing the game with injuries. Despite those injuries I thought they played really well, especially #39 Ty Okada who made multiple huge hits this game that were energy plays for the defense. While it looks like a rough day as they gave up 38 points and to be fair in some ways it was I thought they largely outplayed what was expected of them considering the injuries. 

• Standout Performers 

TB

Baker Mayfield – 29/33  379  2/0 – 5/15 rush 

Emeka Egbuka – 7/163  1 TD

Raachard White – 14/41  2 TDs – 4/30 rec

Lavonte David – 9 Tackles (5 Solo)  1 TFL  1 INT  1 PBU

Antoine Winfield Jr – 3 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 PBU

SEA

Sam Darnold – 28/34  341  4/1 

Kenneth Walker III – 10/86 

Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 8/132  1 TD

Nick Emmanwori – 5 Tackles (4 Solo)  1 TFL

Darion Kendrick – 2 Tackles  1 TFL

Ty Okada – 7 Tackles (4 Solo)  2 PBUs

NEW ENGLAND vs BUFFALO 

PATRIOTS WIN 23 – 20

• Story of the Game – Patriots turn back the clock and take down the rival Bills

An up and down game for both teams full of plenty of turnovers, penalties, and mistakes that would have made for an upsetting lost for either team but especially the Bills as they lose to a Patriots team that is still setting a foundation. While the Patriots had their miscues and mistakes I full expect that as they continue to build this team but the fumbles from Rhamondre Stevenson have to be fixed as it’s been over a season with this being an issue. The Bills on the other hand had a number of uncharacteristic mistakes that Josh Allen seemed to make up for time after time but that’s certainly something you’d like to clean up so this doesn’t become an issue against the top end teams later on in the year that will capitalize on those mistakes just as much if not more than this Patriots team did. All in all the Maye and Allen matchup was incredible to watch and should be even better moving forward as Maye rounds out his game and while I still expect the Bills to take this division this year it could be a closer conversation than many thought coming into the year.

• Key Notes for the Patriots 

Drake Maye possibly played his best game in the NFL as him and Stefon Diggs had an incredible connection all game. Maye fought off sacks to extend plays, made big time throws through pressure every time they needed it, and ultimately made the Patriots offense work even when they got in their own way. Aside from struggling to keep his eyes up down field while scrambling at times I thought Maye was outstanding and if this is the Maye they get the rest of the season this Patriots team could be very dangerous moving forward. 

The protection and OL play overall has been improving week by week for the Patriots and while it’s far from perfect considering what they had last year it’s almost night and day. I fully expect this group to continue to grow and improve considering they have a number of young guys and overall haven’t played many snaps together.

This defense stepped up in so many ways this game and forced the Bills into many frustrating spots as they largely stuffed their run game holding James Cook to 49yds and a long of 9yds. They Josh Allen to beat them and even frustrated Allen by getting an INT in the 3rd Quarter. Overall it was a great day for a New England defense that may be building something really special after a rough season last year.

• Key Notes for the Bills

Aside from Josh Allen and his heroics throughout last night this Bills offense regally struggled, aside from the OL who largely held up in pass protection. This group beat themselves with penalties, frustrating mistakes, and certainly turnovers that kept the Patriots far too close in this game throughout. Just a poor performance from a group that is usually extremely sharp and almost constantly in rhythm which makes them extremely hard to stop, especially when they get their run game going. It’s not something I’m worried about as I fully expect this group to perform up to their standard moving forward but not the best look as they played their first “competitive” team since they played a healthy Baltimore team in Week 1.

Defensively I thought this group stepped up in the run game more than they have through the first few games of this year but the coverage was disappointing from a group that you expect to play at a much higher level. Along with their struggles in coverage the tackling felt up and down all game which allowed the Patriots to get easy yards after catch or even extend drives. This group I actually am concerned with as they seem to struggle in multiple ways and are far too inconsistent week to week.

• Standout Performers 

NE

Drake Maye – 22/30  273 – 3/12 rush 

Stefon Diggs – 10/146 

Marcus Jones – 7 Tackles (5 Solo)  1 TFL  1 INT  2 PBUs

Christian Barmore – 2 Tackles 

• Continues to crush pockets and wreck opposing teams run plays despite not having a huge effect on the box score

BUF

Josh Allen – 22/31  253  2/1 – 9/53 rush

Dalton Kincaid – 6/108 

Greg Rousseau – 6 Tackles (5 Solo)  1 Sack  2 TFLs 

Shaq Thompson – 5 Tackles (4 Solo)  1 Sack  1 TFL  1 FF

KANSAS CITY vs JACKSONVILLE 

JAGUARS WIN 31 – 28

• Story of the Game – Jaguars overcome the Chiefs possibly playing the best of the years so far

