Week 3 of the NFL season was a week of upsets. After the favorites mostly dominated the first two weeks, week 3 was full of surprises. New England and Philadelphia squeaked out victories, which could've led to even bigger turnover.Here are the highlights:
Jets over Dolphins- OK< I didn't pick this game but knew it could be a trap, with Miami playing on the West Coast in week 2. It was a division game as well. The Jets are awful but they stepped up against the Dolphins. Miami travels to London to play the Saints, the third time the Dolphins have playing in England ( they are 0-2 in London games). New York stays at home against Jacksonville, who is favored on the road for the first time in years.
Titans over Seahawks- Tennessee held home field advantage in a game I did pick as an upset. Seattle just isn't the same team so far this season ( I do think they will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl next February).The Titans are 2-1 and travel to Houston to play the Texans on Sunday. The Seahawks go home and should massacre a hapless Indianapolis Colts squad.
Rams over 49'ers- This was the Thursday night game last week and it was a good 41-39 thriller. The Rams can score but they almost gave up the game. A late pass interference call saved the day for LA.Los Angeles goes to Dallas this week, a tough game for the Rams on the road. Meanwhile, the Niners go to Arizona to face an angry Cardinals team which lost their home opener last night to the Cowboys. San Francisco has been competitive so far this year, but it would be a reach for the 49'ers to beat Arizona on the road here.
Colts over Browns- An ugly game. The Browns were road favorites. Predictably, Cleveland isn't that good to win on the road just yet, even though they played a bad Indy team. The Browns go home and face rival Cincinnati in a battle of winless teams. Indianapolis are in a hopeless situation this week in Seattle against a hungry Seahawk team who should be in a blow-out mood. QB Andrew Luck is still sidelined for the Colts.
Chiefs over Chargers- Kansas City emerged in another tight game. The Chiefs are 3-0, one of only two undefeated team ( along with Atlanta) this early in the season. KC leads the AFC West as they return to Arrowhead Stadium for a Monday night showdown with the Washington Redskins.San Diego plays the Eagles. The Chargers are in a tough division. They may not win a game all season within their division , so they need to focus on the out of division games to have a decent record. Five wins would be a good season for the LA Chargers. Phillip Rivers can put up points, so they have a shot against the birds, who will be coming off an emotional win against the Giants, and having to fly cross country.
Patriots over Texans- It took a Tom Brady 23-yard touchdown pass to wide-out Brandon Cooks for New England to avoid being upset and losing two consecutive home games. Brady threw 5 TD passes on the day. The Pats stay at home this week with Carolina. Houston has a home game against the 2-1 Tennessee Titans. Houston is playing well and should take care of business at home this week.
Bears over Steelers- Yet another upset I picked. Pittsburgh was in the exact situation last season, when they lost the third game of the 2016 season to the Eagles at the Linc. Pittsburgh went to Chicago and got whipped by a desperate Bears team.Shit happens, and I still think the Steelers will reach the Super Bowl. But losing a winnable game like last Sunday will hurt when it comes to best record and home field advantage in the playoffs. The Bears go to Green Bay this Thursday night.Not a dire game for Chicago. They catch the Packers coming off an overtime win over the Bengals, in a hot,humid Lambeau Field. Injuries still riddle the Pack. Plus in the last 4 years, the Bears have actually won twice in Green Bay.
Redskins over Raiders- This was my major upset of the week. Just had a feeling the 'Skins would come out on Sunday night and play well. Oakland had to travel to the East Coast . They were due for a letdown after crushing the Jets in week 2. Washington stays in the AFC West this week when they play yet another prime time game, this time on Monday night, against the 3-0 Chiefs at tough Arrowhead. The Raiders have a big early season match up with he Broncos in Denver.Could be worse for Oakland- no snow or bitter cold yet in Denver. The Raiders are 2-1 and coming off an upset loss, as is the Broncos. Something's gotta give, and i actually think Oakland bounces back this week.
Vikings oven r Buccaneers- A surprise win for Minnesota,even at home, with QB Sam Bradford still sidelined. The Vikes stay at home in the dome this week against another dome team, Detroit. All will depend if Bradford plays or not. Tampa Bay goes back to sunny Florida to take on the scuffling New York Giants. The Bics are 1-1 and need to keep pace with hot Atlanta. I like Tampa a lot this week, despite the fact that the G-men played well in Philly. I think the Giants will be emotionally spent on the road( Who would've thought that the other New York team- the Jets- would have more wins at this point of the early season, than the Giants).Just be aware that Giants' QB Eli Manning is 5-0 all-time vs. Tampa.
