
Three weeks down and there is still a lot of uncertainty with who the real deal is in the NFL. With most teams in the NFL playing competitively, you will need to come out with all you got every week if you want to make the playoffs this year.
Let’s take a look at teams who are starting to separate themselves in good or bad ways with The Upside Play’s Week 3 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
GOOD
Chargers
It is a passing league, you don’t have to tell the Chargers that. With three touchdowns in the air, two interceptions and two sacks that came with constant pressure, credit goes to the front office in LA that built a team catered to winning in today’s NFL. It is nice to see young guys like Mike Williams and Asante Samuel Jr. holding their own and playing to their expectations.
Bills
The Bills eliminated any doubt I had of them being a good team this weekend. Josh Allen threw four touchdowns to three guys not named Stefon Diggs. They also rushed for over 100 yards with guys not named Josh Allen. As long as the Bills continue to get creative on offense and spread the ball around, they will be just as good as last year if not better.
Broncos
The most surprising 3-0 team in the NFL are the Denver Broncos. The safe and efficient quarterback play from Teddy Bridgewater as well as the dynamic one-two punch in the backfield has broken defenses thus far. With that said, you do need to do much on offense when your defense is playing lights out. The defense will have their toughest matchup yet when they host the Ravens next week.
BAD
Justin Fields and the Bears
I was starting to think the Bears were a Justin Fields away from being an elite team, I was wrong. It is too early to criticize Justin Fields, but the Bears did not help him out whatsoever. With only 20 pass attempts and 13 rushes on the ground, the Bears had a hard time getting anything going. Giving your franchise quarterback his first start against a defense as ferocious as Cleveland is not a good way to build up his confidence.
49ers
Did the 49ers really play bad or is Aaron Rodgers that good? It is hard to say that leaving less than a minute on the clock is giving someone “too much time.” The 49ers shined in many aspects of the game, but poor passing defense in a passing league is something that will prevent them from playing in February.
Ravens
I don’t generally consider teams that won “bad” but I will make an exception when they beat the Lions. Despite the tough play of Detroit this year, this game was a lot closer than it should have been. The Lions exposed a bunch of holes for this Baltimore team. You can blame it on the injuries, but the Ravens will need to be a more well rounded team to compete this year.
UGLY
Jets
Let's keep this one short and sweet. There is nothing that I can tell you that you do not know already.
Steelers
We know divisional matchups aren’t usually easy, but boy did the Steelers have a tough day against the Bengals. During the whole second half these players looked like they wanted to throw in the terrible towel and make Tik Toks all day. Big Ben threw the ball a whopping 58 times with 19 throws to his running back. That alone shows you how much trouble these receivers had getting open.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles Offense
The Eagles got absolutely torched on Monday Night. It is hard to expect the defense to hold it down when the offense goes three and out every drive. Jalen Hurts looked like a nervous presenter trying to picture everyone in their underwear. Hurts did not read the field and stared down receivers consistently targeting the Cowboys best corner. It did not help that the offensive line gave him no time and his coach gave him plays out of a Madden playbook.
Looking ahead to the tough NFC East and AFC East matchups this next week, stay tuned for Week 4’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Cover Photo: AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
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