NFL Week 3: A failed state
The Vikings are floundering, and the Falcons need to make changes pronto. But at least the Seahawks showed us that redemption is possible.
The Vikings are paying Kirk Cousins $33 million annually to lead the worst team in their division.
Per Tallysight, 46 percent of NFL experts pegged Minnesota as this year’s eventual NFC North champion, tied with Green Bay atop the prognostications. Instead, head coach Mike Zimmer has spent his autumn getting pantsed at every opportunity. Week 1 saw the Packers take a three-score lead into the fourth quarter. Seven days later, the Colts did the same.
Neither of those losses inspired quite the same kind of despair as Sunday’s 31-30 loss to the Titans. On a day when rookie Justin Jefferson balanced out a receiving attack struggling to adjust to Stefon Diggs’ departure, an embattled secondary held Ryan Tannehill without a passing touchdown, and Kyle Rudolph did this:
And the Vikings still found a way to lose. They frittered away a 24-12 advantage with less than 20 minutes left in the process. Minnesota is now 0-3 on the year. Since the playoffs expanded to 12 teams in 1990, 146 teams have started their season 0-3. Only four (2.7 percent) have fought their way up through three weeks of dirt and into the postseason.
The light at the end of Cousins’ tunnel is a little brighter thanks to the NFL’s decision to give each conference an extra wild card spot this year. It won’t grow larger than a pinhole unless he can be significantly better.
The young veteran improved Sunday compared to Week 2, in part because it would be difficult to be much worse than his zero-touchdown, three-interception performance in Indianapolis. He helped Jefferson realize his potential in a breakthrough game (seven catches, 175 yards).
He also threw what should have been a pick-six to Johnathan Joseph to start the third quarter, then crumbled like feta cheese when asked to lead a two-minute drill trailing by a single point in the fourth:
Cousins has had to do some extra lifting thanks to an exodus on the defensive side of the ball. Poor cap management meant 2019 starters like Trae Waynes, Linval Joseph, Everson Griffen, and Xavier Rhodes are all playing elsewhere in 2020. Add in a torn pectoral for Anthony Barr and some very, very questionable secondary play behind Harrison Smith and you’ve got a group that’s given up 102 points in three games. In no phase have the Vikings looked like a playoff team, let alone NFC title contender.
That problem is compounded by a rising tide in the NFC North. The Packers continue to look like the team that won 13 games a year ago, even with a shallow receiving corps behind Davante Adams. The Bears are 3-0 despite benching starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. They’ll turn their offense over to Nick Foles, author of a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback over the Falcons Sunday. The Lions jumped out of the division basement by upending the feisty Cardinals with a rally of their own.
With $41 million in dead cap money tied to his contract through 2021, Cousins is the face of Minnesota’s immediate future. But after showing signs of life and notching his first playoff win last winter — upending the Saints with a pair of clutch throws in the process — he’s taken a major step backward. The highly paid Viking will improve as he regresses to his mean, but that won’t be enough to bail this team out of an 0-3 hole. Cousins is going to have to be a top 10 quarterback to lead Minnesota to the playoffs.
Nothing about his September suggests he’ll be able to get there. — CD
Week 3 results, in five words or fewer
Browns 34, Washington 20
Steelers 28, Texans 21
49ers 36, Giants 9
Backups get another MetLife win
Titans 31, Vikings 30
Bills 35, Rams 32
Patriots 36, Raiders 20
Burkhead grinds down Gruden’s team
Bears 30, Falcons 26
Eagles 23, Bengals 23 (OT)
Panthers 21, Chargers 16
Colts 36, Jets 7
Buccaneers 28, Broncos 10
Lions 26, Cardinals 23
Seahawks 38, Cowboys 31
Packers 37, Saints 30
Box score double take
In three games with Tom Brady as his quarterback, Mike Evans is averaging a career-low 36 yards per game. He’s also leading the NFL in touchdown receptions, thanks in part to a stat line like this:
If you think that’s rare, you’d be correct:
I don’t know whether to congratulate or apologize to anyone who has Evans on their fantasy team. — SH
Redeem Team of the Week
The Seahawks could’ve easily landed on this week’s pain index after a couple of incredible brain farts almost cost against the Cowboys. Instead, they were able to make up for those gaffes in a comeback win.
