Wide Receivers Had A Week
Fourteen wide receivers had over 100 yards receiving this past week. Five of them had over 125 yards and two nearly had over 200 yards receiving. Ceedee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys and Tetairoa McMillan of the Carolina Panthers were those two. Lamb had 17 catches and a touchdown that ultimately was the winning one for Dallas against the Houston Texans, who didn’t seem to understand that QB Dak Prescott was going to look for Lamb quite a bit in that contest. McMillan torched a porous Detroit Lions secondary for 14 catches and 2 touchdowns. This trend is nothing new, but it was magnified with teams embracing the passing game and most of them playing from behind trying to get back into the game. I’d expect a record number of receivers to get over 1,000 yards receiving at the of the year and not because they now play in 17 regular season games.
An Impressive Start
The San Francisco 49ers took their trip to Australia seriously and arrived well in advance of that Week 1 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. The results were somewhat surprising in their one-sided victory over the Rams, but predictable considering the travel arrangements. The blowout victory at home over the Miami Dolphins wasn’t surprising and their matchup with the Arizona Cardinals was closer than it should have been, but it was a victory nonetheless. This last week was an impressive win in that they stymied the Denver Broncos and pulled away with a late touchdown pass to TE George Kittle. QB Brock Purdy hasn’t been sacked a single time in the first month of the season. It’s a stark contrast to how past seasons have started since Purdy has been the full-time starter. Injuries have taken their toll on this team more than others in some cases, but all the cylinders are firing and this engine is gonna be hard to cool off.
Premature Thinking?
Was I wrong to say that the Atlanta Falcons “are competing for a top-3 pick” a few weeks ago? No, I’m not going that far. As it stands they are playing much better in their last two games than their first two. That’s in large part to the offensive line and the lanes they are opening up for RB Bijan Robinson and his backup RB Brian Robinson (no relation). Bijan ran for 145 yards on 19 attempts and two touchdowns on Monday night in New Orleans. Brian ran for 62 yards and three touchdowns and the Falcons really didn’t need much else from QB Michael Penix. It’s the perfect scenario for a quarterback that is struggling to take command of the job since he was drafted. The Robinson’s are a terrific combo for the Atlanta backfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski knew what he had when he arrived here. Brian was an offseason addition this season, but he is an excellent complement to Bijan’s style of running. Atlanta finishes October with three straight home games against Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco. If they win two or all three of those games, then maybe I’ll reconsider my original position on them competing for a top-3 pick.