Despite some called and uncalled penalties going the Chiefs way the Jaguars were able to fight through everything the Chiefs threw at them to scrape out a win at home on Monday Night. While Trevor Lawrence had some bone headed mistakes and up and down play early on he really made up for it as he came up with some huge throws and runs to keep the Jaguars in the game. Along with the clutch plays from the offense the creative play calling from DC Anthony Campanile and fantastic play from Devin Lloyd allowed them to come up with a huge pick six that flipped the game on its head. The ability to match blow for blow with a Kansas City team that was playing very well, at least offensively, was very impressive as this Jaguars team seems to be a completely new franchise as a whole from last year. As for Kansas City the up and down play of this defense and the offense still largely leaning on Mahomes to be deadly accurate and a perfect decision maker I don’t think it’s possible for this group to reach the level they did last season without any major adjustments. 

• Key Notes for the Jaguars 

While Trevor Lawrence has struggled with up and down play with accuracy issues and simple mental mistakes early on this year and even within this game I thought this was by far the most promising performance in quite a while from him. He was willing to take chances without forcing the ball anywhere, accuracy was far more consistent this game, used his legs at all of the right times, and while it’s not apart of his play I loved seeing him show a little emotion and passion instead of being a “flatline” every second of the game. Along with Trevor having a great game the two top dogs in that WR room, Brian Thomas Jr and Travis Hunter, also finally got going as they were actually able to get both of them involved down the field. If Trevor can play at this level moving forward and continue work on the mistakes and consistency with accuracy this Jaguars team is going to be very tough to stop on offense as Liam Cohen has this group playing at a completely new level.

This Jaguars defense had their struggles as their run defense was struggling when Kansas City got under center and ran up the middle but their ability to make timely plays and do just enough despite Mahomes playing the way he did was very impressive. Without Travon Walker the pass rush was inconsistent and completely reliant on Josh Hines-Allen being dominant. It wasn’t a perfect day by any means but I thought it spoke more about Mahomes and how he was playing and the fact the defense made it stand when it mattered most was very impressive.

• Key Notes for the Chiefs 

Once again this offense is largely reliant on Patrick Mahomes being near perfect and constantly having them in the right play. While that was an issue through the first 3 or 4 weeks as Mahomes was up and down with his accuracy this week he was absolutely lights out, aside from the rough pick that ended up going for six the other way. Along with Mahomes being great today they actually had their run game going despite not leaning on it all that heavily and Travis Kelce found a nice role in this game as well. All in all in it was very promising considering the issues they’ve shown throughout a good amount of this year so far and certainly has to leave you feeling better moving forward, especially once they add Rashee Rice back into this offense.

Defensively this group continues to struggle with getting off the field on 3rd downs and it’s hurting them game after game at this point. Chris Jones isn’t having the same impact that he has had in years past and when he’s not at his best, especially on 3rd downs, the lack of pass rush is blatantly obvious on this team. Along with the lack of consistency and effectiveness from the pass rush this secondary looks nothing like it has in years past as it really feels like anyone outside of Trent McDuffie is replaceable at this point. Aside from McDuffie and the LBs (Chenal, Bolton, and Tranquill) there’s nothing that strikes me as a strength for this team and the lack of effort at times is also very uncharacteristic and worrisome. I don’t know where you go from here or what you hope for moving forward from this group aside from Chris Jones stepping up and playing at the elite level like he has for a number of years now but as weeks pass by and that version of him continues to not show up I don’t know that I have any confidence in that happening. 

• Standout Performers 

JAX 

Trevor Lawrence – 18/25  221  1/1 – 10/54  2 TDs rush 

Brian Thomas Jr – 4/80

Travis Hunter – 3/64 – 2 Tackles  1 PBU

Devin Lloyd – 2 Tackles  1 INT  1 PD

Josh Hines-Allen – 2 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 TFL

• Really only effective pass rusher all night 

KC

Patrick Mahomes – 29/41  318  1/1 – 6/60  1 TD rush

Isiah Pacheco – 7/36 – 3/20 rec

Kareem Hunt – 7/49  2 TDS – 1/8 rec

Travis Kelce – 7/61  1 TD

Nick Bolton – 12 Tackles (7 Solo)  1 TFL  1 FF  1 PD

Drue Tranquill – 3 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 TFL  1 PD

Trent McDuffie – 3 Tackles (1 Solo)  1 INT  3 PBUs