The Browns may have something in Baker Mayfield. Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Week 3 of the NFL season was all over the map. We saw results and performances we expected, and some we couldn’t have predicted. It was sort of like that crazy ex everyone has had: never know which side you’re going to get. Here’s my version of the observations I saw:
The Good
-The Browns’ Tyrod Taylor got Wally Pipp-ed by Baker Mayfield. Taylor went down with a concussion in the first half down 14-0. Mayfield led the team to a 21-17 victory going 17 of 23 for 201 yards and caught a two-point conversion. This was their first win in 635 days. Bud Light had fridges placed around the city which would be unlocked via satellite if they had won. Mayfield gave them the biggest “Dilly dilly” with his performance.
-Bills’ rookie quarterback Josh Allen had his coming out party against the Vikings. The Bills were widely considered the worst team in football and were 16.5 point underdogs on the road against one of the best teams in football. Allen threw for one touchdown and ran for two more. His signature highlight was hurdling a defender on a scramble. Known for his arm strength, seeing Allen hurdle a guy on a scramble was akin to witnessing fat NBA guys dunk.
- The Miami freaking Dolphins are 3-0. Let that sink in. The play they used to take the lead for good was a reverse wide receiver pass that went for a 52-yard touchdown. Dolphins’ fans should rejoice now while they’re leading the AFC East, because when the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella will lose her slipper.
The Bad
-The Titans and Jags decided to set football back 100 years with a 9-6 finish. Neither team averaged more than four yards per pass, each averaged right at four yards per play, and the lone turnover was a Jags fumble. It was a game not even their families would want to watch.
-The Patriots are 1-2 after losing to the Lions 26-10 on Sunday Night Football. The Lions held the Pats to just 209 total yards. It appears as if Lions coach Matt Patricia got the best of his mentor, Pats coach Bill Belichek. If the Lions keep this up, Patricia may turn out to be the exception to the rule on Belichek’s coaching tree.
-It only took the first half for Bucs’ quarterback Ryan Fitz-magic to turn back into Fitzpatrick. He threw three first half interceptions and “helped” his team to a 30-10 deficit. With them wanting to ride the hot hand even when Jameis Winston comes back, this type of performance (which the smarts saw coming eventually) will have the Bucs rethinking their strategy.
The Ugly
-49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL with less than six minutes left in their game against the Chiefs. Garoppolo scrambled down the sideline and failed to get out of bounds. As he took another step bracing for a hit, he crumbled holding his left knee. Now San Francisco’s $137.5 million dollar man is done until next year and all hope lies within C.J. Beathard.
-Packers’ linebacker Clay Matthews was flagged with another roughing the passer penalty! He’s gotten one in every game this year. The fact that two he got in previous games could have cost them those games is debatable. When former players on both sides of the ball as well as former officials come to his defense, that speaks volumes. The rule was originally created because of a hit Troy Aikman took and reemphasized when Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone last year. The Competition Committee has to do something about this.
-The Cowboys are in trouble and it’s not all Dak Prescott’s fault. Their offensive line isn’t what it used to be which is hurting the run game and pass protection. When Dak has time to throw, he’s throwing to a subpar receiving corp. I am not a Cowboys fan at all, but all this Dak hate by that fan base is getting ridiculous.
Weeks like this bring about the type a parity the league has been looking for. Contenders are emerging. Pretenders are showing their hands. But most of all, nothing is truly settled. Anything can still happen as this week has shown us.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.