NFL Week 3 Preseason Recap

Derek Lofland, NFL director at Fantasy Football Maniaxs

MVP of the Week:  Matt Schaub had a terrific performance this week.  He went 14 for 16 for 187 yards and two touchdown tosses while throwing zero interceptions.  He posted a 154.9 QB rating.  Michael Turner was very productive for the Falcons.  While he carried the ball only four times he had 113 yards, including a 63-yard dash. Finally, Brandon Coutu had a very nice game going 5-for-5 on field goals and 2-2 on extra points.  Included in those field goals were a 48-yard and 46-yard kick.  But Domenik Hixon had the best performance of all.  He had two receiving touchdowns and a return touchdown in the first quarter as the NY Giants built a 23-3 first quarter lead.  That effort propelled them to a 37-34 victory. 

Loser of the Week:  I would go with the New England defense and the Cleveland Browns. The Patriots rebuilt their secondary and linebackers this off-season.  It looked woefully inadequate Sunday Night.  Briann Griese went 8-8 on the first drive on a 17-play drive that consumed 9:38 seconds.  The Patriots trailed 17-3 at the half and 27-3 after three quarters, before losing 27-10.  Granted Tom Brady didn’t play which limited the offense, but I was not impressed with the Patriots defense against what I consider a pretty average offense.  It is probably nothing to worry about at this stage, but that needs to get fixed up.  

Then there were the Browns.  This is a classic example of how preseason scores can be misleading.  If you looked at the final you see a 37-34 game.  It looks like both teams getting in good work in a high scoring game.  Hidden in that score is that the NY Giants first team destroyed the Browns first team to the tune of a 30-3 lead in the early part of the second quarter.  That was an embarrassing game by the first string and is something they will need to address next week when they take on the Detroit Lions.  

Game of the Week: I’m going to go with another preseason overtime game.  The Seahawks and Bears played to a 26-26 tie, before the "Hawks" broke the tie with a field goal in overtime.  The Seahawks were down 10 points entering the fourth quarter before they ran off 17 points.  Kellen Davis tied the game with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter.  Brandon Coutu nailed a 36-yard field goal early in the overtime to give the Seattle the win.  Honorable mention to the Cleveland Browns and NY Giants. 

The Bay of Pigs:  Has to be that 7-6 gem the Chargers and the Rams put up in St Louis.  The Chargers kicked a pair of first quarter field goals and the Rams scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter.  

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action):  Still waiting for the regular season on this. 

Hospital Visit:  Chad Johnson suffered a sprained shoulder.  He has already been ruled out for next week’s game and Marvin Lewis said he could be questionable for the season opener. 

Tavaris Jackson hurt his knee in the Viking’s win.  The Vikings quarterback strained his MCL.  He is expected to miss next week, but should be okay for the season opener. 

Tom Brady didn’t even travel to Tampa Bay, because of an undisclosed injury.  It is believed that he has a sore foot.  It is on the same foot that bothered him in the Super Bowl, but a different injury.  It is uncertain whether he will play in the rest of the preseason.