Here are my thoughts from Week 3 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see. For the first time this season (thanks Irma) I watched a lot of football, so I have a pretty good sample size.
Game of the Week
New Orleans Saints 30 v. Houston Texans 28 - A two play 75 yard drive by the Texans to take the lead, only to be outdone by a picture-perfect final last second drive by Drew Brees (who was 3-5 on the drive; the 2 incompletions being spikes to stop the clock), culminating in a career-best 58-yard field goal by Will Lutz. Two amazing quarterbacks showing their wares the entire game along with big plays by many on both sides. GREAT game.
Best Team Performance
Baltimore Ravens - They dominated the Miami Dolphins so thoroughly that this game was over with 6:50 remaining in the first half, and that was before the Ravens scored again to take a 42-10 lead into halftime. Just a dominating performance, scoring a franchise-record 59 points. The defense performed too, only giving up 10 points, while sacking the Dolphins' quarterbacks 3 times, and intercepting them twice.
Least Impressive Team Performance
Cleveland Browns - Obviously Miami was the worst performance, but it is too easy to pick them here (as I am sure I will have multiple opportunities to do so in the future). Cleveland came into this season with all the hype of their offseason acquisitions (more than just Odell Beckham, Jr.), and they absolutely laid an egg in their 43-13 throbbing by the Tennessee Titans, and team that was supposed to be in decline this year.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)
Lamar Jackson, QB - Baltimore Ravens. The run-first quarterback ended up the game with the sixth-highest rushing yards on his own team, even being out-gained on the ground by Robert Griffith, III 9-6. What Jackson did do was throw the ball; 17-20 for 324 and 5 TDs (with no interceptions). It was just the Dolphins, but he looked like he has evolved from just a run-only quarterback.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Roy Robertson-Harris DT/DE, Chicago Bears - His stats don't jump completely off the page (1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 3 total tackles), but as a interior defensive lineman, he controlled this game as the Bears held the Packers to a total of 47 yards rushing. And, it wasn't that Aaron Rodgers dominated, throwing for only 203 yards.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)
Will Lutz, K - New Orleans Saints. After narrowly missing a 56-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, Lutz stepped up and calmly hit a career long 58-yarder to win the game as time expired in the second half. Teammates said they knew it was good after hearing the thunderous explosion of Lutz's foot hitting the ball, as it just sounded like a solid kick with distance.
Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)
The Premier League was off this weekend for national team duty.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)
The Premier League was off this weekend for national team duty.
Goat of the Week
Antonio Brown, WR - Oakland Raiders/New England Patriots/Who Knows? I am not going to recount all of his shenanigans that led to his release by the Oakland Raiders and the signing by the New England Patriots, but in a week in which he lost $20 something million, and could not play, the Patriots trouncing of the Steelers 33-3 showed that the Patriots don't NEED Brown, and the Raiders 24-16 defeat of the Denver Broncos shows that they don't need him either. And this was all before the federal lawsuit filed against him alleging sexual battery, rape, invasion of privacy and false imprisonment.
Goat of the Week (Premier League)
The Premier League was off this weekend for national team duty.
Hit of the Week
Myles Jack, LB - Jacksonville Jaguars. His punch at Sammy Watkins led to him being thrown out of the game.
Breakthrough Performance
Josh Jacobs, RB - Oakland Raiders - Perhaps the Raiders don't need Antonio Brown because they have a running game. Jacobs, the rookie first round pick out of Alabama, gained 85 yards rushing with 2 TDs, and added 28 yards receiving. He is the first running back with 100 total yards from scrimmage and 2 TDs in his first game since LaDanian Tomlinson. Honorable Mention to Marquise Brown and T.J. Hockenson.
Finally
Mark Ingram, II, RB - Baltimore Ravens - Now Ingram has had much success in the NFl, but he has finally settled into a starting, power-back role that suits his skills. Even with Lamar Jackson throwing the ball all over the field, Ingram made the most of his 14 carries, gaining 107 yards and scoring 2 TDs.
Impact Injury
Tyreek HIll, WR, Kansas City Chiefs. Hill, the speedster that opens up everything else for the Chiefs offense, is out for 4 to 6 weeks with a shoulder injury sustained against the Jacksonville Jaguars. At least the Chiefs have Travis Kelce as a primary receiving target and Sammy Watkins to play out wide. In that same game, Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles broke his clavicle and is out indefinitely, but at least 8 weeks. Gardner Minshew III, a rookie out of Washington State, replaced Foles and went 22-25 for 275 yards and 2 TDs, with 1 interception, in the Jaguars 40-26 loss to the Chiefs.
Team Rising
Tennessee Titans - Obliterated the Browns, who were supposed to be this year's darlings. They are not among the best teams, but they are rising.
Team Falling
Chicago Bears - Yes, a 10-3 loss to the Packers is not terrible, as the Packers are a really good team. The problem is how they looked on offense, which was borderline horrid. And, they travel to Denver for week 2. This could get ugly, fast.
Best Teams
(All undefeated teams will be ranked ahead of all others until all teams have at least 1 loss, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think is best, regardless of record.)
1. Baltimore Ravens
2. New England Patriots
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. New Orleans Saints
5. Los Angeles Chargers
Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be ranked here until all teams have at least 1 win, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think are the worst, regardless of record.)
