The List: Young quarterbacks come of age in Week 3
The List: Young quarterbacks come of age in Week 3
The NFL seems to be undergoing a changing of the guard at the quarterback position. Week 3 games featured eight quarterbacks who did not start for their teams last year, and if most of them continue to play how they did last week, the league is in good shape.
Here is a look at how each of them fared, as well as the rest of the winners and losers from Week 3 of the NFL season.
WINNERS
Gardner Minshew’s rise continues: The past few weeks, we have learned a lot about the sixth-round draft pick. His mustache reminds people of Uncle Rico from the film Napoleon Dynamite. He led Northwest Mississippi Community College to a NJCAA National Championship as a freshman. He transferred to East Carolina for two years, then passed up a chance to be fourth on Alabama’s depth chart in order to start at Washington State as a senior. There’s even a story out there about him wanting an extra year of eligibility, so he drank Jack Daniels and tried to break his hand by smashing it with a hammer. Apparently, his hand is fine, because, on Thursday night, Minshew threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns in Jacksonville’s 20-7 win over Tennessee. The Jaguars have been competitive despite an injury to starter Nick Foles, and Minshew looks to add to his already growing legacy against Denver this weekend.
Meet Daniel Jones: He was a much-criticized pick when the Giants took him sixth overall in the Draft. Jones got to prove the nay-sayers wrong when he led New York to a comeback victory. The Giants defense looked terrible as usual, and the Buccaneers were up, 28-10, at halftime. Then things started clicking. New York cut the lead to three heading into the fourth quarter, and Jones’ seven-yard run with 1:16 left put the Giants up by a point. Jameis Winston led a drive deep into New York territory, but some poor clock management and a delay of game penalty, were Tampa Bay’s undoing. Matt Gay’s 34-yard field goal grazed the wrong side of the right post as time expired, and the Giants escaped, 32-31, for their first victory of the season. Jones finished with 336 yards and two touchdowns passing, along with two scores running.
Allen outduels Murray: Sometimes where you are drafted doesn’t mean a whole lot. One was the first pick in 2019 and the other was an undrafted free agent last season. Allen was promoted to the top spot in Carolina after Cam Newton’s injury (more on that later), and he responded with 261 yards passing and four touchdowns in a 38-20 win over Murray and Arizona. Murray, this year’s top pick threw two interceptions and saw his 300-yard passing streak come to an end, but you can still expect big things from the young quarterback who calls the desert home.
How the rest fared: If Jacoby Brissett keeps playing the way he did on Sunday, Colts fans may not end up missing Andrew Luck as much as they thought. Brissett threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24 Indianapolis victory over Atlanta. Teddy Bridgewater tossed two scoring passes in the Saints’ 33-27 win in Seattle. Mason Rudolph threw for two touchdowns, but the 49ers overcame five turnovers to beat the Steelers, 24-20. Finally, Luke Falk (the starter at Washington State right before Minshew) was held to 98 yards as the Patriots upended the Jets, 30-14 (more on them later, as well).
The 3 TD crew: A trio of players had three-score games in Week 3. Tampa Bay’s top receiver, Mike Evans, caught three touchdown passes from Jameis Winston in the first half on Sunday. Evans had seven receptions for 146 yards before halftime as the Buccaneers built up a big lead, but he caught just one pass in the second half as the Giants stormed back for a victory. Mark Ingram had three rushing scores, but Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were just too much for the Ravens, who fell, 33-28. Finally, Bears receiver Taylor Gabriel had three touchdown receptions in the second quarter (the first player in Monday Night Football history to tally three scores in a single quarter), but he left the game with a concussion. Chicago would go on to defeat Washington, 31-15.
“Touchdown Terry”: Redskins rookie receiver Terry McLaurin made NFL history in that Monday night game. The third-round pick became the first player to catch five passes and score a touchdown in each of his first three games.
The hero and the high road: Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor has had a problem with hanging onto passes this season. However, he has received more criticism than players usually get for that issue, thanks to a high-profile incident early Monday. A fire started in West Philadelphia, and neighbors were helping to evacuate people from the burning building as firefighters arrived on the scene. One of those people was a former firefighter and Army vet Hakim Laws, who caught several others, including children, who were lowered out of the building’s upper floors. Laws was talking to reporters, and the viral moment occurred when he said, “We was catching ‘em … unlike Agholor.” Word of the quote and the video got around, and Agholor himself responded on Twitter, thanking Laws for being a “hero in the community” and inviting him and his family to the next home game.
