$.01--The NFL trumpeted the Week 3 matchup between Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford as the most important game of the young season. Sure, the rest of the Buccaneers and Rams were involved too, but you might not know that from the heavy in-week promotion of the game from FOX, the NFL Network or any pregame show on Sunday morning. 

The two star QBs delivered with almost 800 combined passing yards, but it was Stafford and his Rams who outshone the defending champs and their own golden boy, Brady. Stafford leapt to the top of the NFL’s MVP race with a commanding, efficient 343 passing yards and 4 TDs in a largely mistake-free performance. It was too much for Brady and the one-dimensional Bucs. 

How overly reliant were the Buccaneers on Brady? This was just the second game in his 20 NFL seasons where Brady has led his team in rushing. He had 14 yards. The 55 pass attempts to 13 rushes for the Buccaneers offense were partly the result of a game script where the Rams jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, but even before that, Bruce Arians trusted Brady. 

Brady was good. Stafford was better. So was the Rams offensive line. And the Rams receiving corps. And the Rams pass rush. Los Angeles was sharper on both sides of the ball. The focus showed with just one penalty for L.A. at home. 

The Rams paid the Lions the massive ransom to get Stafford precisely for games like this one. Stafford was poised, precise and positively the difference in the game. It was not Tampa Bay’s “A” game, but it still was incumbent upon Stafford and the Rams to exploit it. They did. The game was not as close as the 34-24 final score would indicate. 

Expect to see the Rams atop a lot of the NFL power rankings this coming week. Based on what they did to the Buccaneers, it’s a deserved perch.  

$.02--Justin Tucker is the greatest kicker in NFL history. Even most casual NFL fans probably knew that already, but Tucker added even more credence to his historical legacy with an amazing, unprecedented performance in Baltimore’s 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions. 

Tucker banked in a 66-yard field goal off the crossbar as time expired to lift the Ravens to the win. It’s the longest successful field goal in NFL history. It was an amazing kick and an incredible ending to what was a complete dog of a game for most of the afternoon. But it never should have been allowed to be attempted. 

The Ravens converted a 4th-and-19 to move into plausible Tucker range. But they ran a play in between downing the ball to stop the clock and trotting Tucker out for the historical bomb. And on that play, the play clock quite clearly reached zero before Jackson called for the snap. It wasn’t even close; at minimum, two full seconds elapsed between the play clock expiring and the center snapping the ball. Obvious penalty. Except it wasn’t called.  

The delay-of-game penalty would have resulted in a 10-second runoff, thus ending the game. Baltimore had no timeouts. The game was over if the back judge of referee Scott Novak’s crew does his job. But they did not. The inability of the officiating crew to properly administer the operations of the game directly cost the Lions a win. 

I’m not going to lie: I haven’t been this upset about anything sports-related in a very long time. Probably since Art Modell announced he was moving my hometown Browns to Baltimore. And that’s saying something for me, a long-hardened Lions fan from Cleveland. It’s now several hours later since I wrote this for Lions Wire, and I’m still seething in anger. Not disappointment, not frustration. Anger. 

As I stated in the linked piece above, there is a distinct difference between judgment calls and officials making procedural or mechanical errors. Bad judgment calls happen. That’s life with human officials watching incredible athletes. I empathize with officials on most judgment calls more than I criticize them (maybe not in the heat of the moment, I’ll admit). But the officials CAN NOT make mistakes on the actual mechanics of operating the football game. And that’s what happened here. Unacceptable. 

Part of my anger stems from the fact that I should enjoy Tucker’s epic kick, even at the expense of the team I root for. It was an amazing kick from one of my favorite players around the league. Tucker should be celebrated for his feat with his feet. But the incapable officiating takes some of the shine away from Tucker’s epic moment, too.  

$.03--Justin Fields might want to forget all about his first NFL start. The rookie quarterback for the Chicago Bears had a very rough afternoon on the shores of Lake Erie in his team’s 26-6 loss to the host Cleveland Browns. 

The score was a lot closer than the actual game. The Browns fizzled on two early fourth-down attempts that kept the first half tighter on the scoreboard than it had any right to be. It was not Baker Mayfield’s best game for the Browns, but he had a day at the carnival compared to his Bears rookie counterpart. 

Fields and the Bears managed just 47 net yards of offense on 42 snaps. Of their six first downs, two came via Browns penalties. Chicago’s offensive line was beaten like the proverbial rented mule. They weren’t even close to slowing down Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and the Browns defensive front. 

