It's a given that no lead is safe in the NBA, but I love weekends when no lead is safe in the NFL, too. Comeback attempts abounded throughout the league, as many games came down to the wire. I almost wonder if teams really do let up a bit when the score differential is so high at an early point in the game. What was interesting is seeing the different ways in which coaches handled big deficits. Some changed things quite a bit, while others more or less stayed the course.
Another trend I noticed, which by no means is anything new, is how willing defenses were to give offenses the easy plays in between the 20s before buckling up in the red zone. I also saw a handful of offenses that were struggling get into grooves by running no-huddle drives with decent success; it's always nice to see the change of pace. There were a lot of big hits on receivers today, too, one of which led to an ejection.
San Francisco 30, Los Angeles Rams 23
I am always terrified of the Niners' division games, especially against the Rams and Seachickens. The Niners seem to love playing in Levi South, though, especially Deebo Samuel, who gets feisty and fights for extra yards as he shuffles in between tacklers and blockers. His grit was on display near the goal line to score a tough touchdown that seized control of the game in the second half. I feel the Rams even bring the dawg side out of Kyle Shanahan, who made the most important call of the game at the end of the first half when he ran Brock Purdy for a one-yard TD on a QB sneak in the waning seconds when the Niners were out of timeouts. Settling for a field goal would have felt like a defeat, and with the way both offenses clicked to that point, touchdowns were going to mean that much more. Heck, possessions in general were at a premium as a lot of drives went several plays long. Christian McCaffrey had a "quiet" 116 rushing yards, especially because about 50 of them came on one run, but just having him out there always makes the rest of the offense's game plan easier to run.
Ever since he's been a Ram, Matthew Stafford has had pretty similar game flows just about every time he's played San Francisco. Saying he "carved" up the Niners' defense in the first half might be a bit strong, but he kept the chains moving with quick passes to neutralize the Niners' pass rush (which had zero sacks until late in the third quarter on a nice blitz call for Fred Warner). The Rams didn't even punt in the first half, but they did leave the Niners too much time at the end of the half to botch the advantage in possession count (no 2-for-1 for them). But then Stafford and the Rams just unraveled on a few key plays in the second half, which led to two interceptions and a huge turnover on downs as the Niners' defensive playcalling changed the course of the game. With no running game and no mobility, Stafford can only carry that offense so far (even if that rookie tight end Puka Nacua crushed the record for most receptions by any player in his first two games with 25). Stafford had 55 pass attempts. It's sort of like pick your poison. If you want to avoid the Niners' elite pass rush, you'd better get rid of the ball quickly, but that's hard to do successfully for a full game, as the two INTs proved.
Short week for the Niners, though, who face one of the comeback victors of the week in the NY Giants for their home opener on Thursday.
Game of the week: Washington 35, Denver 33
The Broncos were rolling with big passing plays and a smothering defense that rattled Washington's second-year quarterback Sam Howell 21-3 in the first half. The Commanders seemed to change the flow of the game when their high-priced defensive line made some tweaks to completely expose Denver's offensive line. Russell Wilson took some sacks and had to get rid of the ball early on several plays, one of which was intercepted when one of his receivers didn't adapt to a hot route (showing some chemistry still needs to be developed for Sean Payton's offense). The Commanders scored a touchdown late in the first half when Logan Thomas somehow held onto the ball despite getting absolutely lit up by the Broncos' defender; I usually favor hard hits, but even I was pretty okay with the penalty call on that play (the ejection, not so much).
In the second half, the big play was Howell's touchdown to Terry McLaurin, the first true pass he threw that was not really to an open receiver whatsoever, but I loved the gutsy play; he just ripped it in the face of pressure and gave his best receiver a decent shot, and he made a sensational grab with two defenders near him. I feel bad for Commanders' running back Anthony Gibson, because he would be most team's No. 1 running back (he had a couple of huge gainers, one that came on a catch-and-run screen pass). But I'm a believer in Brian Robinson after watching him finish tough runs and find holes against a normally stout Denver defense (my opponent in fantasy football better send a thank-you letter to him for what Robinson did against my team this week). Just when Washington's comeback seemed to be in the bag, Wilson's annoying last-gasp magic that saved him from many an embarrassing loss in the past reared its ugly head when he completed a 50-yard Hail Mary touchdown, even after a few tips. But laughably, Wilson misfired on the two-point conversion as Washington held on. Literally. The Commanders got away with a hold at the end for sure, but game-altering calls like that only favor certain teams, and Denver apparently is not one of them.
