The 2024 NFL season is nearly a quarter complete and things could not be more interesting. Let’s take a look!
Saints Continue to Slip
After a tough loss to the Eagles last week, the Saints are now 2-2 and falling back to earth.
The New Orleans Saints held the Atlanta Falcons to 0 touchdowns on offense, yet still lost 26-24. The Falcons benefited from a defensive scoop-n-score and a pick-six. Despite his blazing start, Derek Carr has thrown just 1 touchdown to 2 interceptions over his last two contests. However, Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill cashed in for 3 rushing scores (1; 2).
Kirk Cousins’ and the Falcons’ offensive woes continued, as the 36-year-old threw an interception and no receiver or running back garnered over 64 yards. Stud running back Bijan Robinson only received 7 carries.
Both teams face daunting tasks next week in desperate need of reestablishing offensive competence. Atlanta will host the 3-1 Buccaneers and the reigning back-to-back champion Chiefs will host New Orleans.
Barnburner in New York
The Broncos held the Jets to 0 touchdowns, marking just the fifth time ever that an Aaron Rodgers-led squad claimed this dubious honor. This high-scoring affair featured 15 total punts and ended in a 10-9 Broncos victory.
It was a rainy one in East Rutherford, as Bo Nix and Aaron Rodgers completed a combined 53.7% of their passes. Despite only tossing for 60 yards, the rookie was able to connect with Courtland Sutton for his first touchdown reception of the season – making the difference in the game. The Broncos defense was also able to sack the four-time MVP 5 times on Sunday
The Broncos look to ride this momentum – if you can call it that – and take down their bitter rivals in the Las Vegas Raiders next week.
The Jets have quickly become the center of the media world, with many calling their season fraudulent already. They will be truly put to the test on a daring date in London with the Minnesota Vikings.
Watch Out for Minnesota
The Minnesota Vikings are 4-0 and are averaging 29 points-per-game (4th in NFL).
After suffering an MCL Sprain in Green Bay’s season opener, Jordan Love made his return against the Vikings. However, the former first-round pick only found his footing later in the contest. He ended with 4 touchdowns but a dismal 3 interceptions.
The Vikings jumped out to a quick 28-0 lead behind Sam Darnold’s sustained excellence – the former Southern California prodigy completed over 70% of his passes and threw 3 touchdowns.
While the Packers rallied and made it arguably the week’s best game, they fell short 31-29.
Green Bay has nothing to worry about with their franchise quarterback now back under center, and they’ll have a chance to regather against the Los Angeles Rams who couldn’t hold off Chicago Bears this week.
As previously mentioned, Sam Darnold and company go abroad for a showdown against the scrutinized Jets.
He is Inevitable
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Anthony Richardson went down again, leading former elite quarterback Joe Flacco to take over the reins. Flacco turns 40 in January and is just eight days older than Anthony Richardson’s mother, but he led the Indianapolis Colts to a much needed win over the Pittsburgh Steelers (27-24), handing them their first loss of the season.
Super Bowl 47 MVP Joe Flacco threw a pair of touchdowns and helped Indianapolis record their second 100-yard receiver of the season. Jonathan Taylor had 108 total yards and a score, but went down with an injury that is currently being labeled as a mild high ankle sprain.
Justin Fields added onto his surprise campaign, totaling 367 yards and 3 touchdowns. A story to watch is in the running back room with Najee Harris and Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson had 6 carries for 43 yards and Harris, the former first-round pick, recorded 13 carries for just 19 yards. Be on the lookout for a potential change in workload…
Pittsburgh just got beat, so there’s not too much to worry about – other than the run game. They play Dallas in a throwback classic on Sunday Night Football.
The Colts play the 0-4 Jaguars who had the Texans against the ropes on Sunday.
Eagles Ownership Stake Claimed
For the second time in the calendar year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have dismantled the Philadelphia Eagles, holding them to under 20 points while scoring over 30 both times.
The Eagles may have been without star wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, but this game was over out of the gates, as Tampa Bay cruised to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Jalen Hurts has yet to find his mojo while Baker Mayfield threw for 347 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also finding the end zone on the ground.
Mike Evans had 94 yards and a touchdown on the day. Currently, the Buccaneers legend is averaging 53.5 yards per game, putting his current trajectory (909 yards) short of 1,000 yards. Evans has recorded 1,000 yards or more every year in his career (10 seasons) – a running NFL record.
The Buccaneers wing-clipping 33-16 triumph over Philadelphia has them looking to ground another winged foe in the Atlanta Falcons, while the Eagles look to regain some altitude against the floundering 1-3 Cleveland Browns.
Homeostatic Hierarchy
We knew it could not last forever; we knew Buffalo couldn’t continue their domination and Baltimore wouldn’t continue looking sluggish.
The Buffalo Bills came into the week undefeated and won their previous two games a combined 78-20. Despite the departure of Stefon Diggs in the offseason, it did not seem that Josh Allen and the Bills were phased. Allen had been playing near flawless football accompanied by a breakout season by second-year running back James Cook. All was fantastic until Sunday night in Baltimore…
On the first play from scrimmage for the Ravens, Derrick Henry busted an 87 yard touchdown, immediately setting the tone for the game. Henry would go on to have 199 yards in what was truly a vintage game from the former Heisman winner. Last week, Lamar Jackson threw just 15 passes. This week it was only 18 as Baltimore soared to a 35-10 victory. It seems as if they have found their recipe to success.
Josh Allen failed to surpass 200 passing yards and James Cook had just 39 rushing yards. However, the Bills shouldn’t worry about motivation moving forward, as they face off against the Houston Texans where they plan to make a statement to their former record-breaking WR Stefon Diggs.
Baltimore is going to ride their high into next week’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, who have struggled thus far.
Wrap Up
Things are changing in the NFL, setting this season up to be one for the books. However, one thing remains unchanged: The Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat despite the many issues1 they face. But only time will tell if they are to be dethroned.
- Star wide receiver Rashee Rice is feared to have suffered a torn ACL and efficient running back Isiah Pacheco broke his right fibula. ↩︎
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