The Browns bagged nine sacks on fields. Garrett had 4.5 of those on his own in a dominant effort that should win him Defensive Player of the Week honors. Cleveland fans grumbling (and rightly so) after the first two weeks of coordinator Joe Woods’ defense and Garrett’s lack of impact got rewarded with an outstanding game on a perfect afternoon for football. 

It came at Fields’ expense. He did not play well, but he got no help from his line, his receivers or his coaches, who refused to help the rotting carcass of Jason Peters try ot handle Garrett. The 6-for-20, 68 gross yards with no TDs and no INTs is not a line Fields or his fans will want to remember. But if Chicago doesn’t protect him better, it’s hard to expect more. Not every defense has the firepower Cleveland does, but enough do that the Bears risk ruining their young QB if they don’t change the plan of attack.  

$.04--Week 3 kicked off in Houston with the debut of rookie QB Davis Mills as the Texans starter. Mills looked okay but not nearly enough to lift his Houston teammates over Sam Darnold and the 3-0 Carolina Panthers. 

Carolina prevailed, 24-9, as the Panthers defense once again proved quite formidable. Coordinator Phil Snow has a speedy, smart defense that still hasn’t surrendered 50 rushing yards in any game this year. Not that the Texans really tried; Houston ran 17 times for 42 yards. They probably should have run even less, especially with the wildly ineffective Phillip Lindsay (7 carries, 5 yards). Lindsay learned the hard way that you cannot run sideways against these Panthers. They’re too fast and too disciplined. 

Mills showed some capability. His line (19/28, 168 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) wasn’t great, but he made some nice throws and appeared to see the field well. While he was sacked four times, the rookie with the massive neck didn’t look scared or too rushed in his process. That’s more than can be said for some other more prominent rookies taking snaps around the league (looks at Zach Wilson and Justin Fields). Obviously he’s not Deshaun Watson, but until the NFL offers Houston some resolution on that front, it’s best to consider Mills both the present and the future QB in Houston. And he’s already better than some other QBs that franchise has tried over the years (Ryan Mallett, Brandon Weeden, T.J. Yates). 

On the flip side, Sam Darnold turned in another solid performance. He avoided mistakes and consistently chose the best option. Operating most of the night without top RB Christian Mccaffrey (hamstring injury that will keep him out a few weeks), Darnold proved good enough to ride a great defensive performance. If he can keep doing that, these Panthers aren’t going away anytime soon. 

$.05--The NFL decided to fool with the playoff schedule this week. In the process, they proved once again that chasing every last television broadcast dollar is no obstacle for messing up the competitive balance--even in the postseason. 

The league revealed that the first weekend of the postseason will feature six total games, which was expected. Wild Card weekend expanded out last year with the addition of the seventh team into the playoffs, and the addition of one extra game in each conference on the first weekend was fantastically received. Three games on Saturday, three games on Sunday. It was spectacular. 

Leave it to the NFL to ruin a good thing. One of those Saturday games is moving to Monday, according to reports this week. If this indeed comes to fruition, the league has put the winner of that Monday game at a massive competitive disadvantage the following weekend.

Let’s play it out hypothetically. The Denver Broncos host the Baltimore Ravens on the Monday Night Football game of Wild Card weekend and pull off the victory. They could turn around and play the early game the following Sunday at Cleveland, which could have played the early game on Saturday the previous weekend. The Browns would have over 60 extra hours of game prep and rest. How in the world can the NFL create such a patently unfair situation?

(He asks rhetorically)

It’s apparently worth it for the league to give the shaft to one of the winning teams in each conference from Wild Card weekend. Imagine being the fan base put on the wrong end of that hose, just so the league could maximize the exposure.  

I get that the league does need to keep revenue streams flowing, but at some point, common sense and the dignity of running an equitable postseason has to trump chasing every last dollar. It hasn’t happened yet. I hate that the NFL has to learn these things the hard way and purposely sticks a fork in the eye of loyal fans when it could be easily avoided. Again. Sigh. 

$.06--There are five teams with 0-3 records: Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and the two New York teams, the Giants and Jets. Four of those teams aren’t terribly surprising. And while I had my suspicions about the Colts, it’s still a cold shot between the eyes to see Indianapolis among the bottom-feeders.  

The Colts have not played good football, period. It’s easy to focus on Carson Wentz flailing and largely failing at quarterback, but Wentz is far from the only issue in Indianapolis. Their cornerbacks aren’t good, their safeties are even less so. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill had struggled all season until Sunday, when he found some easy sledding against the Colts secondary. When the pass rush isn’t working, and after rookie Kwity Paye left early in the loss the Colts had very little pressure, their secondary is full of sitting ducks. 

