By outshining the Buccaneers in a 34-24 win, the Rams sent a clear message. They are currently on top of the mountain in the NFL.
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After all, the Buccaneers came into the game full of confidence, with a nine-game winning streak in which they had scored at least 30 points each time. Tom Brady was also at the top of the circuit with nine touchdown passes.
What the Rams have shown is that they are betting on a full squad. The offensive has been offering picnics since the start of the season. The defense, which was not at its best last Sunday in a victory against the Colts, limited Brady to a touchdown pass.
Even better, this defense limited the Buccaneers to 35 rushing yards for an average anemic 2.7 yards per carry. When Tom Brady is the team leader with 14 rushing yards, things go wrong!
The Rams also have an important asset, and that is that they dominate their opponents on both fronts in the trenches. The defensive line disturbs the opposing quarterbacks while the offensive line offers excellent protection to Matthew Stafford. This is often where the toughest duels are won.
It was one thing to beat the Buccaneers, but the Rams dominated from start to finish.
It is frankly striking.
Stafford dominant
This start to the season to break everything Rams, it is also the rediscovered happiness of Matthew Stafford. The quarterback, despite his obvious talent, has often been forgotten for years, in the gloom of the Detroit Lions.
Too often left to himself, it has sometimes been wrongly identified as one of the problems of this franchise, which vegetates in its putridity.
Against the Buccaneers, he added four touchdown passes to his record to bring his tally to nine this season. In Rams history, only Kurt Warner had so many after three games, in his memorable 1999 season.
Three of Stafford’s touchdown passes have passed 55 yards and more this season. Pilot Sean McVay finally has a quarterback equipped with a cannon to fulfill his most fatal offensive fantasies.
For the first time in his career, Stafford truly has a choice of gifts. No wonder he amassed 343 yards when he can pitch to Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Tyler Higbee and Van Jefferson.
And now veteran DeSean Jackson steps in, he who scored a long touchdown of 75 yards and finished the game with 120 yards. As for Kupp (nine receptions, 96 yards, two touchdowns), we already knew him among the cream of the NFL, but Stafford and he seem to be in true symbiosis since the start of the season.
An approach that pays
The Rams are not immune to misfortune, however. This is a team that has chosen to invest heavily in a small handful of players. So there are star players on board, but not a lot of depth.
The fact remains that so far, the aggressive approach of the Rams, who never hesitate to sacrifice draft picks for established players, pays big. They haven’t picked anything in the first round of the draft since 2016 and aren’t doing badly for it.
The Super Bowl is never won in September, but after three weeks of activity, not a team impresses as much as the Rams.
Winners
Myles Garrett
The Browns defensive end had a blast against the Bears’ laughable offensive line with 4.5 sacks. This is a franchise record for Garrett. An epic performance!
Les Chargers
The Chargers made their life difficult with some silly punishments yet again, but their win over the Chiefs is huge for the team’s confidence. Justin Herbert shone with four touchdown passes.
Josh Allen
The Bills quarterback ended his shy start to the season and regained his strength with a performance of 358 yards, four touchdowns and another rushing touchdown. He will not have let doubt settle for long.
The Saints
The Saints are coming out of their first month of the season spent entirely on the road with a record of two wins and one loss. They dominated the Patriots and Packers in this difficult environment. Hat !
The Vikings
The Vikings could not afford to start their season with three losses. They reacted well to the Seahawks. Kirk Cousins made 78.9% of his passes, including three for touchdowns.
Losers
The Chiefs
The Chiefs’ offense must find a way to start a game on time. With three turnovers to their first three offensive possessions, they gave the Chargers a 13-0 lead. Hard to believe, but they’re currently bottom of their division.
Justin Fields
Poor Justin Fields! On his first start, he made just six of his 20 passes for 68 yards. Nine sack victim for losses of 67 yards, the day ended with a net passing yard. He will probably never invite his tackle jason Peters to a party…
Ben Roethlisberger
The veteran Steelers quarterback threw two interceptions and the long play went missing from his arsenal. His anemic 5.5 yards average per attempted pass speaks volumes.
The Colts
The Colts find themselves in a deep rift with a 0-3 record. Carson Wentz finally played despite his ankle injuries, but he only passed 51.4 percent of his passes for 194 yards, against the Titans’ generous defense. Disturbing …
Washington
Washington’s defense, after a very promising 2020 season, was shaping up to be an elite defense. It’s just the opposite since the start of the season.
5 games of the week
1. Record kick
Justin Tucker was already considered one of the best kickers in history and he did not belittle his reputation. On the last play of the game against the Lions, he delivered a sublime 66-yard kick, which earned the Ravens the victory and the record for longest field goal in NFL history. The ball hit the crossbar first before bouncing off the right side. Previously, Tucker’s longest field goal was 61 yards.
2. Costly attempt
The Cardinals won against the Jaguars, but a decision at the end of the first half could have hurt them badly. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury decided to send his kicker onto the field for a 68-yard field goal attempt. The kick was too short and Jamal Agnew caught it and returned it for 109 yards in the opposing end zone. It is the longest touchdown in history, tied with returns from Cordarelle Patterson and Antonio Cromartie.
3. Chase again
Definitely, quarterback Joe Burrow and rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase are connecting like in their heyday at LSU. Chase scored a touchdown on a 34-yard pass that put the Bengals ahead in the second quarter against the Steelers. An advance that they never lost thereafter. Chase, who later added a second touchdown, became the 10th player in history with at least one touchdown in each of his first three career games.
4. Bravo, coach Staley !
To defeat the Chiefs, you can’t play or lead with fear in your stomach. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley responded well when with 48 seconds to go, on a fourth down and nine yards to go on the Chiefs’ 35, he didn’t succumb to the temptation of a field goal. His men converted and then scored the winning touchdown 16 seconds later. Too few coaches would have done this.
5. Rare safety touch
Small details made the difference in the Raiders’ overtime victory over the Dolphins. A key game was the safety touchdown that gave the Raiders two valuable points. Cornered in their zone, the Dolphins attempted a short pass to Jaylen Waddle, who was immediately tackled by Casey Hayward. According to Pro Football Reference, this would be the first safety touchdown in history in a game involving a full pass, with no penalty or fumble.