In the first quarter of a tie game, Russell Wilson connected with DK Metcalf for what should’ve been a long score ... until Metcalf decided to channel DeSean Jackson and not in a good way.
Trevon Diggs never gave up on the play and forced the fumble for a touchback. Metcalf would then atone for that mistake at the best possible time. With Seattle down 31-30, Metcalf hauled in a 29-yard touchdown from Wilson right after the two-minute warning. That proved to be the game-winning score.
The Seahawks’ secondary also got to make amends when it mattered most. On the Cowboys’ fourth-quarter drive that gave them a temporary lead, Tre Flowers could have and should have snagged an interception deep in Dallas territory:
After the Seahawks regained the lead, the Cowboys still had a chance to tie the game late. Any hope ended when Ryan Neal, just elevated from the Seattle practice squad, sealed the game with an interception in the end zone. — SH
The Week 3 Pain Index
You did it, Lions! You not only broke an 11-game losing streak but you also find yourselves left off the pain index for the first time all season. Maybe the key to winning games is to never build a double-digit lead?
While the Lions took the week off from mentally tormenting their fans, the Chargers and Falcons joined them as two-time pain index recipients. Rounding things out are the Eagles, who in their PI debut became the first team to make our list without actually losing their game.
3. Chargers
A week after playing up to their opponent and nearly beating the Chiefs for just the second time in their last 13 games, the Chargers played down to a Panthers team they should have rolled over, losing 21-16.
Last week, an overtime punt led to their downfall. This week, after 59+ minutes of miscues, the Chargers decided to go big with a hook-and-lateral play that could’ve been a walk-in touchdown but resulted in a walkoff fumble.
At least there was no live crowd there to see this one, not that you need COVID to keep people away from a Bolts game. And so, another week in what will most likely be another season of soul-crushing football from one of the most accursed teams in pro sports. If I knew any Chargers fans, I’d hug them. — RVB
2. Eagles
You see a team punting for a tie in overtime; I see a forward-thinking head coach with an eye toward innovation. Sure, anyone can slip into the play-not-to-lose mindset in the second quarter, or play it safe for no reason late in the fourth, like Doug Pederson did when Philly kicked the PAT to tie instead of going for the win (YOU’RE 0-2, DUDE!). But to punt on fourth-and-17 from midfield with 18 seconds left in OT and absolutely nothing left to lose, that’s three-level chess.
After 4th Down Bot went all Sports By Brooks back in 2017, the cottage industry of NFL fourth down hot takes got stale. The story had been changed, finally. Doug Pederson is breathing new life into the fading corpse of professional journalism.
Or, maybe he just didn’t want the Bengals to get too much hype for winning a game they still have a teeny sliver of a chance at with 18 seconds left. I mean, Doug Pederson knows QBs — give Joe Burrow some breathing room, don’t let a possible win get to his head three games into his pro career.
Or, maybe he just wanted to let the rest of us average Joes and Janes know that it’s okay to phone it in sometimes. This has been a difficult year; don’t be so hard on yourself.
But, hey, even if Pederson just fell victim to classic needlessly conservative coaching tendencies, at least he can go home tonight and confidently say, “at least I’m not Dan Quinn. That shit was embarrassing.” — RVB
1. Falcons
After the Falcons’ latest implosion a week ago, their game against the Bears could’ve gone a couple ways. They could have come out flat, looking like they had no confidence and had quit on their coaches. Or they could have come out playing with extra motivation, hoping to wash the nasty taste of last week’s embarrassment out of their mouths.
Or they could’ve done what they did a week ago. And, of course, that’s which option they chose:
The Falcons players, after letting an off-the-bench Nick Foles rally the Bears to 20 straight points, did not blame Dan Quinn. And I understand their desire to defend him. He seems like a decent guy, an anti-Adam Gase if you will.
But here’s what I want to say to them and to the entire Falcons organization: Things don’t have to be this bad. You are living in a never-ending cycle of agony, and it’s almost entirely self-inflicted. You have the power to demand better. DO IT. Don’t just accept this current hellscape as your new normal. No one deserves that.
It’s time to move on from Quinn. Well, last year was the time to move on from him, but better late than never, I suppose. It won’t fix everything, but nothing will really change until you start there. Get those most responsible for this mess out first and then figure out how to put it all back together after that.
Btw, now’s probably a good time to remind everyone to make sure you’re registered to vote and have a plan for when and how you’ll vote. — SH