A shocking week in the NFL had what may be the game of the year, plenty of upsets, and it also marked a quarter of the season coming and going. In this special edition of takeaways i’m going to discuss three things I was wrong about and three things I got on the nose.
Right: Browns Will be Okay
Coming off a week four thrashing of Ravens, I affirm what I said about the Browns after they got handled by the Titans. They’ll be fine. Baker has a bit of a problem running around with this below average offensive line, but he’s making it work. Nick Chubb looked fantastic against the Ravens. Let’s not forget these Ravens are known as a top eight defense! The Browns needed a few games to figure it out but they will move on from their losses and still win the AFC North.
Wrong: Falcons Will Make the Playoffs
Now I can’t say anything for sure yet. But the Falcons are 1-3 after four games, fourth place in the NFC South. They trail the Jameis Winston Buccaneers, the Drew Brees-less Saints and the Cam Newton-less Panthers. They can’t hold a lead, their offense looks stagnant and their only win came against an Eagles team that had more injuries than a retirement home. These Falcons would be lucky to go .500 at this point and unless something massively changes, they will probably go lower than that.
Right: Jared Goff isn’t that great of a Quarterback
Jared Goff joined the short list of quarterbacks to throw for over 500 yards this last Sunday; the only problem was he did it while throwing 3 interceptions to only two touchdowns and having sixty-eight attempts. He was set up to fail by going down big early but he threw two interceptions to give Winston a short field to score. This loss is on Jared Goff, and playing the Seahawks away from home on primetime after a short week will not help him in the slightest.
Wrong: Bills are for Real
Might be weird to say this after they lose to the Patriots, but let me give you some context. They were 3-0 to enter the game, and they had to play the team and Quarterback that has terrorized them for a decade. They put up a valiant effort against a Patriots team currently favored to win it all, and had a chance to win up until the very end despite injury to Josh Allen. This Bills team has a shot to make the playoffs and, assuming Brady’s impending retirement, can be players in the AFC East in years to come.
Right: The Colts aren’t the Same
Some of you might be shaking your head saying “Duh!?” but a lot of people believed this Colts team under Brissett was talented enough to make it far in the AFC. Well they’ve allowed 102 points in their four games, they currently sit in the middle of the completely tied up AFC South at 2-2, and have losses to the Raiders and Titans. Excuse me if i’m not exactly sold. This team can be solid and .500 but Luck dragged this team kicking and screaming to relevance and won’t be the same without the ‘next’ Luck.
Wrong: Patrick Mahomes won’t repeat as MVP
I never thought he’d be a scrub or fall outside the top five in any Quarterback ranking, I just thought he’d fall out of the MVP race as voters look to something new. Boy could I have been more wrong? He is currently on pace for 6000 yards and 40 Touchdowns after 4 games, including a 0 Touchdown outing against the Lions. (in a win?!) Mahomes can seemingly do no wrong, and I look forward to seeing if he can keep the pace he’s on.
The Art of Sport 