The interesting play-calling and personnel choices on offense aren’t helping Indy or Wentz, either. Coach Frank Reich doesn’t appear to realize he must adjust his attack to compensate for offensive line injuries. Losing an All-Pro like Quenton Nelson has to require adjustments. Nobody can do what Nelson does at guard, and not compensating the attack for his loss is a recipe for failure. The Colts have an abundance of injuries and took more in this game with Nelson, Paye, CB Rock Ya-Sin and S Khari Willis all leaving and not returning. It’s not an easy situation, to be fair to Reich.  

Indianapolis has two tough road games up next, at Miami and then Baltimore. If the Colts don’t get healthier and also execute better, they’re staring at 0-5. They might be regardless. Oddly enough, playing in a division with Jacksonville and Houston means they’re not out of it even at that point unless the inconsistent Titans can finally put it together.  

$.07--Josh Gordon has successfully applied for reinstatement to the NFL. The wide receiver was serving his latest indefinite suspension for his latest violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. He’ll be eligible to be signed and be on the field as early as next week, according to multiple reports over the weekend.  

I don’t want to seem unsympathetic to Gordon, but it’s absolutely ridiculous the NFL is giving Gordon another chance. He was banned for his eighth strike with the league since entering the NFL in 2012, including his fourth indefinite suspension for drug abuse. It follows three strikes in college, where his troubles followed him from Baylor to Utah, where he couldn’t pass an initial drug test.  

Gordon opened up about his long and disturbing history of drug abuse in an interview back in 2017, when he was still with the Cleveland Browns. I wrote this for Browns Wire at the time,

“Xanax many occasions, cocaine several occasions. Marijuana most of my life. Codeine, cough syrup, Medazine, very prevalent from where I’m from. It’s what I grew up using.”

Gordon, who has remained suspended indefinitely by the NFL after his fourth failed drug test, talked about how his immense talent kept getting him more opportunities.

“I’ve been enabled most of my life honestly. I’ve been enabled by coaches, teachers, professors, you know, everybody pretty much gave me a second chance just because of my ability.”

He chronicled how a Baylor assistant coach helped him beat drug tests while at school, which helped him develop an ongoing disdain for authority and following the rules. Gordon failed drug tests at Baylor and later when he tried to transfer to Utah, which led him to the NFL Supplemental Draft.

Gordon also admitted his first trip to rehab while employed by the Browns was “just a publicity stunt” designed to “help the media deal with me.”

I absolutely believe Gordon has tried his best to move on from his troubled past. I know the Browns organization, from the very top on down, went through a ridiculous amount of hoops to try and help Gordon get clean and stay on the field--measures that go far beyond what would be considered charitable or reasonable means to help Gordon. To say they bent over backward to try and assist Gordon with both football and life is like being impressed with a simple cartwheel by Simone Biles and giving her a gold medal for it. And he still threw it all away--multiple times. 

At some point, Gordon’s fledgling ability to play football at a high level once upon a time needs to stop everyone from rewarding someone who has clearly proven he cannot handle life in the NFL. Every single time he’s been given a second chance because of his athletic ability and his good-guy attitude, he’s failed. Eight times the NFL has given him another chance to get himself together. How many people in the world get more than two chances to fail--because of their own problems--in any other walk of life? 

Gordon should never set foot on an NFL sideline again. He shouldn’t ever wear pads again. If the NFL wants to try and help Gordon, hire him as a substance abuse advisor and let him work with players who have issues like his. Gordon has a lot to offer in that capacity and the credibility with the current NFL players to make a real positive mark on some lives doing that. 

By letting him play again, the NFL is sending the message to players with substance abuse issues that as long as they’re talented enough on the field, the league is willing to overlook rampant violations and reward addiction. That’s not the right message to send to young men with ample income suffering from substance abuse. Hold Gordon accountable for his own actions but give him the chance to help other players. He deserves that chance.  

$.08--NFL quickies

We’ll start it out with two Steelers quickies (courtesy Next Gen Stats) that help explain how they got outclassed 24-10 by the rival Bengals to fall to 1-2…

 

The Steelers offense actually outperformed the Bengals in the game, but the lack of impact plays is starkly absent. The Bengals won because they attacked, something the Steelers can’t/won’t do. It’s not efficient for Joe Burrow & Co. but it’s effective when the other offense attempts 58 passes and nets 297 passing yards. 

