Brees Breaking Brees? Beast of the East, Bad Luck, and More!
So where do we stand after last week’s second edition of NFL fact or fiction?
The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t build off their victory over the New England Patriots as they fell to the Tennessee Titans at home. Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw EXACTLY three touchdown passes vs the San Francisco 49ers, Yay!!!
How about that Bengals defense? Unable to generate pressure or handle the Carolina Panthers offensive line, the Bengals run defense (230 rushing yards) was exposed at Bank of America Stadium last Sunday (Okay, even I couldn’t of envisioned that would be the case).
After a week that saw a 16.5-point underdog rise from the dead on the road, saw the Cleveland Browns win a football and saw Tom Brady and the Patriots try to run the clock out while trailing, certainly we have some hot takes to get to before the beginning of Week 4.
Let’s get started!
Fact or Fiction: Drew Brees Will Break His Own Completion Percentage Record This Season
If you’re attention has been on how bad the Saints defense has been in the first three weeks you’ve probably overlooked the brilliance of quarterback Drew Brees.
Drew Brees through the first three weeks of the season has thrown for 1,078 passing yards, 8 TDs, 0 INTs and has a Passer Rating of 122.2.
One stat not listed there that’s probably the most impressive is Brees 80.6 completion percentage. He’s completed 104 of his 129 pass attempts, a stunning feat when you consider New Orleans is ranked 28th in rushing and have run the ball on just 33 percent of their plays from scrimmage.
Only the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers have run the ball at a lesser rate than New Orleans.
Consider that Mark Ingram, who was fifth in the NFL in rushing last season with 1,124 rushing yards, will return from suspension after Week 4. Drew Brees completed 72.0 percent of his passes last year and it’s entirely possible he finishes a few percentage points higher than he did in 2017.
Fact
Fact or Fiction: The Washington Redskins Will Finish In The Top 5 In Total Defense This Season
The Washington Redskins defense this season has been nothing short of stifling through the first three weeks.
The Redskins are tied for 2nd in points allowed (14.7), 2nd in yards allowed (278.0) and 5th in passing yards allowed (187.3).
Former outside linebackers coach Greg Manusky took over as defensive coordinator last season and the team, decimated by injury, was one of the lowest ranked defenses in the NFL.
This year, a young defensive line that features Matt Ioannidis, Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen has turned a team that couldn’t pressure the quarterback last year into a defense that’s getting plenty of it.
Factor in a strong secondary led by All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman, and you damn right this defense will finish in the top 5. With that said, they’ll be tested over the next few weeks going up against Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Eli Manning and Matt Ryan in four of their next five games.
Fact
Fact or Fiction: JuJu Smith-Schuster Will Lead The Pittsburgh Steelers In Receiving Yards
Wouldn’t you know though the first three weeks of the season Antonio Brown is not the leading wide receiver on the Pittsburgh Steelers, that title belongs to second-year wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster has 356 receiving yards for the Steelers, which ranks third among all wide receivers. A breakout year was expected for the talented wide receiver, but leading the Steelers in receiving yards over arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL in Antonio Brown? Hardly.
Antonio Brown’s still receiving the most targets (42) on the team. While his connection with Roethlisberger is off, that’s something we can’t expect to continue for much longer.
Fiction
Fact or Fiction: The Patriots Will Be Held Under 21 Points For A Third Straight Game
It’s been a trying start to the season for Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. Devoid of playmakers on the outside, New England has struggled to make things happening in the passing game. Brady has been hit often because of it as defenses have taken away Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan and forced Philip Dorsett and others to try to beat them.
Held to 20 points vs the Jacksonville Jaguars and 10 vs the Detroit Lions, the offense limps home to face a Dolphins defense that’s shown to be more than capability.
The problem is the Dolphins just lost their top pass rusher in defensive end William Hayes and the Dolphins are highly unlikely to get home with what they have now on the defensive line. That plays a big role in keeping New England at bay offensively.
Fiction
Fact Or Fiction: Andrew Luck’s 5.34 Yards Per Pass Attempt Is Real
Only seven eligible quarterbacks in the NFL have averaged less than six passing yards per completion.
Mitchell Trubisky, Dak Prescott, Tyrod Taylor, Nick Foles, Blaine Gabbert, Sam Bradford and Andrew Luck.
Of those quarterbacks, only three will start in Week 4 for their respective teams. Andrew Luck is one of those quarterbacks, but he’s been unlike the Andrew Luck we were accustomed to seeing before his right shoulder injury caused him to miss all of the 2017 season.
Luck is only averaging 5.34 yards per completion, which is the second worst mark in the NFL behind Sam Bradford (5.00), who has been benched by Arizona Cardinals head coach Steven Wilkes.
Luck averaged a career-worse 4.10 yards per completion last Sunday vs a Philadelphia Eagles defense that surrendered 402 passing yards to Ryan Fitzpatrick the week before.
What makes Luck’s struggles to get the ball down the field even more worrisome is the conclusion of that game last Sunday. Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich would pull Luck out of the game for Jacoby Brissett for a hail mary on the final play of the game from the Colts 46-yard line.
After the game head coach Frank Reich explained the move by saying that they went with Brissett because he could get the ball to the endzone over Luck.
If that doesn’t raise alarm flags, it’s quite possible you are a UFO.
Fact
What are your thoughts on this week’s NFL fact or fiction? Leave your comments below!