Jaguars @ Texans:
I felt that the Jaguars were going to play this game well, and they did. The biggest problem was that Trevor Lawrence couldn’t connect when he needed to, only completing 18 of 33 passes for 169 yards. What kept Jacksonville in the game was the fact that they ran for 6.6 yards per carry. Tank Bigsby had 90 yards on 7 carries and led the team. Brian Thomas had 6 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, and Christian Kirk had 7 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, but they desperately miss Evan Engram, who is expected to return next week.
This game matched up perfectly for Houston. CJ Stroud threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns, one of which went to Nico Collins, who had 12 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown. Jacksonville plays man coverage, which feeds right into what Collins loves, and he was absolutely unstoppable. The Texans miss Joe Mixon terribly, as their offense is too one-dimensional without him.
Steelers @ Colts:
This game showed off both the good and bad parts of Justin Fields. He made a lot of poor decisions, but at the same time, he made a lot of big plays. Fields had 55 rushing yards and two rushing TDs to go along with 312 passing yards and a passing touchdown. He also missed quite a few big throws, and there will be some who want to see Russell Wilson. Najee Harris disappointed with 19 yards on 13 carries after being expected to have a huge game against the Colts weak run defense. The best player outside of Fields for Pittsburgh was George Pickens, who had 7 receptions for 113 yards and consistently beat the Colts secondary.
The Colts left this game with a ton of injuries. First of all, Anthony Richardson got injured during a play where it looked like he had hurt his hip or groin. He came off the field for a play, and then when he came back on the field, he ran the ball on the very next play and injured himself even worse. How does that make any sense? Why would he be running after just injuring himself? I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but I think the receivers are a million times better off with Joe Flacco at quarterback. Flacco came in and had 168 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Pittman goes from below average to way above average, and he finished the game with six receptions for 113 yards. Additionally, Josh Downs had eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Jonathan Taylor did leave with a high ankle sprain, and he may miss some time. If he’s out, look for Trey Sermon to take over.
Rams @ Bears:
I feel bad for the Rams because they just can’t score touchdowns. Matthew Stafford is the king of lots of yards and not a lot of scores. If it weren’t for Kyren Williams, the Rams would have had no chance to win. Williams had 94 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with four receptions. Jordan Whittington had 6 receptions for 62 yards and led the team in targets with eight.
The Bears are 2-2, and trust me, it’s not because of Caleb Williams. He threw for 157 yards and a touchdown, and I think he was lucky to win. It’s hard to trust any of his receivers as well. I would be happy to trade any of them in the right deal. D’Andre Swift was sensational, with 93 rushing yards and a touchdown to go along with seven receptions for 72 yards. This was the game that the Bears needed to have out of Swift, who had been a huge disappointment thus far.