32. Miami Dolphins
31. Cleveland Browns
30. Pittsburgh Steelers
29. Atlanta Falcons
28. New York Giants
Middle Teams
15. Buffalo Bills
16. Detroit Lions
17. Arizona Cardinals
18. Houston Texans*
* Please note, I think the Texans are much better than this, but my criteria is, at least until several games in and the undefeateds and winless have sorted themselves out, to make my ranking based upon record first. In this case, the Texans are the best team that lost this week.
Preview - Game(s) of the Week
5. Kansas City Chiefs v. Oakland Raiders - Obviously Kansas City will be the overwhelming favorite. But, if the Raiders can keep it close, squeak one out, or even look good at home this week, their entire season changes.
4. Chicago Bears v. Denver Broncos - Both playoff contenders were upset (although the Bears defeat at the hands of the Packers can hardly be called an "upset") in week one, meaning the loser starts off in a hole of 0-2. Very important game for both teams.
3. Tottenham v. Crystal Palace - The Spurs host surprising 4th place Crystal Palace in a battle that should see Tottenham vault closer into the Top 4. A Crystal Palace win or draw in London could go a long way in showing us they might be for real.
2. Minnesota Vikings v. Green Bay Packers - The two 1-0 squads in the NFC North meet in week 2, with the Packers having the opportunity to not only start 2-0, but to start 2-0 in the division. Dalvin Cook looks to be a more dangerous running game than the Bears showed last week against Green Bay, so we can see exactly how much the Packers focus actually improved their defense in the offseason.
1. New Orleans Saints v. Los Angeles Rams - Easily the best game of week 2, the NFC Championship rematch should be exciting as both teams come into the matchup off a win, New Orleans looked much better than the Rams, but have to travel to LA for this one. If you are a football fan, this is the game to watch.
Trivia
Since we are beginning a new season, a multi-part trivia question. Tom Brady begins his 20th season with the New England Patriots. How many players have played at least 20 years with only one team throughout their careers, and out of those players, who has played the most years (and with which team)?
Sports Bar Review of the Week
(Hint: Ratings based upon a week-to-week analysis of QB Play, not their career, so the scale varies from week-to-week.)
Duffys' Sports Grill
225 Clematis Street
West Palm Beach, FL
561/249-1682
Duffy's is a large, local chain, having actually started in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and have grown to 34 locations statewide, from Lake Mary in the north, to Kendall in the south, to Tampa and Sarasota in the west. It is what you expect a sports bar to be when you arrive, and has a fairly typical sports bar menu, although that menu has expanded and changed over the years.
As far as game watching, their are a ton of televisions in this location (enough so that all games are running simultaneously), although you can really on focus on 2 or 3 depending upon where you are sitting. The televisions are pre-labeled with min-pennants of the teams that will be showing on each tv, so that you can plan where to sit. Duffy's is the official sports bar of the Miami Dolphins, so you can expect that the sound will be on the Dolphins game so long as they are playing. This was to all of our detriment, but that is the fault of the Dolphins, not Duffy's. This location did eliminated about 4 or 5 bar hi-top tables to put in kids carnival and video games (claw anyone?), but we were told by the new General Manager (who is very nice), that she was going to eliminate most of those (probably keeping Golden Tee). This will allow for more tables, and thus more people and better football watching atmosphere. Even without the extra tables, the place was full, but not crowded - unlike usual. Several factors could play into this: (1) the Dolphins were home (only 1 hour down the street); (2) the Patriots were the night game (they are usually a bid draw); and (3) lots and lots of construction on the streets surrounding Duffy's. In any event, I have been in this Duffy's with a lot more action going on. Nevertheless, good for football watching, for your team or your fantasy team. Parking can be a problem, but I ubered
Atmosphere Rating: Philip Rivers
Having eaten at Duffy's many, many times before, I did not have to sample much of the food to know what I was getting. Neverheless, we did have buffalo wings - hot (traditional sports bar food), and the sesame-encrusted ahi tuna with soba noodles (non-tradiional sports bar food). The wings are good, but the hot is not super-hot. So, if you do look hot wings, order the Florida Heat Wave or Atomic Ghost Chili. I generally prefer the Spicy Roasted Garlic (delicious), but others in my group wanted to traditional hot. As far as the ahi - it is nowhere close to as great as you will get at a seafood restaurant or sushi joint, but it is AMAZING for a sports bar. The sauce on the soba noodles is delicious, and the cucumber salad is fantastic as a small side. Although not in this trip, I can recommend the burgers, among other items, as well.
Food Rating: Carson Wentz
As far as drinks, Duffy's has a full bar. As we were settled in for a long day of watching football, we were not out to get drunk, but with a small variety of beer choices (normal and craft), a full array of liquor choices, but a limited wine menu, Duffy's is exactly what you would expect from a sports bar. The 2-4-1 specials make it well worth the trip.
Drink Rating: Matthew Stafford
The server was new to me, and although it took him a bit to warm up to our boisterousness and humor, he was timely with his service and always available. To me, this is GREAT. He even put up with all of our separate tabs, which at least we warned him about ahead of time.
Service Rating: Dak Prescott
As Duffy's is a general service restaurant/bar, and not a specialty bar, it's menus cater to the general public, and have a little bit of everything, and not a ton of variety in some things. This pleases most people, but won't everybody. That being said, we got exactly what we came for and expected. A very good day of watching football at a very good place. We will be back.
Overall Rating: DeShaun Watson
Trivia Answer
None this week. Tune in next week.
