Week 3 NFL Recap

Ah, that's better.  Even though the Saints are 1 - 2, they're just a game back from nearly everyone important in the NFC.  The league of parity continued to level-set this weekend and now there are only three 3 - 0 and three 0 - 3 teams left.  That gives us plenty to write home about in this Week 3 recap.

Week 3: The Good Stuff

The Super Bowl Rematch We Deserved - A cynical Broncos fan might point out that the result was the same either way, but for the rest of us, what a way for Seattle and Denver to atone for one of the most boring Super Bowls in the last decade.  It had it all - bruising ground and pound on the Seahawks' part, a furious no-huddle comeback from Peyton Manning with an 80-yard march and 2-point conversion with less than a minute to go in the 4th quarter.  Overtime.  Love in the air.  Oh what I'd give to have a game like that in February, but September will still do just fine.

Devin Hester, Swiss Army Knife - I don't consider this total treachery since he will probably retire a Bear someday, but how about the Falcons' Devin Hester on Thursday night?  It's surprising looking back at the stats that he only had two touches on offense during Atlanta's merciless rout of the Buccaneers, because by Kanye if he didn't seem to be everywhere all the time.  In a mere 60 minutes, No. 17 racked up one of those typical punt returns for a touchdown, a beautiful 20-yard sweep into the endzone, and a rare offensive fumble return.  And you won't see it on a highlight reel, but dude's a pretty solid chip blocker too, making Atlanta's offense look way more 2012 than 2013.

Pittsburgh's Ground Game - I'll admit it.  I didn't think Pittsburgh had a prayer against Carolina on Sunday night given the way both teams have played so far this year.  You can chalk some of it up to the Panthers' thin receiving corps/offensive line, as "experts" like myself have tried to corner them into for the last six months.  Cam Newton was certainly worse for the wear at the end of the day.  But the biggest key to the Steelers' success had to be their surprisingly potent run game against one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL today.  Le'Veon Bell and LaGarrette Blount of "Up in Smoke" fame dropped over 250 rushing yards on a vicious front seven and never looked back.  I lean toward the Panthers having a bad night more than the Steelers breaking out for good, but that's just the kind of win Pittsburgh needs to face divisional foe Cincinnati with legit confidence.

Nailed It! My Best Week 3 Prediction: Hey, I might finally get past 0.500 for a change!  It wasn't exactly rocket science, but it turns out the Buccaneers' defense may just be this bad:

• "If the allegedly vaunted defense of the Bucs couldn't stop two guys I wouldn't be able to recognize in a bar at knifepoint, I think they're going to have a real hard time with Matt Ryan in the Georgia Dome."

Week 3: The Bad Stuff

A Buccaneer Blowout of Epic Proportions - Tempting as it is to do, I don't totally mean to discredit the Falcons for Thursday's 56 - 14 trouncing of the Buccaneers.  Atlanta's offense is humming and the defense and special teams answered the door when opportunities knocked... over and over.  But it takes a special kind of awful to go down 35 - 0 roughly 20 minutes into a ball game.  It all felt like an especially excruciating episode of Breaking Madden where the QB might as well run backwards into the other team's endzone on every snap.  I read at least 3 - 4 recaps that chose the word "hapless" to describe the Bucs, and that may have been generous.  Josh McCown looks utterly lost without the kind of supporting cast the Bears were able to provide last year.  Poor Lovie Smith looks ready to--please indulge me here, I am tired--walk the plank right out of town before the rest of his defense can even get healthy again.  I guess I can't blame him as Tampa fans brace themselves for another lost season.

Whatever's Wrong with Aaron Rodgers - If you'd told me in August that the Packers, 49ers, Saints and Colts would all go 1 - 2 to start the season, I'd laugh and then ask you to share your meds with the rest of us.  The Colts get a little grace from a tough schedule while the 49ers and Saints have had some bad bounces in the fourth quarter, but Green Bay has started out a shell of its former self in 2014, especially on offense.  The Packers are plagued with injuries as they seem to be every year, but the lack of production from Aaron Rodgers in particular is stunning - as in 28th out of 32 teams in passing yards/Joe Flacco has you beat by a long shot.  He looked totally out of sync Sunday against a Detroit team he usually has zero problem with, missing textbook passes and seeing ghosts in the pocket.  The Packers seem to start things out this way most years and then come back gliding on a unicorn, so it may not be cause for panic yet, but with the Bears and Lions playing like contenders so far, Green Bay won't get the kind of cushion they're used to this time around.

Shanked It!  My Worst Week 3 Prediction - D'oh!  Sorry for jinxing your team, Jonathan.  Somehow the Chargers made it look easy against the Bills on Sunday despite wringing just two yards per carry from third-string running back Donald Brown.  Why do I even try to pick these games?

• "I may come to regret this because I was thisclose to picking the Chargers, but given that they lost Ryan Mathews, have an early East Coast game, and will surely disappoint after a massive win against the Seahawks, this year's Bills might just take advantage."