Sep 287 min read

Strides Forward

Well week-3 was sure an interesting week on the griddy, huh? We are officially makin' strides forward. Clarity and consistency is beginning to build, but we still have plenty of unpredictability. Broncos blowing out the Bucs in Tampa? Vikings smashin' the Texans 34-7? Surely, we have unpredictability still runnin' wild, but all-in-all the week had far more consistency than unpredictability. Will this weekend give off the same tune?

The slate is nice this weekend. Several intra-conference matchups, a playoff rematch from last season, and two banger primetime matchups give off major shine. Lets go no structure, all blitz to catch up and prep for this weekend with TNF already decided. Talk the teams makin' those strides forward; as well as the teams finding negative consistency. Spagz! Send 'em all.

Early Rookie Statements; Bayou Style:

We have two former LSU Tigers droppin' early rookie statements, and growing quickly as each week passes by. Both Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers look sharp to start their respected careers. Nabers is showing true value for New York, as Daniels is showing to be the top rookie-QB early on. Both cats did their dance in WK-2 when their teams met (Commanders 21-18), and have only gotten better since as they each had unreal performances in week-3 to help lift their squads to dubs.

Nabers was all over the field for the G-Men, finding the endzone twice while makin' highlight plays left and right to push the Giants past the Browns. This being his best of the bunch:

video via @NFLonFOX//X

Heli-tuddy! Nabers was also exceptional last night against the Cowboys; posting 12 receptions, 5 first-downs, and 115 yards before suffering a concussion. With four games under his belt, Nabers currently leads the NFL in targets (52), first-downs (19), receiving yards (386), and receptions (35). He will likely hold onto the reception and targets lead after the week concludes in Detroit on Monday night. The cat has been beyond good for New York, who may be winless without his production.

Jayden Daniels' production and progression for the Commanders has been just as valuable. What a game he had in primetime against the Bengals. As close to a perfect game as you can get. Excellent poise, sharp pocket presence & pocket movement, and pure precision especially on the deep throws. Daniels made three high-high level deep throws. Just look at this beauty to McLaurin for six:

video via @NFL/X

What a dot in that type of moment with a dashin' Geno Stone activating the boom on impact. A must make third-down and Daniels has the grit to trust his arm AND number-one receiver to take the game then and there, right on the spot with a dot. Stone cold throw for a rookie in week-3 of the regular season. Daniels was stone-cold all night long in Cincy in a huge "jump-up" game. He passed for his first set of touchdowns in the NFL (had 2-rush in WK-1), passed for a career high in yards (264), and executed on the big-time deep throws.

It was a big game for the rook to prove he can be a passer at this level. JD looked better on the road against Cincy than a good chunk of the highest paid vets have looked so far this season. Already, he looks to set aside the Bryce Young fear. Daniels looked real sharp; mix in his running production, fakes, and option read vision success; it was real sharp. Good early work by Tavita Prichard & Kingsbury… more work ahead! I love this clip of Terry McLaurin & Brian Robinson Jr. praising the throw from their rookie signal caller:

video via @JayDanielsMVP//X

Seahawks Soaring To Start Macdonald Era:

Seattle has things rockin' going into its first big game of the season against the Lions on Monday night. Undefeated with the 2nd-best current total defense, and 8th-best total offense. Folks will downgrade the 24-3 win over the 'Fins due to Tua being out I am sure, but it was a damn good win after beating the Broncos and Patriots in close-late games. All those silly excuses don't hold weight. The NFL comp is NFL comp, cha heard. Besides, Monday we get some solid clarity on these 'Hawks.

You can't not like what Seattle is doing through three weeks. Defense has been great to hold the 2-spot. Passing defense is number one while the rushing defense ranks 15th. I am excited to see how the pass defense holds up in Detroit against Jared Goff, Ben Johnson, and co. That's a monster jump from the rookie Nix, Brissett, and Skylar Thompson. While Ben Johnson and a Campbell prepped Lions O is far more comp compared to the other three faced up to this point. It's been a great start in Seattle, winning on Monday would make them legit.

Starting Dalton Stays True:

Canales decision to bench Bryce Young for veteran Andy Dalton pays true. Glad the close-minded could recognize quickly. As I said on last week's NFL piece, the offense would look far better in WK-3 under Dalton. As figured, the team put up the most points (36) in a game since WK-16 of their 2022 campaign. The offense unleashed 436 total yards, the most in a game for Carolina since WK-17 of '22. It was just the second game since the 2022 season that the Panthers had a QB throw for over 300 yards... the other time being in WK-3 of last year by none other than Andy Dalton.