Falcons over Lions- Atlanta can do no wrong so far in the early season. Instead of having a Super Bowl letdown,they seem to be angry and want to get back. Don't forget, taking away the second half meltdown to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, the Falcons played really well to build that lead, as they steamrolled through the NFC playoffs. Atlanta goes home to face a Buffalo Bills team who hasn't defeated the Falcons since 1995. Detroit goes on the road for a division game at Minnesota. Will Sam Bradford play?The Lions have grit, even though they are not in the same class as the Falcons.
Saints over Panthers- New Orleans needed a win in Carolina in a bad way and they got it, with QB Drew Brees again leading the charge. With Brees around the Saints always have a chance. They go to London to face the Dolphins. Carolina has a tough game at New England. The Panthers could easily drop to 2-2. They don't score enough points to keep up with Tom Brady. This is what I see for Carolina this season- an up-and-down, average team, finishing 8-8.
Bills over Broncos- It had to happen, and it's good to see any team challenge the Patriots for supremacy in AFC East. The Bills are 2-1 but they are in deep this week, as they ravel to Atlanta to take on the high-scoring Falcons. Denver goes back to Colorado to face the Raiders in an always-tough AFC West contest.
Jaguars over Ravens- This was a London a=game, and Jacksonville shockingly ambushed the Ravens, 44-7. Jet-lag? Jags experienced at playing in London? Or are the Jaguars that good and Baltimore that bad? Jacksonville stays on the road this week, after flying across the Atlantic, to play the Jets. The Jags are favored. New York can't possibly win two in a row, can they? Meanwhile, Baltimore has a home game with their biggest rival- Pittsburgh. Tough game to call. Home field advantage goes to the Ravens, Neither team wants to lose two in a row. The winner takes the lead in AFC Central.
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The Phillies lost to the Nationals last night. It was Beatles Night at the Phillies. Weird to see Freddie Galvis' picture on the scoreboard wearing a Beatle haircut.Aaron Nola took the hard-luck loss and finishes the season at 12-11. Best of all, he stayed healthy and should be an anchor for the staff in 2018 .Rhys Hoskins is struggling. He is on hold with 17 homers and is 4 for his last 35 at bats. Hoskins may be running out of gas. He has a total of 47 home runs this year between Lehigh Valley and Philly. He was running on adrenaline when he was promoted on August 10. He needs to readjust to pitchers who are painting the outside corner and enticing Hoskins to chase bad pitches. I bet he comes out of spring training his old self.
The Phils need to win just one game out of the next 5 home games to avoid losing 100 games for the first time since 1061. They are what they are- a bad team playing a little better since the all-star break. Psychologically, it's important not to lose 100 games. It looks bad in the record books
It actually wouldn't be a bad idea to lose this week against Washington and the Mets..The Fightins are tied with the San Francisco Giants for the worst record in baseball, with 95 defeats, a game ahead of the Tigers with 94 losses. Losing secures the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Draft next June. Losing may also sour the front office to make changes this off-season- both on and off the field.
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The Sixers start training camp today. Ben Simmons and Markell Fultz have both proclaimed themselves as being healthy and ready to play. Joel Embiid remains a different story.
l limited, not participating in 5-on-5 basketball. Embiid is hedging on playing all 82 games this season. How can you say you're not going to play all the games if you don't know how you're gonna feel?
Either Embiid is recuperating from a more significant injury than we have been told, or he is angling for a contract extension.
Embiid has a winning personality and seems to be the building block for the future. But he has only played 31 games in three years! And you're going to give him more money for being injured? Stupid.
To me, the guy has got to play and prove himself more. Not only that he is the great basketball player he has shown in flashes, but more importantly, that he can stay healthy and injury-free for a sustained period. The Sixers have a good, young core now. I get it that they are conservative with their prized center ( the Sixers' medical staff are way too conservative). Fans are buying into season, with all the season tickets sold. so far. Stop babying these grown men. The long-suffering fans deserve the truth and deserve to see what they are investing in, not on promises and what ifs.
The front office are enablers and not to be trusted. Embiid is even starting to buy into the let's-wait-and-see approach. Will he play back-to-back games? Will he have minutes restrictions?
Let him loose and see if he fails or blossoms. It's only fair to the player and the fans.
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