NFL Week 4: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
This NFL week came into question after the Tennesee Titans became case number one in teams handling a COVID outbreak.
Over the past week, the Titans recorded 20 positive cases that made the NFL postponed their game Sunday against the Steelers. Meanwhile across the NFL, Tampa Tom and the Buccaneers had an explosive comeback against the Chargers and there was an OBJ sighting in Dallas! Here is what we learned from Week 4:
Welcome ladies and gents, every week after the final game in the NFL week we will analyze, condemn, and celebrate all the crazy plays and mishaps that have happened so far in the league. Whether it’s a game-winning field goal or the interception that costs the game in the closing moments, we are on it. Let me introduce you to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. What team gets the feature?
The Good: The Cleveland Browns are ROLLING
via Bleacher Report
Wake up everyone the year is 2020 and the Browns sit at 3-1 on the season. After putting on a running clinic against the Dallas Cowboys, the Browns have won their third straight game under Kevin Stefanski after a miserable first-week outing against the Ravens. Many people quickly wrote them off as AFC pretenders again, but the Browns ignored all the hate and stayed the course. Now they have a home game against the Indianapolis Colts where the Dawg Pound is being opened to fans for the first time this season as the Browns look to continue their best start since 2001, here’s how they got there.
After losing to the Ravens Week 1, the Browns were in a familiar position they were in all of last year. They were being asked questions like is Baker the answer, should they trade away Odell Beckham Jr., and/or is Stefanski the right coach, all just after a loss to the AFC’s top team last year coming off no preseason games. Well, they answered those questions with back-to-back wins against NFC East teams and in dominant fashion. They let the run game carry them with 158 yards against Washington and then 307 yards against Dallas the next week. Mayfield is throwing less resulting in fewer turnovers and their defense is wrecking opposing QBs with Myles Garrett clearly on a mission after a big contract extension. And the most important note from the game…they finally got OBJ going in the offense. He finished the game with 154 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, one from his fellow WR Jarvis Landry in this trick play:
The Browns are in charge of their own destiny right now and they seem to have their identity figured out. They are in place currently to fight for the division crown against the Ravens and Steelers or at least get a Wild Card spot in this year’s playoffs. Whatever the case, they have to keep winning to silence the critics completely, and making the playoffs with this start is a must. However, they must do it without RB Nick Chubb who is going to be sidelined the next couple of weeks due to injury.
The Bad: Texans fire Bill O’Brien but at what cost?
The Texans have a rough start to this year, unlike any other team. They played the Chiefs opening week, right after they had to play the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, and then the next week they had to play another AFC powerhouse in the Steelers, all games they lost. The NFL is a league with no excuses however and they had a chance to turn things around this season with a win against the Vikings this past Sunday, but as most know by now they lost that too, which led to us getting the news yesterday that coach and GM Bill O’Brien was finally being released. But one can say that this move is a little too late, and perhaps has ruined the foreseeable future and growth for their franchise QB Deshaun Watson.
The Texans started this offseason wrong after trading away a top wideout in DeAndre Hopkins. He was Watson’s number one weapon and most reliable target, a superstar wide receiver in the game. Every young QB needs a weapon of that sort if they’re going to progress and O’Brien just snatched him away from Watson in a surprising move. Now the Texans have to pay the price of this move after firing the man who did the crime, along with some other questionable moves in a season where they traded away a lot of capital for a run this season:
Texans sit 0-4 on the season, tied for the worst record in the AFC along with the Jets. Anytime you’re equal with the Jets in a stat is a bad look in itself. Now after getting rid of one problem on the team, it is time to answer the other problems. Can they get Watson some help on the offensive line, a problem that has been plaguing them since Watson was drafted, and can they get him a real running game to supplement their offense? The season isn’t over yet but it is looking bleak for the Texans unless some more changes are made fast.
The Ugly: COVID Outbreaks
The Titans were hit badly by a COVID outbreak that had the NFL reeling for a couple of days after their game against the Vikings two Sundays ago. As mentioned, they had recorded 20 positive cases from players and personnel and had to close down their practice facility for the foreseeable future. Because cases were popping up every day this past week, their game against the Bills this weekend was put in jeopardy. This was the first test for the NFL this season dealing with COVID at this level, which resulted in games being moved around on the schedule. The league was able to get through this week but how much longer can they keep this charade up?
When the Miami Marlins encountered their outbreak they missed multiple games that had to be postponed. They also had to make 175 roster moves and had to be all but perfect in the latter part of the season where they had to complete a rough schedule of makeup games that were missed. The NFL doesn’t have the luxury of even a shortened MLB schedule which makes every game critical for a team. Having a key player miss just two games can make or break your season at this point (i.e. the Patriots with Cam).
With the seasons starting to change and Flu season upon us we could be seeing more teams with COVID outbreaks. There have already been memos sent just about every week reminding the teams of the importance of staying safe during these times. The Raiders made news the other day after attending an event where it seemed no Raider player or coach was wearing a mask.
With no bubble format like the NBA and NHL implemented for their respective restarts, it remains just as easy to catch COVID with teams traveling from city to city. Hopefully halfway though this season a serious change is made as the NFL could be in big trouble these next couple of months.
Stay tuned next Tuesday for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.
