NFL Week 3 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Man oh man, what a wild weekend of football. I mean really, there were nail biting games and some not so nail biting games but either way, every time I had a game on I definitely found myself entertained. But as always the most fascinating part of the NFL are the stories that emerge on the field and here is what we learned from Week 3 in the NFL.

1. The teams that needed a big win to save their season...got the W. Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Seattle all teams that entered this week 0-2 finally put it together when they needed to most. An 0-3 start would certainly lessen their chances of making it to the playoffs, but there's hope in these cities once again. The downside to these wins is the fact that all three came against teams that well...are likely going to struggle all season but hey, a win is a win and if it gives these teams a fighting chance, so be it. 

2. The New England Patriots decided it was time to unload on a team and unfortunately that team just happened to be the Jacksonville Jaguars. Obviously, the Jags now have to go back to the drawing board yet again, which is a shame after a morale boosting win over Miami but holy hell man...the Pats just embarrassed and destroyed this team through and through and the irony was, it wasn't all Tom Brady dropping balls into the end zone. The tailbacks made the team proud, specifically LeGarrette Blount who managed to find his way into the end zone three times. This is a scary team right now, one filled with revenge in their hearts that they want to unleash on the league and so far...the Pats seem to be unstoppable. 

3. The Denver Broncos are becoming one of the most exciting teams to watch, for all the wrong reasons. I mean seriously, every freaking game now is a close one, and the defense always seems to make some miraculous play to spark the offense and I'm not sure my heart can take much more of it...but at the same time, you gotta love it. On the plus side however, Peyton Manning made some incredible plays, as did his wide receivers and for the moment run game be damned because the Broncos just keep winning, but every Denver fan has to be wondering when this luck will run out...

4. We need to take a moment and talk about the wonder of quarterbacking that is Aaron Rodgers. He was absolutely magical last night against the Chiefs and it's rare that you see a Quarterback completely own an defense the way Rodgers owned KC last night. He had them jumping off sides at will, snagging a free play every time it happened and a few of those just happened to be touchdowns because of how well he managed to confuse the Chiefs defense. It was simply poetry in motion on the field and even when the Chiefs stood up to Rodgers he found a way to make plays and torch them. Last night's performance was one for the ages ladies and gents. 

5. The value of a good backup quarterback, or a good quarterback in general was once again demonstrated this weekend. Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New Orleans all had their backups in the game with their starters injured and the end result for those teams was meh. Each team lost this weekend and none of the backups did anything worth while. Thought of the four Brandon Weeden and Luke McCown probably did the least amount of damage for their teams and Michael Vick came into service late as is and Clausen was...well worse than Cutler. Yes that's possible. Either way, these teams will no doubt evaluate their current crop of QB's and keep their eyes peeled on free agents, but let's be honest, the free agents out there this time of year are pretty so so. Here's to hoping these backups settle in and take the reins for as long as they are in service.

---