Here five thoughts on Week 3 of the NFL season.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers lose Big Ben
The Steelers are once again without their star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He is expected to be out four-to-six weeks. During that time Pittsburgh’s schedule looks like this:
- Week 4 vs. Baltimore Ravens
- Week 5 at San Diego Chargers
- Week 6 vs. Arizona Cardinals
- Week 7 at Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 8 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 9 vs. Oakland Raiders
If it’s four games that’s two home games and two on the road. If it’s six games you’re looking at four home games and two road games. The Ravens game is on a short week coming up on Thursday night — not optimal, but the extra days to prepare for San Diego is nice. The last time Big Ben missed consecutive games was in 2012 and the Steelers went 1-2 with Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich at the helm. In 2010 the Steelers were able to go 3-1 with Dennis Dixon and Batch playing QB, but that Pittsburgh team had the number-one ranked defense by DVOA on the season.
Pittsburgh is going to need to rely a ton on Le’Veon Bell with Michael Vick taking over Roethlisberger. It’s been many years since Vick has been competent. Martavis Bryant is back after this week to at least add another weapon to the mix. It’s looking like a nine win team will make the playoffs in the AFC. If Pittsburgh can be at 2-3 when Roethlisberger is back they should be ok.
2. The Silver and Black
The Oakland Raiders are above .500 for the first time since 2011 Week 16. They beat the Browns 27-20 with the second-year foursome of Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, Latavius Murray and Khalil Mack carrying them to victory. Carr had his second straight solid performance throwing for 314 yards and two touchdowns, Murray ran for a career-high 139 yards, Cooper hauled in eight catches for 134 yards and Mack compiled two sacks, two tackles for a loss, two QB hits and a forced fumble. There’s reason for optimism in Oakland for the first time in a long time.
3. The Andy Dalton Trick
The overreaction to Andy Dalton early season play is back in progress. Despite performing well in the Cincinnati Bengals 28-24 win against the Ravens, Dalton still had two turnovers, a fumble and an interception. Dalton’s career September stats: 64%, 26 TDs, 12 INTs, 7.94 yards per attempt, 251 yards per game, 98 QB rating and two rushing TDs. It’s the best month across his career. I’m going to let this breath before I think Dalton is anything different than he’s been in the past.
4. Minnesota Vikings hiding the bear.
Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater isn’t making the jump many expected in his second year. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is still doing everything he can to hide Bridgewater rather than see if he can expand his game and lift those around him. Bridgewater has attempted 18 and 24 passes the last two weeks and thrown for less than 300 yards combined. Maybe this changes as the season goes on, but as of now expectations need to be tempered for the second-year QB.
5. The story of the Denver Broncos
The focus on the Broncos shines heavily on Peyton Manning, but that’s missing the lede. Denver has a championship caliber defense that minimizes what it needs from its offense. If Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders keep lifting up Manning by making a couple of huge plays each game it might just be enough. The putrid run game is still a major concern for the Broncos as they’ve averaged 2.6 yards per carry on 66 attempts. The defense carry us to wins formula is going to eventually need a strong run game to complement it. Can Gary Kubiak get his offensive line figured out?
