Panthers 24, Texans 9
Christian McCaffrey pulled up on a run in the second quarter and left the game due to a hamstring injury. While fans and fantasy owners alike held their collective breaths, it does appear that the injury was minor. His timetable for return is not yet known, but his time out should be relatively short.
The Panthers defense looks strong through three weeks, though in all fairness, they’ve faced two rookie QBs in three weeks – though if we are being fair, they also shut down a Saints offense that has looked really strong otherwise. The Panthers blitzed QB Davis Mills on nearly 40% of their snaps, forcing the rookie to make quick decisions.
The joys of leaving the Jets: Sam Darnold looks a lot more like a first round pick than he ever did in East Rutherford. He’s built a really strong rapport with WR DJ Moore and has his second 300+ yard passing day of the season – he had four in three seasons with the Jets. He does still have issues with protecting the football – he was strip-sacked twice on Thursday, and has now dropped the football four times in three games. Interestingly, Darnold is tied for the league lead in rushing TDs (three).
Davis Mills was thrust into an impossible situation – the rookie made his debut on a short week against a strong defense. He was overmatched most of the night and looked it, though in all fairness, as a rookie he is not along in that regard. Mills does appear to be a capable thrower and, owing to his Stanford education, there are no concerns about him not being able to adapt, but the game was really fast for him. He seemed to improve a bit in the two minute drill in the first half and as the game progressed, but it is going to take time for him to adapt.
Mills definitely trusts WR Brandin Cooks, who went 9/112. This is no surprise as Cooks is, by some measure, their steadiest and best pass catcher, though when teams see you have eyes for a particular receiver, they’ll do what they can to stop that connection.
Chargers 30, Chiefs 24
The Chargers defense is good, really good. S Derwin James is a difference-maker in the secondary and his ability to cover tight ends was a key to this matchup (and most of Kelce’s production occurred when James got hurt and then when the Chiefs tried to move him away from James in coverage). While not appearing as much on the stat sheet, Joey Bosa and Jerry Tillery had good days – each of them seemed to be in the Chiefs backfield for much of the game – and Patrick Mahomes appeared rattled by the pressure at times.
The Chiefs offense did not look up to their admittedly remarkably high standard for most of this game. Patrick Mahomes made a handful of uncharacteristic mistakes, including a pick on a no-look pass (looks great when it works but when it doesn’t…) and another one just after the two-minute warning with the game on the line. Whether it is a product of poor offensive line play or just needing time to jell, there appear to be some issues in Kansas City for the first time since Mahomes took over as QB.
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a good day running the football – 17 carries, 100 rushing yards, and a receiving TD – but he lost another fumble in this game in the first half.
Cowboys 41, Eagles 21
The Cowboys could do no wrong in this beatdown of the Eagles. The Eagles made a concerted effort to prevent the deep pass in this game, but the Cowboys were content to run the football, running the ball 41 times for 160 yards (Ezekiel Elliott ran for 95 yards and 2 TDs, while Tony Pollard had 60 yards of his own). On the other end, the Cowboys were able to focus on the short and intermediate passing game of the Eagles and effectively shut them down, as the Eagles were too one-dimensional to force the issue.
This may be an overreaction, but in watching this game, Jalen Hurts’ lack of arm strength is really going to limit him at this level. The lack of arm strength was evident on his first interception in the first quarter, where he badly underthrew WR Jalen Reagor on a post pattern. The Eagles ran the ball with their running backs a total of three times in this game (and 12 in total, counting Hurts’ scrambles and RPO keepers). The number was at least partially due to game circumstances – the Cowboys were up 20-7 in the first half and pulled away as the game went on – but with a QB with arm strength limitations, it does not make sense to abandon the run so easily. The Cowboys did not have to respect the deep pass or the run and controlled the tempo of the game.
Much as the WFT defense was the only real strong point of any unit in the NFC East, the same can be said about the Cowboys’ offense this year. The Washington defense has looked subpar this year, while the Giants and Eagles don’t really impress on either side of the ball. The question will be whether the Cowboys can take advantage of a softer schedule and do enough on defense to be a true competitor in the NFC.