NFL Recap || Week 3

Edition #164

Intro:

We saw a wild weekend of NFL play.

The Saints, who were deemed unbeatable by everyone, scored 12 points and lost against an ailing Eagles team, while the Nabers went crazy on the Browns’ defense leading the Giants to the win. But, the biggest upset by far, was the Broncos beating the Buccaneers up. I did not see that coming.

Instead of writing and analyzing all the games, I’m only going to be talking about the best games in each window. Let’s get it!

(NOTE: Sunday Night Football is not included in this list.)

1:00 P.M. EST:

The best game of the 1 PM window has to be the Eagles vs Saints. I was watching and analyzing this game too, so the info you’re about to receive might be the best.

It all started in the first quarter when the Saints’ offense slowly but surely began to race down the field. They surpassed two 3rd and longs but faltered right after the second one when the Eagles D finally woke up. Blake Grupe, the kicker for the Saints, actually hit this FG off the posts but made it as it bounced off and went it.

From then on, just looking at the scoring breakdown, it doesn’t seem exciting, but it sure was.

The problem for the Eagles in the first half was that they didn’t utilize Saquon Barkley and Hurts was trying a bit too much. What I mean by that is, when the Saints tried to sack him, instead of getting sacked or trying to break free like everyone else would, Jalen would panic and just throw it somewhere. This is how he fumbled a ball and threw a pick. Not utilizing Saquon Barkley was key for this game to be competitive. When Saquon went off in the second half, he had 120 yards for 12 carries and 1 TD. In the first half, he had 27 yards in 5 carries.

One more problem for the Eagles was the coaching decisions. Multiple times, the Eagles could’ve put points on the board to tie the game up 3 apiece. Instead, Nick Sirianni chose to go for it and failed every time.

The Saints and their fan celebrated those moments, but little did they know, that same exact thing was going to happen to them, at the wrong time.

Fast forward from halftime to the 4th quarter, the Saints attempted a 4th and 1, and had Kamara run the ball. He missed it. Then a minute later, the Eagles hand the ball to Barkley who runs off into open space for a 65-yard TD! His sprint speed on that play was the second-fastest this year by an RB. The Saints have given up the lead for the first time this year!

The Saints then get the ball back and just a few plays later, Carr has a big pass to Kamara who gets it into FG range for Grupe, who then kicks a 38-yard FG. Score now? 7-6.

The Eagles then get into FG range and Jake Elliot tries to hit a 60-yard FG. He misses and gives the ball right back to New Orleans who goes up the field to score a TD, but with a missed two-point conversion, all the Eagles need is a TD which they get with a minute remaining. They scored the two-point conversion as well, giving the Saints 1 minute to score a touchdown, just like they did against the Falcons.

But, it didn’t matter. Reed Blankenship picked him off after Brandon Graham pressured him. Game over. The Saints’ magical run is most likely over after this.

4:00 P.M. EST:

There were a lot of good games going on at this time, but if we’re talking about the best game, it has to be the Rams’ comeback versus the 49ers. What a game.

It wasn’t all Brandon Aiyuk in this one, but Jauan Jennings. At the 11-minute mark of the first quarter, Brock Purdy connected d with Jennings for a 13-yard TD pass. 10 minutes later, it was the same connection but it was a 4-yard TD. By the end of the first quarter, Jennings had 51 receiving yards and 2 TDs.

Stafford and the crew came back in the second quarter after a clutch 7-yard rush on 4th and 6 by Rivers. 5 minutes later, they scored the TD. That drive specifically was 16 plays, 87 yards, and 7 minutes and 44 seconds long.

Things got interesting in the 3rd quarter when both teams scored a touchdown. The Rams did it via a 48-yard defensive pass interference whereas the 49ers did it solely via skill with an 11-play, 91-yard drive.

Now, the 4th quarter was the best.

The 49ers took up half the quarter to go down the field and score an FG, and that’s all the points they would get in this quarter. At this point, the Rams were down by 7. Well, that was until they hit a FG in just a minute. Now it’s 4. The 49ers then spent another 3 minutes to go down the field just for Jake Moody to miss a 55-yard FG. The Rams then only needed 52 seconds to go 55 yards down the field to make a TD. TIE GAME! The 49ers get the ball again. This time, they have to punt the ball. Mitch Wishnowsky punted the ball 43 yards to the LA12, but Xavier Smith, the undrafted rookie that no one wanted, stole the show with a 38-yard return! After a 19-yard defensive pass interference and a run by Kyren Williams, all they needed was to stall time and that’s what they did and they got the FG.

There was only 2 seconds left on the clock. The Rams were trailing this game for 59 minutes and 58 seconds. WOW. Even then, the 49ers did the 49ers. Brock Purdy threw a short pass and they continued latter-rolling it until the LA 40, when they fumbled the ball. Tensions arose.