Atlanta 25, Green Bay 24
This is the first up-close look I've had of Arthur Smith's Falcons since their win against the Niners last year (when a majority of SF's defense was sidelined with injuries). They'll be a tough out for anyone, especially if Smith is going to make insane calls like what he did in the fourth quarter. I'm sure analytics were at play in his decision, but when you have a fourth-and-1 with just a couple of minutes left down 24-22, you kick the field goal. But he made a ballsy call, and Atlanta ran a naked toss to Bijan Robinson for the first down. On a side note, we might as well hand out the Rookie of the Year award to Robinson now, because his game already is translating well in the NFL, and he impressed me quite a bit. The Falcons had another fourth-and-1 scenario a few plays later, but this time Smith elected to kick it to take the lead with about one minute left (and Green Bay had no timeouts left). Atlanta is a run-first team, and they didn't get away from their identity, even when trailing by double digits (well, except for the double-reverse flea flicker that led to a big pass play).
I felt like Matt LaFleur got caught up playing right into Atlanta's game plan. The Packers didn't run the ball quite as effectively as normal, mostly because Aaron Jones didn't play. AJ Dillon is a good back, but Green Bay had some success passing the ball, and they should've rolled with that. They played a little more conservatively than they should have in spots, especially with a 24-12 lead with one minute left in the third quarter. And despite trailing, Atlanta stuck to its guns and kept running the ball and putting young quarterback Desmond Ridder (in whom I'm still not a believer) in high-percentage situations. In the situations when Ridder was behind the chains, he definitely didn't show enough to prove the Packers should've respected his passing abilities. I will say, Jaire Alexander didn't help the Packers' defensive playcalling, because he gave up a handful of "easy" completions - one of which went for a touchdown - for a corner as elite as he is.
Buffalo 38, Oakland 10
With how pissed off the Bills seemed to be, Oakland was doomed to lose this game from the start. Jimmy Garoppolo had no chance of going blow for blow with an angry Josh Allen. DaVante Adams made some sweet moves for an early touchdown, but Garoppolo threw two picks - one of which was a terrible throw on a busted screen play - and was easily rattled once the Bills' offense turned the game into a shootout. What Raiders coach Josh McDaniels should've done is given the ball to Josh Jacobs more (and no, I'm not just saying that because he's on my fantasy team). Jacobs finished with negative rushing yards, which is inexcusable. For Allen, he deserved criticism for his mistakes last week, but he deserves the same amount of praise this week. He balled out and made some incredible throws under extreme duress that only he can make. Side note: the hit on Adams was terrible. Hope he's okay.
Baltimore 27, Cincinnati 24
As ineffective as Joe Burrow was most of this game - he made a terrible throw at the goal line that got picked off - the Bengals somehow gave themselves a fighting chance at the end. But this game wasn't really as close as the score would indicate, and it seems Burrow is still ailing with that calf injury, casting more doubt on Cincinnati's season. Other than a nice punt return for a Bengals touchdown (which seems rare against John Harbaugh's teams) Baltimore had complete control. Lamar Jackson made a sweet-looking bullet pass deep to beat two Bengals defensive backs, then he nice a touch pass for a touchdown later in the second half. Despite losing their starting running back last week (and Odell Beckham early this week), the Ravens showed they will try to make up for his loss with a committee of backs, as well as Jackson, who made a key scramble in the final minutes to ice the game.
Seattle 37, Detroit 31 (OT)
Jared Goff had the third-longest streak in NFL history of passes without throwing an INT, but against the Seachickens, he made some head-scratching decisions. He held the ball too long on one play that resulted in a sack, then threw a terrible pass that led to a pick-six touchdown for the Seachickens. Leave it to Goff to make that terrible defense look better than it is. Seattle, of course, won the coin toss in OT and didn't give the Lions a chance in the extra period.
Miami 24, New England 17
I mean, how annoying is Bill Belichick? The Dolphins put up 36 points last week, and Tua threw for 466 yards. So of course Belichick comes up with a game plan that involves lining up three safeties playing thirds and limiting the deep-ball opportunities. Mike McDaniel stayed patient and deployed a good running game to counter that, both with stretch runs to the outside, and timely inside-zone counters going back inside (Raheem Mostert scored twice on those plays). With a 17-3 lead, Tua threw a quick pass against a zero-cover blitz that was deflected, forcing fourth down and a field goal attempt. So Belichick and his special teams coordinator came up with a brilliant play. They motioned a guy to speed toward the edge of the line and turn towards the kicker with unbelievable timing to get through for a clean blocked kick. Mac Jones, of course, followed up that brilliant play with an interception on the ensuing drive (Xavien Howard is still a top-tier corner in the league). It may still be early, but Jones just isn't "him" for New England, though I will admit that touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the fourth quarter was a good pass on the move. The Patriots' offense had a lot of success running the no-huddle, which kept them in it late in the game before Miami sealed the win.
