The NFL Roundup 2020: Week 3 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Well football fans, just like that another week of football is in the books and boy is the season just flying by. Because it seems like it was only yesterday that we were celebrating football’s return. But now we are closing in on the quarter season mark and something that is helping this sport cook right along, is the progress that teams are making on the field. Because Week 3 in the NFL simply felt like traditional football through and through. Since we saw teams making clean and wonderful plays, and to top it off, the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, giving all of us an early idea of who might be competing for a playoff spot as we inch toward the middle of the season. But while it was nice to feel a sense of normalcy, one cannot forget that this week also offered up all kinds of fascinating storylines and lessons about our favorite teams and with that in mind, let’s reflect upon this weekend’s slate of games and everything it taught us.
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Thursday Night Football continues to be an issue for the NFL.
Look, we all love prime-time football and understandably so. Because watching two NFL teams take the field under those bright evening lights, while we watch the game from the comfort of our recliners after a long day of work, is just a special experience. But unfortunately, that particular wonder isn’t always present when we settle in to watch TNF, simply because the Thursday night game continues to be plagued with problems. Because once again, we were treated to a bad game with bad officiating and at this point, the league has to do something to offer up a better product. Simply because no one wants to see lopsided matchups and refs that eject players for the wrong reasons. Which means the league has to schedule better for these games and provide us with better officiating crews so that the end result isn’t so laughable and predictable. But alas, who knows when that is going to happen, because these are issues that continue to be discussed by fans and sports writers alike, year in and year out.
 
The Buffalo Bills are a legitimate contender this year.
For a long, long, long, LONG time in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills have been the laughingstock of the AFC East. Because their revolving door at quarterback, combined with lackluster defensive play, allowed for this team to get blown out on a regular basis for seasons on end. But the past few years, wherein this team has taken the time to find a franchise quarterback and a decent defense and some offensive weapons has made them into something special this year; a contender. And for proof, then look no further than this week’s game. Because the Rams are no slouch, heck, they’ve been to a Super Bowl under Head Coach Sean McVay. But the Bills held their own against them at home, and found a way to wiggle out a win, and that’s huge. Because the best teams out there are the ones that make that happen, and they’ve played inspired ball through all three weeks of the regular season. So, don’t be surprised if this team walks away with the East and goes deep in the playoffs, because they are something special this year.
 
The Bears finally made a good decision at quarterback.
Let’s not mince any words here, Chicago’s decision to draft Mitchell Trubisky a few years back, was a bad one. Everyone knew it, except for the Bears apparently, and this team has paid the price for years because of it. But thankfully, after four years of agonizing hope that #10 would somehow transform into a great quarterback, Head Coach Matt Nagy finally pulled the plug on the Trubisky experiment and benched the young man on Sunday and thank goodness that he did. Because despite Atlanta’s missteps, this team was inspired with Nick Foles at the helm and the proof is in his stats. But what matters more, is that Foles was announced as the starter for the upcoming Chiefs game and well, that’s definitely the right call. Because #10 just isn’t the guy for this team and hopefully Chicago sticks with Foles for the rest of the season, so that Trubisky can learn from a seasoned and championship veteran; before Mitch moves onto his next quarterbacking gig.
 
The San Francisco 49ers are going to be just fine, after all.
The ‘Next Man Up’ is an age-old concept in the NFL, one that only works when a team takes the time to add depth to their roster and the Niners are a team that have once again reinforced this fact. Because the injury bug has managed to rob them of some top-tier starters, to the point where they should start losing games. But since they draft well and sign the right free agents, they were able to enjoy quite the solid win on Sunday afternoon. Because QB Nick Mullens didn’t miss a beat under center and threw for 343 yards and a touchdown, all while completing 69% of his passes and the defense did their part as well, since they held the Giants to a meager 9 points and 231 total yards of offense. Which means that San Francisco will be just fine without their starters in the coming weeks, and hopefully other teams in the league (looking at you, Denver) take notice of this magnificent formula for emergency success and make it their own.
 
The Philadelphia Eagles are a mess right now.
Every year there is that one team in the league that has all the right pieces on their roster, yet they still find a way to falter and it would seem that in 2020; that team is going to be the Philadelphia Eagles. Because they have a sound defense, and a solid offense as well, yet their record this year is 0-2-1 and their star QB looks like a third teamer that’s been pressed into service and that’s just wild. Since this team should be accomplishing wonders on the field right now instead of tying with teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and it’s clear this squad needs to take a moment to reflect upon well… everything. Because what they’re doing right now, just isn’t working and it’s either shake things up early on in the season and make it clear that being a hot mess on the field is unacceptable or let this kind of ugly persist and watch the season slip away. And it should be quite interesting to see how this team responds to their current situation, since that will tell us what they are made of and what they want to accomplish.     

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