NFL Week 3: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

THE GOOD

How about them Eagles?: On Week 1, they beat a joke of a team. On Week 2, they beat a mediocre team on the road. On Week 3, they beat what many people thought was a playoff contender with a bruising defense. Furthermore, they held them to a field goal. Carson Wentz continued to look impressive with his precise passing and quick release,  and Jim Schwartz's defense bottled up Big Ben and the Steelers' offense. They better take advantage of him as defensive coordinator while they can. I have a feeling he will be a head coach somewhere next year. This is the first 3-0 start for the Eagles in several years, and, so far, this looks like a team that could be going back to the playoffs. The Eagles now go into an early bye week, which is kind of unfortunate, because this might stop their momentum. However, they face a Detroit squad in a couple of weeks that has its share of problems, including a defense that was flattened by "A.A. Ron" Rodgers and the Packers.

Ex-Eagles: Shady McCoy, now a Buffalo Bill, ran roughshod over the hapless Jets for the Bills' first win of the season. Sam Bradford had another decent outing in a win over the Panthers, and the Vikings, like the Eagles, are a surprise at 3-0. Everything will be fine until Bradford gets injured.

National anthem protests continue: Ever since Colin Kapernick staged his protest by not standing for the Star-Spangled Banner, several players, including some Eagles, have protested in one way or another, annoying many rednecks, I mean, red-blooded Americans. I won't give you my personal opinion on the matter other than to say the Constitution and its amendments are the supreme law of the land. Believe it or not, there was a game on Monday night during the debate. Few Americans seemed to notice. What the game did have was the best show of unity I have seen so far this season: Both teams formed a circle on the field and held hands. This made a very important point: What the anthem and the recent protests symbolize is bigger than the game and both teams playing it. Well-done, gentlemen!

Big Man TD: Nothing is more fun to watch than a big guy taking it to the house. This week, it was the Rams' Ethan Westbrooks picking up a fumble and going all the way.

THE BAD

This week in the Mistake By The Lake: I feel so bad for Cleveland fans. On Wednesday, rookie wideout Corey Coleman, chosen 15th overall in the draft, broke his hand in practice. On Friday, kicker Patrick Murray tweaked his knee in practice, forcing the team to scramble and bring in ex-Eagle Cody Parkey. Then comes Sunday. The Dolphins are also 0-2, so someone has to win this game. The Browns showed some signs of life, with Terrelle Pryor becoming the Swiss Army Knife of football players catching 8 balls, playing a few downs as safety, and even completing a couple of passes. Parkey shanked 3 field goals, including one at the end of regulation that would have won the game. Instead, the game went into overtime, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sacks and interceptions galore: Who let these pass rushers loose? Normally decent QBs ate the turf  and threw to the other team numerous times. In a loss to the Vikings, Cam Newton, last year's league MVP, was picked off three times and was sacked a whopping eight times. The Purple People Eaters are back! Carson Palmer, who is usually good at getting the ball off quickly, threw 4 INTs and went down 5 times. Ivy Leaguer and Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 6 interceptions and ate the turf 4 times. His QB rating was an abysmal 18.2. By the way, your QB rating would be 25 if you threw every single pass into the ground. I don't blame Fitzpatrick here, I blame the coaches for not benching him to see if backup Geno Smith could turn things around.

Non-football news: The Dolphins had a moment of silence for Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident at the age of 24. He was not only one of the best pitchers in baseball, but also, by many accounts, a nice and charismatic guy. He defected from Cuba, and leaves behind a pregnant girlfriend. Very sad.

THE UGLY

Adventures in officiating: The pass interference call on Lions DB Nevin Lawson was a spot foul worth 66 yards, supposedly the longest NFL penalty in 15 years. It reopens the debate as to whether DPI calls should all be 10 yards, like OPI penalties. Upon further review, the league said this wasn't even a foul. Giants center Weston Richburg is the first player to be ejected under the league's new 2 & DQ rule. The Eagles' Kenjon Barner is inexplicably flagged for somersaulting in the end zone.

Finally: The Giants' Odell Beckham Jr., whose ability is overshadowed only by his ego, had a tough day facing off against the Potomac Basin Indigenous People's Josh Norman. He decided to take out his frustrations on the kicking net, but the net was having none of it.

Someone had some fun with it here.