--Kansas City is 1-2 after falling to the Chargers, and their one win on the season (Week 1 vs. Cleveland) wasn’t an impressive performance either. It’s too early to bail on the Chiefs as a contender or one of the best teams, but they’re not what they have been over the last two seasons, either. Their lack of speed on defense outside of Tyrann Mathieu is stark, and teams are figuring out how to exploit it. The Chargers and Justin Herbert (281 passing yards, 4 TDs) sure did on Sunday, pushing the Chiefs into last place in the division after three weeks.  

--I love the Surrender Index, which tracks cowardly coaching decisions on 4th down. Nobody surrenders like Joe Judge and the Giants:  

The Falcons beat the Giants by a field goal. Hmmm… 

--Most outstanding special teams play, not performed by Justin Tucker division:

The kicker here (no pun intended)? Matt Prater and Jamal Agnew were teammates in Detroit for the last four seasons.

--Still haven’t seen even one highlight from the game, but the Raiders improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in overtime with the win over Miami. What makes this game notable is that there were three scores in overtime. Las Vegas made a field goal, Miami matched it on the next drive and then the Raiders won on Daniel Carlson’s late chip shot. 

$.09--College/draft quickies

--Say goodbye to Clemson’s chances to make the CFB playoff. After what happened on Saturday, the Tigers will be lucky to sniff a January bowl game. Clemson lost in double overtime to North Carolina State, blowing leads and falling to 2-2 on the young season. It took a phenomenal catch in the corner of the end zone in the second overtime for NC State to secure the win. This Clemson team proves that it’s so bloody difficult to stay on top for a prolonged time, no matter how strong the program might be. 

--Even though my Ohio Bobcats are awful in the post-Solich era, it was still a great day to show some MAC pride. Bowling Green stunned Minnesota, 14-10, thanks to swift defense by the Falcons and some truly terrible passing offense from Tanner Morgan and the Golden Gophers. BGSU entered the game 1-2 and the win was a close one over FCS-level Murray State. 

--Spencer Rattler of Oklahoma still appears in most mock drafts in the top 10. Don’t expect that to last much longer. Rattler struggled in the Sooners’ matchup with West Virginia, even earning catcalls for his backup to come into the game from the Oklahoma fans. Rattler, a redshirt sophomore, should stay in school and iron out the inconsistencies in his game. He makes too many poor decisions with the ball and his ball placement can get wonky when he hurls a touch pass. Way too early to throw dirt on his draft stock, but right now Rattler doesn’t look like a first-round prospect. 

--Woo pig sooie! Arkansas has risen from the ashes of some lean years and is back to prominence in the SEC West. The Razorbacks are legit and proved it by doubling up No. 7 Texas A&M, 20-10. Arkansas is unbeaten and feeling confident with several emerging NFL prospects. Give credit to coach Sam Pittman, who wasn’t a sexy choice when he was hired. Keep an eye on one of my personal favorite 2022 draft prospects, safety Jalen Catalon.  

$.10--In keeping with the theme of things the NFL used to do quite well but are now a money-grabbing mess, I present to you the monstrosity that has become NFL Game Pass. 

Back in the day, Game Pass was a fantastic application. It allowed subscribers to rewatch any game in several different modes, from regular broadcast to condensed games to the “all-22” coach’s tape. For those of us who cover football for a living, it was an invaluable and well-produced resource.  

It’s gotten progressively less user-friendly over the years. When it first started, we could draw on the screen and save screenshots of plays to help show our work. That feature went away a few years ago, alas. 

Now the app has become almost pointless. My personal experience in the last 12 months is that it works the way it’s designed maybe 28 percent of the time. The coach’s tape, the most valuable asset in the app’s portfolio, went away completely for some time for American users; addresses outside of the U.S. (or those using VPNs to illegally hide their location) could still get it, with no extra charge. 

As the price has gone up, the functionality of Game Pass has ground to a worthless halt. By vociferous demand from many in the media, including several employees of the NFL’s own media network, the app reinstated the All-22. Except it’s even more frustratingly broken than ever before. 

Users have to choose between sideline and end zone view for each play, but the controls to choose which view you want don’t reliably work. The lag between making the choice and the running of each play effectively obscures the first couple of seconds of every single snap. The search function is as useful as a CD full of 750 hours of free AOL. The in-play controls do not work, period.  

Again, that’s just for domestic customers. The international version is still glitchy but infinitely superior and more functional. No rational or credible explanation for that has ever been provided. It’s like giving foreign markets the full pay-per-view porn channels and giving Americans the preview channel where the screen is scrambled with lines through it--even after they pay for the full monty.  

Again, do better, NFL. We know you can because it used to be exactly what we wanted, needed and paid (less than half of today’s price) for willingly. It’s really not that hard...