Tennessee 27, Los Angeles Chargers 24 (OT)
Not playing with Austin Ekeler, your most electric player, is certainly a factor, but the Chargers still had their opportunities to close out the game, but figured out a way to lose, anyway. Derrick Henry had a modest 80 yards on 25 carries, so it's not like he was wrecking the game. Justin Herbert was 4-for-5 on the game-tying drive, but with a chance to win it, he had three straight ugly-looking incompletions that gave Tennessee an easy chance to finish off the game with a game-winning field goal. It seemed like both quarterbacks were willing to take sacks instead of forcing passes; neither team had a turnover. That's not to say they didn't sling it around. Ryan Tannehill completed two incredible bombs, both of which led to touchdowns. Tannehill also completed a nice pass on a rollout to DeAndre Hopkins in overtime to set up the winning field goal.
Tampa Bay 27, Chicago 17
Oh look, Justin Fields had two more interceptions and was lucky Tampa Bay didn't recover either of his two fumbles. I'm sorry, Fields is not the real deal. With a chance to lead a game-winning drive, Fields chokes it away with a laughable, pathetic, absolutely horrific throw right to the teeth of the Bucs' defensive line that turned into a pick-six. Baker Mayfield may be a nice stopgap for the Bucs until they find their future QB. He found Mike Evans for a touchdown bomb down the sideline and made the plays he needed to win the game. But the Bears are a hot mess on both sides of the ball.
Indianapolis 31, Houston 20
Yikes, DeMeco Ryans' start as a new head coach has been rough. Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson scored twice - though he left the game early for the second straight week - and Zack Moss pounded the rock as Houston's defense just couldn't get off the field in the first half. Even Garnder Minshew made some nice plays to keep the Colts' offense rolling. Ryans is a defensive-minded coach, but when you spend the No. 2 overall pick of the draft on a quarterback, you've got to do everything you can to help him out. CJ Stroud only threw for 242 yards on 47 pass attempts. Meanwhile, Dameon Pierce only managed 31 rushing yards on the day, just not a good recipe for success.
Dallas 30, NY Jets 10
There was a stretch there when the Jets maybe could've kept the game close, but Sauce Garnder dropped an easy would-be pick-six opportunity. I know defensive backs aren't receivers, but in two weeks, I've never seen more drops by defensive backs. There were probably two or three other pick-sixes that were dropped today, and a few other would-be INTs, too. Dak Prescott got away with one - if Gardner makes the play, the Jets take the lead. Instead, Dallas goes on to score, and the game was never really in doubt after that. The Jets' defense can't win games on their own, especially on a short week against a top-flight offense; having said that, the Cowboys still played well against a tough defense.
Other thoughts:
Not real roughness?
The Dolphins were aided on a late-game drive by an unnecessary roughness call on the Patriots' secondary. The call looks correct in slow motion, but in real time, it was a tough call on the defender, who simply made a play on the receiver who was trying to haul in a catch. Calls like that are reasons why offensive records and statistics simply don't deserve the same amount of respect that records from yesteryear deserve. Younger NFL viewers who refuse to acknowledge how easy it is to put up stats nowadays prove how little they really understand.
Finally, some good commercials
I am loving these commercials with Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Dan Marino, and other Hall of Famers pretending they could still play in the NFL today. Watching Marino use his specs to read the plays on his wrist strap and Smith falling asleep on the sideline is so funny.
Post-Rodgers era
The Jets' four-play era with Aaron Rodgers ended in heartbreak, but somehow he could return in January should the Jets make it to the playoffs. That's probably not going to happen; Zach Wilson threw three INTs, albeit against Dallas Sunday. It's wild how fast some of these NFL players recover from such severe injuries these days. I remember Terrell Owens had a nasty leg break late in a season, but somehow played in the Super Bowl just two months later (and was the best Eagle in that loss to the Patriots).
My Fantasy Teams
The Vikings looked pathetic last year against the Eagles, so I hesitated to start Kirk Cousins, especially for a Thursday game. Of course, he puts up nearly 30 points...and still managed to lose. At least I still started Justin Jefferson. I saw something that said he's the fastest to 5,000 yards in history, needing only 52 games to get there. Insane. I also regret sitting Houston receiver Nico Collins, and watch, as soon as I start him next week, he'll cool off. As long as George Pickens and Chris Olave combine for 20 points tomorrow, I'll still win in my match-up that's still in limbo (my other team already has it in the bag for a 2-0 start).