Some weeks in this league you see exciting action as the result of excellent play. Other weeks the excitement is the result of gross incompetence by coaches and players alike. Week three in the NFL was the latter and boy oh boy do we have a lot to work on?! It’s ugly out here and we’ll call out what I felt was the most egregious example of bad coaching this weekend before we celebrate some outstanding play, since I’m in a forgiving mood today. Let’s move those chains!

First Down

Hollywood Ending: Sunday brought us an absolutely unbelievable ending in tinsel town! The injury riddled Rams trailed the equally banged up Niners by a touchdown late in the ballgame, in need of a miracle. They evened the score thanks to a throw from Matt Stafford and a big run TD run from Kyren Williams, and then got an electrifying punt return from Xavier Smith to get in field goal range. From there it was lights camera action for kicker Josh Karty who hit from 37 to win the game 27-24. The dramatic comeback gets the Rams to a 1-2 record while it knocks the 49ers down to 1-2…a potentially big swing early in this division.

Second Down

What the Hell’s Going on Out There?!: There was a lot of horrendous coaching Sunday. Nick Sirianni and the entire Bears staff were in a race to the bottom. But the Falcons took the cake with their late fourth quarter play calling on offense. Atlanta found themselves in position to knock off the mighty Chiefs, in spite of the refs, and with a first down at KC’s 22 yard line, trailing by five, their next four calls were…

• Swing Pass to Darnell Mooney for a two yard loss on first and ten
• Swing pass to Drake London for 11 yards on second twelve
• Draw to Tyler Allgeier for no gain on third and one
• Hand off to Bijan Robinson out of the old school T formation with Allgeier as his lead blocker for a two yard loss on fourth and one, 22-17 final for KC

For a team blessed with weapons like London, Robinson, and Kyle Pitts and a QB like Kirk Cousins, the Falcons seem determined to screw up. I know they were short several o-lineman but you don’t need to re-invent the wheel here. And you certainly don’t need to bring back the T formation. Rahim Morris and OC Zach Robinson are only half as embarrassing as Arthur Blank’s ring of honor ceremony…thrown by Arthur Blank. As Coach Lombardi would say…

Third Down

TCF Trojan Time Machine: Sunday afternoon saw the 2-0 Houston Texans travel to TCF Bank Stadium to take on the surprising 2-0 Vikings. I thought this might be the spot where Minnesota’s hot start gets knocked back down to earth, but boy did I have them wrong. The purple people eaters romped the visitors from the space city 34-7 thanks to a magnum opus from…Sam Darnold. That’s right number 14 stayed red hot going 17/28 for 181 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers! Darnold and the Vikes are fast becoming one of the best stories in the league as Sam the Man is turning back the clock to his USC days. Darnold’s always been a class act since his time in New York, where the Jets certainly didn’t help him, so it’s easy to root for him right now. He’s got great pieces around him on both sides of the ball and a great coach in Kevin O’Connell who calls a good game…so maybe the Vikings are for real.

Fourth Down

One Tiger Tops Another: Week three was capped by a Monday night double header between the Jags and Bills (yikes Jags) and the Commanders and Bengals. Cincy came in looking to get their first win of the year while the Commanders were looking to get above .500. Of course more important to Washington than the wins is the growth of young QB Jayden Daniels, who took on fellow LSU alumni Joe Burrow in the contest. After Monday night’s 38-33 win, the 2-1 Commanders should feel great about the growth of number five. Daniels went 21/23 for 254 yards, and three touchdowns (one rushing, two throwing) and rushed for 39 yards. The first place squad from DC have a live one under center, who capped the best performance by a rookie QB this year, with this unreal throw below.

You can find Nick on Twitter @YNWA9623, Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our fall of podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. The store is live and Little Ed has been in the lab cooking up some can’t miss items for you fans. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!