J.J. Watt, DE, Texans
For the second season in a row, J.J. Watt has endured a serious injury. Last year Watt entered the season recovering from a July back surgery and only played three games before going on IR to undergo a season-ending back operation. This year he made it to Week 5 before going down with a serious injury.
Watt suffered a tibial plateau fracture at the end of the Chiefs’ opening drive on Sunday night and was carted off the field.
Watt was such a dominant force from 2012-2015 and the best defensive player in the game. It would be a shame if these injuries in consecutive years rob him of the explosiveness we are used to seeing. There is no other way for Texans fans to view this than as a big disappointment.
Lane Taylor, OL, Packers
Lane Taylor was asked to fill in for David Bakhtiari at left tackle for the Packers once again, but this time it did not go well. Taylor gave up a sack, a hit and four hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. He was unable to block his man on the infamous 3rd down scrambling play by Aaron Rodgers that set up the Packers’ winning touchdown. Luckily his QB was able to bail him out.
Taylor is a guard and playing out of position at left tackle, so Green Bay is asking a lot of him. He needs to perform better.
Dallas Cowboys’ late-game defense
Dallas went into halftime leading the Green Bay Packers on Sunday 21-12, yet they lost the game 35-31, allowing 23 points in the second half. That included a 75-yard touchdown drive by Green Bay that began with 1:13 left in the game.
The Cowboys surrendered 342 yards in the game and five scoring drives of at least 70 yards. They gave up the lead for the first time in the game after allowing a 14-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that lasted nearly eight minutes and spilled from the middle of the third quarter into the fourth. They allowed a 4th-down conversion and committed two penalties on the drive to keep things alive for Green Bay.
The touchdown drive to win the game was the real killer. They allowed Aaron Rodgers to scramble for a key first down after David Irving barely missed a tackle. Then they surrendered the game-winner to Davante Adams for his second score of the game. The Dallas defense was unable to come up with a big stop when they needed one.
Cooper Kupp has been very good for the Rams in his rookie campaign. But there is no doubt that Kupp left a big play on the table Sunday.
The wide receiver made a great move to shake his man on a third down play with the Rams down 16-10 to the Seahawks in the final minute. Jared Goff led him in the end zone, and Kupp dove to try and make the catch. The ball hit his hands but he was unable to make the catch.
Kupp isn’t the reason the team lost, and the catch would have been very tough to make, but it was a disappointment he couldn’t bring it in.
“Let’s face facts,” Cooper Kupp said after the game, “I gotta make that play. … You’re playing in the NFL, you’re expected to make that play. If I’m putting my hands on the ball I’ve got to make that play.”
The Arizona Cardinals lost star running back David Johnson in Week 1 and have just looked brutal offensively ever since. Arizona entered Sunday’s game at Philly 22nd in the league with 18.5 points scored per game. That total is going to drop after they managed only seven points in a 34-7 defeat.
The offense was particularly dreadful in the first half. They had five punts in seven possessions during the first half. They managed one TD drive but then had a field goal blocked before halftime. They were unable to sustain drives and went just 4 of 14 on third-down conversions and held the ball for just 24 minutes. For the game, they went 3-and-out four times in 11 possessions.
Joe Staley, LT, 49ers
Staley had been playing at a high level this season, which made his performance on Sunday against Indianapolis disappointing. The San Francisco left tackle was beat around the edge by Jabaal Sheard for a sack on a third-down play in the third quarter, leaving the Niners with terrible field position for a punt. Indy consequently got the ball at the 40 and took advantage of the short field to score their first touchdown of the game. Pro Football Focus’ analysis also had Staley allowing two hurries in the game. Through Week 3, they had graded him as their top offensive tackle in the league.
Mike Pence & Jerry Jones
Just when you thought the national anthem matter was subsiding, Mike Pence and Jerry Jones ensured it will be a major topic of conversation for the next week. The vice president flew out from the West Coast to Indianapolis for the Colts-49ers game and acted shocked and offended to see players kneel during the anthem, which he says led him to leave. In reality, most people sniffed out the PR stunt, which included choosing to attend a game where he knew one of the teams would have players kneeling (a 49er has protested during the anthem in every game going back to last season), having a statement prepared for right after he left the game, and alerting reporters before the game that he would likely be leaving early. The whole ordeal costed taxpayers thousands.
Jones became the first owner to openly threaten discipline to any player who “disrespects the flag,” saying any player who does so would not play for the Dallas Cowboys. That’s a rich statement coming from an owner who took a knee with his players two weeks ago, not to mention someone who employed Greg Hardy immediately after he was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend. Do you think Jerry would stick to his statement if Ezekiel Elliott or Dak Prescott kneeled during the anthem? Neither do we.
Folk makes this list for the second week in a row, which is not good. The Bucs lost to the Patriots 19-14 on Thursday night, and it’s hard not to point the finger at Folk, who missed all three of his field goal attempts. Missing a 56-yard attempt just before halftime is understandable as that’s a tough kick, but he missed a more reasonable 49-yard kick in the third quarter. Then in the fourth quarter, Folk missed a 31-yard attempt, which is inexcusable. The week before he missed two field goals and an extra point before connecting on the game-winner. Tampa Bay continues to experience major kicker issues.