LOSERS
The Redskins: McLaurin is the bright spot for a team that is 0-3 and coming off a bad loss in which the Bears forced five turnovers. Despite Case Keenum throwing three interceptions against Chicago, head coach Jay Gruden says he is sticking with the veteran as his starter instead of turning to rookie Dwayne Haskins. Washington even had issues with an in-game ceremony. The team was inducting linebacker London Fletcher into its Ring of Honor at halftime, but his graphic on the scoreboard spelled his last name “Flecther”. Thankfully, the name on the banner was correct.
The Jets: While the Dolphins were expected to be bad, the Jets are right there with them in the “Worst Team in the NFL” debate. New York has scored just 33 points in three games this season and have only one offensive touchdown. They have also scored twice defensively, once on a special team fumble recovery, once on a safety and also fell victim to the Kaare Vedvik hype. Things got so bad that safety Jamal Adams removed any mention of the team on his social media, then refused to answer any questions about that action (as well as his being pulled from the lineup at the end of last Monday’s game against the Browns) during his weekly radio appearance on WFAN. Adams later canceled any further appearances on the show, which is hosted by Maggie Gray and former NFL linebacker Bart Scott.
Even more injuries: Last week’s loss of Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees wasn’t enough; the injury bug claimed a few more victims in Week 3, including the aforementioned Taylor Gabriel. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is believed to be dealing with a Lisfranc injury in his foot. He missed the game against Arizona, and may be out the next three weeks before Carolina has its bye during Week 7. Giants running back Saquan Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain in the win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. He will miss between four and eight weeks, and may not return until after New York’s bye in Week 11. Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton already had a quadriceps injury when he took the field on Sunday, but he aggravated it during the game. He says his timetable is “day by day.” Patriots receiver Julian Edelman suffered a chest and rib injury during Sunday’s win over the Jets. He left the game at the end of the first half and might not be ready for this week’s clash against Buffalo in a battle of 3-0 teams. Steelers tight end Vance McDonald suffered a shoulder sprain in the loss to the 49ers. He was at practice with his arm in a sling, but isn’t likely to miss significant time. In the meantime, Pittsburgh was rumored to be trading for Seattle tight end Nick Vannett to fill in. Finally, Falcons safety Keanu Neal had his second straight season ruined by a torn ACL. Last year it was in Week 1 and this time, he suffered the injury in a Week 3 loss to the Colts. To add insult, the referees flagged him for a 15-yard penalty after he took his helmet off while laying on the field in pain.
More problems with referees: Speaking of the refs, in addition to flagging an injured and frustrated player for taking off his helmet, they have been penalizing at a very high rate once again this season. Holding penalties were called an average of 5.7 times per contest during the season’s first 33 games. Things got so bad that Tom Brady said he was turning off Thursday night’s Jaguars-Titans game due to the officials throwing so many flags. Message received. The NFL and Senior Vice President of Officiating, Al Riveron, had a conference call with all officials on Saturday night and told them not to emphasize holding on the backside of plays so much. The result was holding calls dropping to 2.9 per game during the 13 contests on Sunday afternoon.
Jalen Ramsey is sick: So far this season, the Jaguars cornerback has gotten in an argument with coach Doug Marrone, asked for more money and also asked to be traded. He has also been dealing with lower back and hamstring issues. Now, he called to say he was sick and not able to practice. While he may actually have the flu, he was at the team’s practice facility on Monday. More on this saga later, I’m sure.
When it rains, it pours…furniture: Speaking of sagas, Antonio Brown was in court on Tuesday for a deposition after he was accused of throwing furniture out of his window and into around the pool of his South Florida condo last year. He has also been cut by the Patriots, is facing sexual assault allegations from two women and has threatened retirement from the NFL while also enrolling in online classes at Central Michigan.
The “Patriot Way”: As was just mentioned, the Patriots ended Brown’s 11-day tenure by releasing the wide receiver last Friday after his latest sexual assault allegations came out. Coach Bill Belichick walked out of his weekly press conference after three minutes because he got tired of people asking him about Brown. (Bill, isn’t it in your contract to conduct a press conference? Did you think they would just avoid a controversial player just because you don’t want to talk about him?) At least now we can get back to real Patriots headlines, like owner Robert Kraft showing off his “family values” by getting embroiled in a prostitution scandal or Belichick giving one-word replies to simple questions to mess with reporters.
-By: Kevin Rakas