By: Matt Sanderson
Source: Los Angeles Daily News (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
If you were to ask me what I liked MOST about the NFL, it would not be the explosive plays, the Monday Night Miracles, the strategic intuition behind every play good or bad, not even the cheerleaders. Now, even though those are all great things, but I would answer this with one word: "Parody".
No, I am not talking about comedic skits or bad spoofs off of long time movie (even though those are funny), I am talking about the equalized efficiency across the National Football League.
I remember when I first started watching football, as a young boy growing up in the Niagara Region. I was about 9-10 years old and I cheered for the Buffalo Bills at the time due to the geography of where they are located. At that time it would've been 2003/04, this was at the time where Tom Brady came on the scene. Back then, there were only a handful of teams you could count to not only be exciting to watch but dominated the game. As time went on, that parody grew from 4,8,10,12,15 etc, teams who were exciting to watch. Now in week 3 of the NFL season we have close to 20 teams that are exciting to watch, from the players to the dynamics to the hype around certain teams, this is the true excitement for me of the NFL.
So you'll now ask, Matt where are you going with this? Well, any team on any given weekend can walk away from a stadium, home or away, with a win, we have seen it all too well these first two weeks. If you were to have asked me who would be undefeated I would not have guess, Tampa, Washington and Atlanta.
With that being said, let's dive into my 3 biggest surprises so far heading into week 3.
Bucs Baking in the May-Field
When you think of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers you continuously reminisce about the short timeframe with the GOAT Tom Brady. Winning a Super Bowl for them in 2020/21 really paved the way for expectations going forward. Now that Brady has moved on in comes Baker Mayfield. Baker has been a journeyman throughout his NFL career, being in Cleveland, Carolina, Los Angeles with the Rams and now here in Tampa. It's not surprise that he's been under the microscope with his success. But now he's appeared to have won over the team, with his moxie, the intuitiveness to read the signals from the opposing team and even playing clean football! Even though they might be suffer their first loss sooner rather than later, this Bucs squad led by Todd Bowles is on board with Baker at the helm. Also, Mike Evans in a contract year has balled out thus far which makes Baker's job a little bit easier.
Whether they lose this week or its 5 weeks down the road this team is surprising to be here but exciting to see what they can bring going forward in a WIDE WIDE open NFC.
Missing Bengals?
Can someone send a report out requesting for the Cincinnati Bengals to come back? The Bengals starting 0-2 does not bode well for the NFL. A lot of buzz and excitement was around this Bengals teams coming into this season, and then cue Joe Burrows injury.
After a dismal performance in week 1, Joe Burrow and the Bengals came to life against the Ravens...however, it was cut short after Burrow tweaked his calf, the same calf he hurt in training camp. But even though Burrow is battling through the injury bug, the team as a whole has looked very uncomfortable, Ja' Marr Chase has been almost nonexistent, Tee Higgins did not come to life until last week and the line is breaking down in front of Burrow. Statistically, teams who start 0-2 have a 10% chance of making the playoffs, teams who go 0-3 is virtually impossible. So to say this game this week is important is an understatement.
The Stale-y Defence
Probably the most shocking of all the games this week was the Los Angeles Chargers losing to the Tennessee Titans in overtime.
The Defence of the Chargers has been terrible the last two weeks. This should be a 2-0 team right now but there is a disconnect there which nobody can figure out. Credit to the Titans but the Chargers need to do a better job of being aggressive and disciplined on Defence, because similar to the Bengals, this team has so much talent even without Austin Ekeler in the lineup.
Whether Brandon Staley thinks it or not, the team has not been the same since blowing a 17-0 lead in last years playoffs against the Jaguars. Bottom line, Chargers do better, when you have a guy like Justin Herbert you are never out of games. Look for them to go 1-2 this week!
Top Picks and Predictions for Week 3 powered by BetStamp:
There will only be four undefeated teams after this week, the Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, and 49ers will all go into Week 4 at 3-0.
Justin Jefferson will have a 125+ yards day with 2 touchdowns helping the Vikings get their first win of the season.
The Lions will drop to 1-2 and Jared Goff with throw an INT for the second game in a row versus Atlanta.
GOLD: Eagles 28-16 over the Bucs
SILVER: Bills 27-24 over Washington
BRONZE: Denver 25-20 Ravens
Betstamp shows you the odds from every sportsbooks all in one spot.
Always get the best value when betting. The average bettor makes an additional $1033 per year using Betstamp.
Bet like a pro with betstamp's free betting tools:
Custom bet tracker
Bets update with real time scores and odds
Sports betting accounting - keep track of all your accounts in one place
Bet history analysis tool