{"id":24308,"date":"2023-09-28T18:37:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T22:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=24308"},"modified":"2023-09-28T18:37:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T22:37:07","slug":"what-we-learned-nfl-week-3-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/what-we-learned-nfl-week-3-2\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT WE LEARNED: NFL WEEK 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had what might have been the silliest and most fun week of NFL football in a while. Here\u2019s what we learned from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEAN PAYTON\u2019S HUBRIS RUBBED IN HIS FACE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one is out here suggesting that Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is terrible. He was the hottest commodity in the coaching searches of the offseason for good reason. If Payton does have an issue, it\u2019s his own ego and how it manifests itself. In the preseason, it did so in criticizing the job Nathaniel Hackett<\/a> did with the Broncos a season ago. Make no mistake, Payton was correct. Hackett was horrible, but he\u2019s part of the coaching fraternity and Sean should have kept his thoughts to himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he didn\u2019t. Which is why so many in the NFL are thrilled by the fact<\/a> that Payton\u2019s Broncos, not Hackett\u2019s Broncos, were on the receiving end of an historic 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Payton\u2019s Broncos are the first NFL team since 1966 to surrender 70 points and the Dolphins are only the fourth team in NFL history to reach that number. They are also the first to score on five passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns in the same game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite take was from AP writer Arnie Meledrez Stapleton, who wrote (or his editor came up with the headline<\/a>) \u201cSean Payton has at least met one of the Broncos\u2019 goals: make fans forget all about Nathaniel Hackett.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three weeks into the season and Denver could not look worse. They\u2019re 0-3 and now face another 0-3 team maybe even more horrible than they are, the Chicago Bears. They\u2019re playing it in Chicago and while Payton\u2019s job isn\u2019t on the line, the Bears\u2019 Matt Eberflus\u2019 most certainly is. If the Broncos lose this game, to a horrendous Chicago team\u2026 well, get used to the Kevin James memes. They are a delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey, at least the offense is scoring points now. The guy who is probably in real trouble is Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who will most certainly get tossed under the bus by Payton, a serial bus tosser, after this performance and the next time it happens. And we all hope it happens again. Every team should try to put 70 on Denver now. Join in the reindeer games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPEAKING OF THE DOLPHINS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offense looks unstoppable, Tua Tagivailoa has taken his place atop the league\u2019s quarterback rankings and justified his draft selection. And every single feat Miami accomplishes is an absolute indictment of Brian Flores\u2019 tenure with the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I\u2019d written my Super Bowl prediction back in August, I would have had the Dolphins in the playoffs and probably exiting in the AFC Divisional Round. Now, they look like the best team in football and a potential AFC Super Bowl representative. All they have to do is keep the Kansas City Chiefs from clinching home field advantage in the playoffs to make it happen. Patrick Mahomes has never played an AFC playoff game outside of Arrowhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OH YEAH, THE WHOLE TAYLOR SWIFT THING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen, I love everything about this. I love that Taylor was in the owner\u2019s box with Travis Kelce\u2019s mom. I love how shy he\u2019s acting about the whole thing because Kelce is not a shy dude at all, and I love it for Swifties. Welcome to NFL football, guys. You\u2019re going to love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelce\u2019s jersey sales jumped 400 percent after the couple made it official last Sunday and the ratings for the<\/a> Chiefs vs Bears game were huge. The NFL even had some fun with it on their Twitter page, calling it<\/a> \u201cNFL (Taylor\u2019s version) and running her picture as the header.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat McAfee made the point that the NFL has been trying to reach that demographic \u2014 younger women and couldn\u2019t figure out how to do it. Then, of course, Taylor Swift did it for them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TANKING IS HARD IN THE NFL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no question that certain teams (I\u2019m giving you the stink eye Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders) made specific roster choices in their quarterback rooms in order to lose as many games as possible and land the top pick in next April\u2019s NFL Draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of those teams have failed at failing. The Commanders are 2-1 and the Cardinals should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what makes it so tough to tank? It\u2019s because the quarterbacks Washington and Arizona fielded might be some of the worst in the league, they remain some of the best on the planet. Joshua Dobbs is crazy smart. He\u2019s the best future astronaut to ever play in the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett are probably both lifelong backups, but that still means they\u2019re better than pretty much everyone else on the Earth at playing quarterback. Plus, they\u2019re coached by Ron Rivera, a guy I think is always underrated as a head coach. Jonathan Gannon hasn\u2019t looked too bad either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reality sets in this week as the Commanders play at the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cardinals play at the San Francisco 49ers. I\u2019m confident none of us are predicting upsets there. But don\u2019t be surprised if both these scrappy sure-fire losers make it interesting for at least a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So who is going to end up with that top pick in the draft? The Cardinals are still a solid bet, but it\u2019s looking more and more like the Chicago Bears will return to the top selection and this time, I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll trade it. And even if they don\u2019t earn the top pick themselves, there\u2019s a good chance the Carolina Panthers could end up the worst team in football and the Bears own their 2024 pick. For a new coaching regime (and it will be new), there\u2019s worse ways to start than with the first two picks in the draft. I\u2019m thinking Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison, Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Broncos, the Minnesota Vikings (if they trade Kirk Cousins before the deadline), the Houston Texans (always) and the New York Jets could all find their way into that spot. And, if you\u2019re the Jets with Aaron Rodgers coming back next year, adding Caleb Williams to make up for your last two complete whiffs on first round quarterbacks would be a solid consolation prize for losing our nation\u2019s preeminent ivermectin spokesperson for the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em><\/a>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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