For weeks it was said that quarterback Mitchell Trubisky could not throw for long passes. It was also said that he would not rise to the occasion until Week 10.
Well to the surprise of every single football analyst, amateur podcasters and fans alike, the young QB took command of the Bears offense and proved that he can throw the rock.
The Chicago Bears offense hit the ground running on their first play and never looked back. Trubisky made it loud and clear that he could throw by drilling one down 48 yards to tight end Trey Burton for a touchdown.
Week 4 is in the books. The Lions felt like world beaters last week after they were able to pull off the upset against New England. Could their momentum carry over to the Cowboys?
They had their first 100-yard rusher in running back Kerryon Johnson, and their defense was playing out of their minds. Could that momentum carry over to the Cowboys?
What started out to be a great game, unfortunately, wound up in disappointment. The wide receivers, especially Kenny Golladay had some great catches and were overall impressive.
I thought about doing an article like this for several years now, only to chicken out because it seemed so silly.
Plus I thought I was the only one in America that does this.
But come this Sunday, as most are sitting down with a beer and some Chicken wings, or gathering with friends at a bar to watch our beloved 3-0 Dolphins travel to dreaded Foxboro, I will be waxing my boat.
The Indianapolis Colts were unable to pull off a victory against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday in a 20-16 loss to put their record at 1-2.
Though the loss was only by four points, the Colts seemed to have regressed, especially offensively. They showed little efficiency on third down and committed 11 penalties for 77 yards. It was sloppy, uninspired football.
The Colts’ leading rusher was quarterback Andrew Luck, with 33 yards. It was known that the Colts run game would be by committee this season, but that was obviously not working on Sunday. The next highest rusher was RB Jordan Wilkins, who had 6 carries for just 19 yards.
Perhaps the only silver lining in this team’s performance was the secondary, specifically linebackers Margus Hunt and Darius Leonard, made things difficult for Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia offense.
I have a confession to make – I didn’t watch the game live. I was at a Def Leppard/Journey concert in San Diego. That made watching it today, after knowing the outcome, a LOT harder.
As Patriots’ fans, we’ve been spoiled – we’ve seen a whole lot of winning. When the Patriots have a bad game, there’s no one better at coming back the next week and looking like a completely different team.
So the Patriots starting the season with a 1-2 record is a bitter pill to swallow for us. Most of us were sure that after the loss to the Jaguars, the Patriots would bounce back and walk out of Detroit with a win. But what we forgot is that Matt Patricia, now head coach of the Detroit Lions, knows the Patriots and he knows them well.
Before I get into the write-up, let me just introduce this. Yes, you know me as a Lions fan. However, the Steelers needed some love, so I went ahead and decided that I would pick them up and write about them as well.
It’s been fun learning about this team. I know plenty of Steeler fans, a lot of my family are Steelers fans, so it’s good to branch out a bit. I’ll do it like my Pride Report articles. I’ll have the person who was the Steel Deal (did something well) and who was Not the Deal (who didn’t do something well). So, here we go! (See what I did there?)
The Pittsburgh Steelers had to go on the road to face the red-hot Buccaneers and the even hotter quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. This was looking to be quite the task. The winless Pittsburgh Steelers have had quite a drama-filled off-season and season so far. From running back Le’Veon Bell’s holdout to wide receiver Antonio Brown’s absence from practice earlier in the week, it’s been eventful. Could the Steelers come in and pull off the win?
The Los Angeles Rams are on a roll! For the first time in more than a decade, the Rams are off to a 3-0 start. They have been favored in every game thus far and covered the spread each time. Does this mean they will be able to beat the Minnesota Vikings Thursday night?
Rams quarterback Jared Goff seems to be getting more comfortable and improving every game. Against the Los Angeles Chargers, he went for three touchdowns, an interception and completed 29 of his 36 passes. He’s got an arm that allows him to throw over the middle of the field and doesn’t seem afraid to take chances with long balls.
The 2-1 Carolina Panthers defeated the now 2-1 Cincinnati Bengals Sunday 31-21. The Panthers recorded a great team win heading into their bye week, and redeemed themselves following a disappointing defensive performance that lead to a loss last week.
While quarterback Cam Newton and running back Christian McCaffrey both had impressive days on offense, there was one new name that especially stood out on defense. That name is linebacker Efe Obada.
If you’re like me, you have never heard Efe Obada’s name until yesterday. That’s because yesterday was Obada’s first NFL start. Despite that, number 94 looked like a veteran and went on the field with the intention to make a name for himself.
Despite only playing in 29% of the team snaps, Obada recorded one sack for a loss of ten yards and caught one interception during the game. He also tackled QB Andy Dalton as he was throwing, forcing what at first look appeared to be a fumble. The fumble was then reversed and called an incomplete pass, but Obada was left applying pressure and recording a QB hit. In the locker room, 94’s performance impressed his teammates and coach so much that he was awarded one of the game balls.
The Seattle Seahawks had a lot of what could have been distractions the days prior to their week 3 game against the Dallas Cowboys. However, once on the field, they were completely focused and ready to get their first win.
To be totally honest, I waited a little longer than normal to write this article. In fact, this is the second time in a week I’ve paused my writing “just in case”. That “just in case” would be Seahawks safety Earl Thomas.
It has been well documented that Thomas is unhappy with his contract, including a holdout during the preseason. However once he arrived at the facility, ready to play week 1, most fans thought that would be the end of the drama. How little did we know.
After two pretty awful looking games, the Lions were facing the New England Patriots. Exactly what the doctor did NOT order.
The Patriots were coming off of a loss to Jacksonville on the road and the word was that quarterback Tom Brady was irritated. And that’s never a good sign. Defensive end Ziggy Ansah was ruled out for the game. Cornerback Darius Slay‘s status was unsure going into the game due to an injury from last week.
The Patriots were also dealing with some injuries of their own. Safety Patrick Chung, CB Eric Rowe, and defensive lineman Trey Flowers were all out for the game. So, the Lions actually had a chance. Slim, but still a chance. It was amazing, actually, once the game got started to see what was taking place.