If Week 3’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams was a “passing of the baton” (as I wrote) between the defending Super Bowl champions and the newest best team in the league, it was a short heat to the proverbial race. Quarterback Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals took down the Rams in convincing fashion in a game that didn’t seem even as close as the 37-20 final score.
Are the Cardinals now the presumptive best team in the NFL? No, probably not...but with a statement win against the Rams, it’s clear that the Cardinals future is now and they are solidly among the best teams in the league. With upcoming contests against the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns next on the schedule, they’ll be able to make similar statements very soon.
The Murray-led Air Raid passing offense is the best in the league, which is not exactly a surprise. They have an elite (if underappreciated) receiving corps around him and they’ve invested heavily in the offensive line in recent years. Defensively, they’re only allowing 21.3 points per game—good for ninth best in the league. That’s impressive on its own, certainly, but especially in the context of that high-octane offense which ends up giving opponents more scoring opportunities.
Often hid over the years in the later Sunday time slot with a smaller national viewing area than other top-tier teams getting “Game of the Week” status, the Cardinals do not have a ton of household names outside of their quarterback and fantasy football studs. Now, it’s time to start appreciating the Cardinals in a whole new light. They’re not ascending to the top of the power rankings quite yet, nor are they presumptive Super Bowl favorites after one singular “any given Sunday,” but they refuse to be held out of the conversation any longer.
What We Got Wrong...But Should’ve Gotten Right
It was a pretty fantastic week of picks for me, going 11-4 heading into Monday Night Football and currently 35th on the Pickwatch Leaderboard. The game I absolutely hate that I got wrong, though, was the Chicago Bears victory over the Detroit Lions. 58 percent of Pickwatch users and experts picked the Lions along with me, including 60 percent of the Pickwatch Pro users.
Through the first three games of the season, it was absolutely arguable that Detroit had been the better team even though they’re still searching for their first win. They had played San Francisco, Green Bay and Baltimore tough and have shown life on both sides of the ball. Chicago, meanwhile, had struggled to find an offensive identity and Head Coach Matt Nagy’s seat had been heating up.
Yet, historically, the Lions often underachieve in moments like this and make struggling quarterbacks look like Hall of Famers. Of course they dropped this one
What None of us Could’ve Saw Coming
A combined three percent of Pickwatch users and experts selected the two New York teams (1 percent picked the Giants, 2 percent Jets). While one or two of you may claim to have correctly guessed one of these games, I’m confident none of you really believed the city would go 2-0 this (or likely any) week.
How did they do it?
Defensively, the Jets got a lot of help with the absence of Tennessee Titans wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones. With his two most talented targets gone, quarterback Ryan Tannehill never really found a rhythm and the Jets pass rush teed off on him. Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson had the best game of his young career, learning on former Titan, Corey Davis.
The Giants, meanwhile, finally had the kind of offensive performance that they envisioned over the offseason. Running back Saquon Barkley led the attack on the ground and through the air with huge contributions from both wide receiver Kenny Golladay and rookie wideout Kadarius Toney. Quarterback Daniel Jones had his best outing of the season as well. All of those names had mostly disappointed this season, so if this can be what they look like against a team like the New Orleans Saints, the pessimism of the first quarter of 2021 may be put behind them.
The Schottey Six: Most Unheralded Players of 2021 So Far
1. Yannick Ngakoue (DE Raiders) — With Maxx Williams deservedly getting a lot of hype early on, Ngakoue is quietly putting together the type of season multiple teams had hoped he’d have for them over the last few seasons.
2. Reggie Gilliam (FB Bills) — He’s barely touched the ball this season, but he’s been a big piece of the Bills rushing attack taking a step forward this season.
3. Chuck Clark (S Ravens) — Overshadowed by some bigger names on the Ravens defense, Clark is the best safety in the league many couldn’t pick out of a lineup.
4. Alexander Johnson (LB Broncos) — The journeyman linebacker has matured into one of the best coverage guys in the league.
5. Bryce Hall (CB Jets) — A huge piece of the win over the Titans, Hall has been one of the best corners so far this season and it’s about time more people start recognizing that.
6. Christian Kirk (WR Cardinals) — Sure, fantasy players love him, but on a receiving group with DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore, it’s easy to forget that Kirk is often Murray’s target in the biggest of situations.
Cleaning Out the Notebook
— Obligatory congrats to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady for breaking the all-time passing yardage record. I know that Brady getting accolades is old hat by now, but it’s important to remember just how unlikely his success in the NFL was. He wasn’t even the presumptive starter for much of his time in college where other, then-bigger names overshadowed him. His success is a testament to tireless work ethic and approaching the game as if nothing will ever be handed to you.
— That’s a difficult path for NFL success, but current New England Patriots QB Mac Jones has a lot of that same DNA. He looked positively Bradyesque for much of Sunday Night Football.
— It was another loss, but it was super encouraging to see Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence start to live up to the promise of his generational pick status on Thursday night. It’s not going to come easy, but I expect the Jaguars to get their first win in the next two weeks with contests against the Titans and Miami Dolphins.
— With losses piling up, an embarrassing video trending over the weekend and a history of pulling the ripcord, we’re looking at the end of Urban Meyer’s coaching career and it isn’t pretty.
— The Atlanta Falcons made things interesting against Washington Football Team almost solely because the WFT defense still isn’t living up to their promise.
— They lost this week, but we have to start talking about the Carolina Panthers as a contender rather than a pretender. The defense is legit and only getting better while quarterback Sam Darnold is no longer the punchline he once was.
— The Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings showed me nothing in a 14-7 “battle of who could care less” (to steal a phrase from Ben Folds). Both teams have made the case that they should be feared and are among the league’s toughest outs this season, but both also struggle to close out games themselves. Part of that is quarterback play but a lot of it is just organizational inertia that needs to be overcome.
— The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles, but in allowing 30 points, I’m as worried as ever before that they’re slipping.
— The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t going to go .500 this season.
— I had some good things to say about Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder in last week's notebook, and he responded with a victory over Notre Dame. Whether or not he goes No. 1, he's cemented his status to get a chance to play on Sundays early on in his career.
— My weekly youth football note: both sons are now 2-0 on the season as the family won both games on Saturday. My older son is cursed with my genetics, but is developing into a fine young football player, catching a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion as well as returning a failed lateral from the other team on a Special Teams play.
— My podcast, Three & Out has always been a good time, but the last few shows have been exceptional with guests like former Chargers FB Lorenzo Neal, The Guardian's Ollie Connelly and more. Our guest this week might be our biggest yet, so make sure to download and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Parting Schot
“The tragedy in sports is seeing a team beaten not by a better team, but by themselves.”—Bud Grant