Takeaways From Week 3
1: Washington’s Defense is not what it was last season. Coming into 2021, many had Washington pegged as a sure fire top-5 defense, and for good reason. 4 first round picks on the DL, a couple of big names in the secondary, and a defensive minded coach in Ron Rivera. So far, though it’s still early, Washington’s total defense is ranked 30th in the league. A massively huge disappointment and insane turn of events. Can Washington’s defense turn it around? Or will Ron Rivera find himself on the hot seat in DC?
2: The Broncos will be in for a huge test this week against the Ravens. Denver finds themselves undefeated, but how notable is their 3-0 with wins against the Giants, Jets and Jaguars who have a combined record of 1-8? Time will tell, but they can quiet that talk with a win against Lamar Jackson and Baltimore.
3: Rams have solidified themselves as the top dog in the NFC after picking up a huge win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An impressive 34-24 win highlighted by Cooper Kupp, who is proving to be a top 10 wide receiver in football, possibly even top 5. Just how good could this Rams’ team be? I think the sky is the limit. Offense is stacked with talent, and the defense has Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey on it, arguably two top 5 defensive players in all of football. There’s no reason why the Rams’ can’t win the Super Bowl this season.
4: The Eagles really got embarrassed on Monday by the Cowboys on national TV. It was never close after the first quarter, with the Cowboys dominating at the LOS on both sides of the ball, making Jalen Hurts uncomfortable enough to throw two costly interceptions, one of which got returned for a touchdown. Jalen Hurt’s ugly performance could have the Eagles questioning their future with him ; and maybe even giving a call to the Texans about Deshaun Watson.
5: The Steelers are 1-2 after an embarrassing loss to the Bengals in which they ‘gave up’ according to Bengals’ WR Tyler Boyd. The Steelers offense looks very vanilla, and it’s looking more and more like age is catching up to Ben Roethlisberger. He just does not look the same anymore. He doesn’t have the same zip on the ball, he can’t move like he used to, and he just cannot stay healthy. All signs point to him retiring at the end of the season and Pittsburgh will be on the search for its future quarterback.