15 biggest disappointments of NFL Week 3
Adrian Peterson, RB, Saints
We might as well carve out a permanent home for Adrian Peterson on this list, because his entire season has been a disappointment. Even in a week where the Saints’ offense had a breakout game of sorts, Peterson did very little. He had just 33 yards on nine carries, and four yards on two catches.
Mark Ingram saw more action and had a higher average with 56 yards on 14 carries as well as two catches for 30 yards. Rookie Alvin Kamara rushed twice for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Peterson still only has 77 rushing yards all season. He used to be able to get that many in one half of football. He’s averaging just 3.35 yards per carry this season.
Giants and their late penalties
After going scoreless for the first three quarters of the game, the Giants blew up with 24 points in the fourth quarter. But they really shot themselves in the foot with all of their penalties. The Giants were penalized 10 times for 137 yards. Seven of those penalties came late, and four were on offense in their final two drives.
The Giants had 10 penalties — 7 in the fourth quarter, including 4 on offense on their final two drives.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) September 24, 2017
Philly was called for nine penalties for 103 yards, so there were a lot of flags all around. But the Giants just destroyed their chances of winning the game by committing tons of minor penalties, like illegal shifts, holding, and delay of game late in the contest.
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers
Pittsburgh always seems to have a surprise dud during the regular season, and perhaps Sunday was it. The Steelers scored just 17 points in a road overtime loss to the Bears. Their normally explosive offense gained 282 total yards, which is often similar to what Ben Roethlisberger throws for in a single game.
Big Ben took three sacks, lost a fumble, and threw for just 235 yards and a touchdown in the game. Afterwards he acknowledged he wasn’t at his best.
“I think I was off today,” he said via the AP. “For whatever reason, I did not make all the throws I normally would and make the plays I normally should.”
Big Ben had thrown for two scores in each of the Steelers’ first two games — both of which were wins.
Green Bay Packers’ offensive line
The Packers may have pulled out their game against the Bengals, but they got Aaron Rodgers destroyed in the process.
Rodgers was sacked six times in the game, including five in the first half. Ty Montgomery didn’t have many rushing lanes and averaged just 35 yards per carry.
Green Bay was already playing without tackle David Bakhtiari, and then Bryan Bulaga, who was banged up entering the game, left with an ankle injury.
Luckily the Packers’ offense turned things around in the second half and Rodgers was only sacked one more time in the game. Still, this is the second time this season he was sacked four times in a half (it also happened Week 1 against Seattle). The Packers need to get Bakhtiari back.
Buccaneers CBs Vernon Hargreaves III and Ryan Smith
The Vikings’ passing game lit the world on fire Sunday, with Case Keenum going 25 of 33 for 369 yards and three touchdowns. He just about replicated what Sam Bradford did on Monday night in Week 1 against the Saints. Stefon Diggs was the big winner as he caught 8 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
So how did they get it done? They torched Vernon Hargreaves III and Ryan Smith and took advantage of a defense missing its best corner in Brent Grimes.
According to Pro Football Focus, Hargreaves was targeted 10 times in the game and allowed 7 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. The 5-foot-9 corner gave up a 45-yard gain to Adam Thielen among others.
PFF says Keenum saw a passer rating of 145.8 when targeting both of the Bucs’ CBs:
#Bucs CBs Vernon Hargreaves & Ryan Smith each saw a 145.8 passer rating when targeted by Vikings QB Case Keenum.
— PFF TB Buccaneers (@PFF_TampaBay) September 24, 2017
It was an ugly Sunday for Tampa’s corners.
Miami Dolphins’ offense
Who saw this coming? The Dolphins embarrassed themselves in a 20-6 loss to the New York Jets in Week 3. Miami was held scoreless for almost the entire game, and it took the final play of regulation for them to finally get on the scoreboard.
The Dolphins couldn’t get any drives going. They were 1 of 12 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth downs. They had 225 yards in the game, with just 30 coming on the ground. Jay Cutler was just 26 of 44 for 220 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and he was sacked three times. It doesn’t get much worse than being nearly shutout by the Jets, which gave up 45 points to the Raiders a week earlier.
Trevor Siemian, QB, Broncos
The Trevor Siemian who looked spectacular in a Week 2 win over the Dallas Cowboys was nowhere to be found in Week 3.
Siemian was 24 of 40 for 259 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also sacked three times. One of the interceptions came in Denver territory and gave Buffalo great field position. The other came in the fourth quarter with Denver down by 7 and nearing the red zone.
The third-year QB was particularly bad when pressured. Pro Football Focus says Siemian was 2-for-8 for 28 yards and an interception when under duress.
Oakland Raiders’ offense
The Raiders’ strong start was erased as they got thumped by Washington on Sunday night in a game where their offense stuck up the joint. Derek Carr was uncharacteristically bad in the game. He was 19 of 31 for 118 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The fourth-year QB had gone the first two games of the season without throwing a pick, and then he had two against the Redskins.
The 118 passing yards were the second-lowest of Carr’s career not counting a Week 1 game against Cincinnati in 2015 that he left with an injury. You’d have to go back a while to find a game where Carr was worse than he was on Sunday night.
The team’s offense was atrocious on the whole. They had just seven first downs, only gained over 128 yards thanks to a last-minute drive, failed to convert a third down (0-for-11), and they turned the ball over three times. Marshawn Lynch rushed for just 18 yards on six carries. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree each had just one catch. It was a nightmarish performance.
San Francisco 49ers’ defense
The 49ers were the second team to allow 40-plus points to the Rams this season. San Francisco’s defense was non-existent for most of the night on Thursday, as they consistently allowed the Rams to march up and down the field on them. They surrendered 418 total yards and couldn’t stop the Rams on third down (Rams converted 8 of 12). The Rams scored on 7 of their 11 drives, which is a ridiculously high percentage. They allowed deep balls and big plays to Sammy Watkins, while Todd Gurley gashed them with three touchdowns.
Perhaps the short week caught up with the Niners, because they looked much better allowing just 12 points to the Seahawks the week before. They need to play a lot better to give their team a chance to win.
