Jarrett Bell unveils his Week 3 award winners
Awards, observations and a quick review of Week 3 in the NFL….
Stud of the week: Carson Wentz. Another week, another big test passed for the Eagles rookie quarterback. Wentz put up his first 300-yard game, with 2 TDs, in the rout of the Steelers. Can this kid do anything wrong? The Eagles are the NFL’s most surprising 3-0 team and Wentz still hasn’t thrown an interception. He’s the first rookie quarterback to start and win his first three games without throwing an interception, which in his case covers a span of 102 attempts. The Eagles brain trust struck oil with the manner in which it traded up to draft Wentz in the second slot overall, and now coach Doug Pederson is looking rather shrewd in using a passing game that puts Wentz in rhythm with short, safe throws that minimize risks – and the chance for picks.
Defensive player of the week:Everson Griffen. This may as well be an honor for the entire Vikings defense. The unit put a hurting on Cam Newton and the Panthers, and Griffen is a fitting representative of that effort. After leaving the game for treatment of an undisclosed illness, he returned to collect three of Minnesota’s eight sacks. While the injury-depleted offense is challenged to withstand the losses of Adrian Peterson, Teddy Bridgewater and Matt Kalil, the smackdown of Carolina – which had scored at least 37 points in each of its previous five home games – was a reminder of why Minnesota is still a contender. The Vikings now lead the NFL with 15 sacks and Griffen, who has developed from a fourth-rounder into one of the NFL’s best D-linemen, is leading the rush.
Special teamer of the week:Justin Tucker. The Ravens kicker nailed a 54-yard field goal in the final minute at Jacksonville for the deciding points. It was Tucker’s fourth field goal of the game, 12th game-winning kick of his career and yet another example of why he’s one of the most reliable kickers in the game. Special teams have had a distinct impact on Baltimore’s 3-0 start. Before Tucker’s big kick, Brent Urban blocked a Jason Myers field goal attempt – the second consecutive week the Ravens have blocked a kick and their NFL-high 10th blocked kick since 2014.
Rookie of the week: Jacoby Brissett. With just four days to prepare on a short week, the third-round quarterback provided Bill Belichick and Crew with a different dimension in his first NFL emergency start that helped the Patriots trip up the Texans on Thursday night and remain unbeaten. Brissett passed for just 109 yards, but he also rushed for 48 yards – which is not exactly the way for Patriots quarterbacks – that included a 27-yard TD run. In using a few option runs, Belichick again proved that he’ll do whatever it takes to get the most from the available talent. And Brissett didn’t commit any turnovers to wreck the plan. But in suffering a right thumb injury, Brissett was also added to the list of quarterback woes that include Tom Brady’s suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo’s shoulder injury.
Comeback player of the week: Andrew Luck…with a lot of help from T.Y. Hilton. A week after coming up short in crunch time at Denver, the Colts won their first game of the season as Luck overcame a late interception and connected with Hilton (8 catches, 174 yards) for a 63-yard TD that held up as the game winner against the Chargers. Luck has missed practice time the past couple of weeks while nursing a shoulder injury, but the arm was healthy enough to sting San Diego for 331 yards.
Boneheaded blunder: There was much chatter after the Giants loss on Sunday about Odell Beckham losing his cool on the sideline, but it was center Weston Richburg who couldn’t contain himself between the lines. Richburg drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the second when he taunted Josh Norman after blocking the Washington cornerback to the turf.
How ya like me now? Rex Ryan promised that the Bills offense would return to its Ground and Pound identity with Anthony Lynn replacing fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and they delivered as scripted in upsetting the Cardinals. Buffalo rushed for a season-high 208 yards to control the game’s flow. Shady McCoy ran for 110 yards and two scores. Tyrod Taylor ran for 76 yards, highlighted by a 49-yard scamper and 20-yard TD. The commitment to run added up to 32 rushes in 61 plays, compared to an average of 22 rushes in the first two games. Sure, the Bills were without injured wideout Sammy Watkins on Sunday. But when Watkins returns, the big-picture philosophy will probably still start with establishing a physical rushing attack.
Did you notice? Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams played extensively at left guard during Washington’s comeback win at the Giants on Sunday, making the switch after injuries put a dent on the interior O-line with starting center Kory Lichtensteiger and guard Shawn Luuvao knocked out of the game. Williams had never played guard before, but the emergency adjustment worked like a charm as Williams helped Washington finally discover its long-lost rushing attack for crunch time.
Stat’s the fact: Terrelle Pryor caught eight passes for 144 yards. He rushed for 25 yards with a touchdown. And the former quarterback threw, too, passing for 35 yards in Cleveland’s near-upset at Miami. Converted to receiver last year, Pryor is suddenly the most potent weapon – and undoubtedly the most versatile -- on a Browns offense rolling with third-string rookie quarterback Cody Kessler. And what a distinction from Sunday: Pryor is the first to tally 120 receiving yards, 30 passing yards and 20 rushing yards in a game since Hall of Famer Frank Gifford in 1959.