Took the Panthers up to October 29th (WK-8) to get their first dub last season. Sittin' at 1-2 here this season has the squad feelin' up after being dismantled and outscored 13-73 through the first two weeks. What a turn around game for the Panthers. On the road against a team that was full of confidence from a big dub the week prior. Big time for Dave Canales and staff. Fans won't be quick to criticize him moving forward. Again, it took some guts to sit Young after all of the cards that were played before the decision. The decision led to a 360 inside the locker-room, and more importantly on the football field. Next they face a team in the Bengals who sit on the other side of the spectrum, 0-3 and in some sorrow. Time for the Panthers to build off this win and get to .500.

Performing Under Pressure:

Tampa Bay's loss at home last week to the Broncos was a brutal speed bump after a huge win on the road against Detroit in WK-2. Most are quick to blame Mayfield for not "doing enough", as he only passed for 163, a tuddy, and a pick, but the cat is runnin' around like a stray dog trying to make plays. Mayfield has faced the most blitzes (43), been hurried the most (14), and has the sixth most pressures against him (32). I'd say he's been having a pretty damn good season considering the pressure he has been under.

Baker currently sits in the 3-spot in my QB power rankings when you consider the pressure stats. Baker has the 4th-best completion percentage through three games, 5th-best passer-rating, and has the 5th-best (lowest) bad throw percentage (according to Football Reference). Baker made major impact plays against Detroit and was superb in the opening week win over the Commanders. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts last week in the rear-mirror quick with a solid performance against the Eagles on Sunday.

Tomlin Cookin':

Mike Tomlin has the Steelers undefeated at 3-0 for the 4th time under his regime, and the 10th time overall in the history of the 'chise. All three wins grinded out across four quarters. Nothing beautiful; nothing too sloppy. Like Toretto said, it doesn't matter if you win by an inch, or a mile; winning is winning, and the Steelers are winning. Pittsburgh has the 5th-best points differential, number-one defense, and third best turnover differential.

Tomlin and the Steelers look to keep its zero alive Sunday on the road in Indy. Pittsburgh is 2-0 on the road already, joining the Cowboys as the only two teams with that feat. I like the chances of the top-ranked defense gettin' to Anthony Richardson. The more Shane Steichen wants to throw the ball, the more I think the Steelers will win. Colts will need to lean on their 11th ranked rushing offense despite the Steelers having the 3rd-best rushing defense. Should be a good chess match in Indy.

Solid Week-5 Slate:

We have a solid slate of action this weekend, and on Monday. I for one think another MNF double-header is absolutely not needed, at least the main-event is a slobber knocker between the Lions and undefeated Seahawks. Last year, the two squads put on an afternoon overtime banger in WK-2; this season they look to follow that up with some primetime thrills on Monday Night Football. We have three solid one-o'clockers, including two division wars with the Saints traveling to Atlanta, and the undefeated Vikings traveling to Lambeau.

If that all isn't appealing enough, we also have a playoff rematch between the Eagles and Buccaneers... again in Tampa, as well as two solid late afternooners with the rook Jayden Daniels set to duel with Kyler Murray in the desert, and a Reid/Harbaugh head-2-head matchup that isn't the Harbaugh that Reid sprouted. No, we get the Reid/Harbaugh head-2-head that Big Red can't win (0-2). Chiefs. Chargers. The rivalry should lite fireworks once again; I am pumped to see if Reid can best Jimbo for the first time. Harbaugh takin' the Chiefs zero and keeping his against Reid would make the stove EXTRA hot for the WK-14 matchup in December. Those fire matchups lead to the MAIN course: Bills traveling to Baltimore for a primetime clash with the Ravens on SNF.

I am pumped for that Ravens/Bills game. Jackson beating Allen in primetime would be huge to get the Flock to .500. I have the Bills atop my current power rankings going into the weekend, Ravens beating them would sure cause a stir in those rankings, as well as the NFL standings. Another great weekend of action on the griddy is in store. Lets go! Leave here with a look at my current Power Rankings:

NFL Power Rankings - WK-4 '24 - Spittin' Cap