NFL Week 3 - Recap

Long in coming; apologies for the delay. It's been a hectic week outside of the sports world for me. So, without further ado, my delayed recap of Week 3 action...

Kansas City 31, San Francisco 10
Yeouch. What else is there to say? San Francisco got torched in this one and it's set in motion the wheels of panic, as suddenly it looks like Mike Singletary is out of his depth as a head coach. I'm a fan of Singletary's, but I have to wonder. This game begs the question - is Kansas City really this good, or is San Francisco just this bad? Nonetheless, the Chiefs are 3-0 and you can't knock that. They're explosive on offense, stout on defense and play in a weak division. That's a recipe for success.
Pierce's Pick - SF

Baltimore 24, Cleveland 17
Joe Flacco and the Ravens finally have the explosive week on offense we've all been expecting, but that it waited until the Browns is a concern. We'll see how the Ravens play against the Steelers this week. Meanwhile, the Browns are bad, but they did hang in this game on the scoreboard.
Pierce's Pick - BAL

Dallas 27, Houston 13
The Cowboys found much needed life in this one, which was a much needed win that keeps them afloat. Houston loses a game they barely had any place in. I'm still high on the Texans, but credit to the Cowboys for manning out a win when they needed it most. And who knew Roy Williams could still play? Go figure.
Pierce's Pick - HOU

Minnesota 24, Detroit 10
The anemic Lions offense, as well as a handful of bad penalties at worse times gave the Vikings the win and saved their season early. I still think the Vikings are struggling at best; barring a couple big plays and foibles by the Lions, the Vikes could easily be 0-3. The Lions look awful on offense. They clearly need Matthew Stafford back. Losing Jahvid Best in the first half clearly crippled any explosiveness they might have had, too. As long as Calvin Johnson remains invisible for long spans at a time, the Lions will have trouble winning. The Viking defense is the best part of their team right now - their offense isn't impressing, either.
Pierce's Pick - DET

New England 38, Buffalo 30
How did Buffalo stay in this one? Apparently Ryan Fitzpatrick showed the coaching staff enough that Trent Edwards got shown the door afterwards. The Bills are still awful, but it speaks volumes about the inexperienced Patriots defense that the Bills hung up 30 on them. Still, the Patriots are clicking on offense and that can make them hard to beat.
Pierce's Pick - NE

Atlanta 27, New Orleans 24
This had the feeling of a trap game for me - only because Atlanta had to win it to make a statement in the division. A loss here more or less asserts the Saints' dominance in the NFC South. Garrett Hartley missed a couple FGs in Week 1 against Minnesota - the Saints clearly are concerned after he missed a 32-yard game winner in this one, so they brought John Carney back. Can't argue with that, but they should keep Hartley nonetheless - remember that Dallas cut Nick Folk similarly and he's fine in New York now. But some veteran insurance never hurts; second-year players, kickers or not, should be allowed their growing pains.
Pierce's Pick - NO

Tennessee 29, NY Giants 10
The Giants look bad. Tennessee went nuts on them and they responded as a team out of control. A week after Brandon Jacobs threw his helmet into the stands in Indianapolis, Tom Coughlin had to hope his team would buckle down and maintain some extra discipline. It didn't happen and now it appears as though the Giants are unraveling. Fast.
Pierce's Pick - TEN

Pittsburgh 38, Tampa Bay 13
Tampa is a good, rebuilding team, but they're just that. Meanwhile, whoever is at quarterback, the Steelers are clearly contenders - perhaps the strongest team in the AFC. Charlie Batch becomes the feel-good story of the week as a result and I leave Mike Wallace on my fantasy bench the week he goes off. The Steeler defense is as good as its ever been. This is a team to fear.
Pierce's Pick - PIT

Cincinnati 20, Carolina 7
The Jimmy Clausen era has started and it wasn't pretty. The Panthers look lost and, as I pointed out last week, remain unable to run the ball. Until that changes, this team will be winless and toothless.
Pierce's Pick - CIN

Philadelphia 28, Jacksonville 3
Another strong performance by Michael Vick has early MVP whispers circulating, which is perhaps as ludicrous as anything. But credit Vick for playing very well so far. But his real test comes when he plays teams that aren't Detroit or Jacksonville. The Jags also appear to be toothless; another loss is no surprise to me as I continue to think, as I do every year, that this has to be the final year of the Jack Del Rio era there.
Pierce's Pick - PHI

St. Louis 30, Washington 16
The Rams are showing spunk now, something that doesn't surprise me after how close their recent contests came. This is a team with leadership on offense and defense now and as they assemble more talent and continuity, they'll continue to improve. Much like the Kansas City/San Francisco game, this might tell us more about how bad the Redskins are than about how good the Rams may or may not be.
Pierce's Pick - WAS

Indianapolis 27, Denver 13
This was a fun game to watch - Kyle Orton is playing very well in Denver this year and honestly, as I watched this game, I had to remind myself throughout that Denver wasn't winning. They seemed to outplay the Colts except in clutch situations. I still like the Broncos in a weak division. The Colts are still the Colts though. Anyone can make a play for Peyton and they'll win if the other team doesn't capitalize on every opportunity.
Pierce's Pick - IND

Arizona 24, Oakland 23
How come nobody like Bruce Gradkowski? When he was in Tampa for awhile, he played well enough - although obviously needing time to develop. Whenever he plays in Oakland, the team rallies, but then coaching eventually benches him again. It's odd. The Cardinals win, but this closeness of this contest speaks to how much they've lost in the past year. They're a mediocre team at best.
Pierce's Pick - ARI

Seattle 27, San Diego 20
This is a game the Chargers should have won but did not. Credit to the Seahawks for some fantastic special teams play and let this game remind us that you should never, ever doubt the Seahawks at home. It'll be interesting to see if the Chargers shake out of their September swoon like usual or not this year. The division is weak, but I like both the Chiefs and the Broncos more than the Chargers. Likewise, the Seahawks are making their bid at rising to the top of an otherwise weak division.
Pierce's Pick - SD

NY Jets 31, Miami 23
It's hard to really not like the Jets right now. The Dolphins look good, too, but this was a big statement game for the Jets to say that they want this division. The Dolphins have a habit of owning their division competition at home, but not this time. A close, gritty game. Speaking of aged running backs, it looks like Ricky Williams lost his magic from last year and LT took it. Also, the Wildcat is closer to death than it was a year ago. It seems like every Wildcat down I see, by any team, is a wasted down. Last year that didn't include Miami, but this year it seems less effective for them, as well. I've also questioned how much it's stunted Chad Henne's growth.
Pierce's Pick - MIA

Chicago 20, Green Bay 17
Chicago is the luckiest team in the NFL right now, after a ridiculous rule gave them a win over Detroit and the Packers pretty much handed them this one. I missed the game, but in watching highlights, it looked like the Bears did everything possible to lose but the Packers just wouldn't let them. I still think the Packers are the class of the NFC, but they won't be if they have another game like this one. I have to think that the luck of the Bears will run out, but they do have a schedule favorable enough that they could contend going forward. It'll be interesting to find out as the season unfolds.
Pierce's Pick - GB