The Raiders are a team in turmoil after head coach Antonio Pierce put his team on blast following a shock loss to lowly Carolina. Will it make or break them?
History says Cincinnati’s season is all but over after falling to 0-3, with two losses especially concerning.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are under the pump… again. But QB Dak Prescott has a stern warning for the fake fans out there.
Read on for the all of the talking points from Week 3!
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Rodgers explains awkward push with Saleh | 01:30
RAIDERS’ $64M PROBLEM AS COACH BLASTS TEAM IN BIZARRE RANT
The Raiders entered their home opener against the 0-2 Carolina Panthers in Week 3 full of confidence.
Seven days prior, they recorded one of the franchise’s best wins over the last decade when they overcame a ten-point fourth quarter deficit to run down the highly-fancied Baltimore Ravens on the road.
However, it all came crashing down to earth against the Panthers, who improved out of sight to hang 36 points on the on Raiders, with the controversial QB change working wonders for Carolina.
The embarrassing loss caused coach Antonio Pierce to unleash a bizarre rant in his post-match press conference.
Pierce seemed to imply that several Raiders gave up and play for their best interests instead of the team’s.
“No, they didn’t [show up],” Pierce said.
“As the game went on, there were some individuals that made business decisions, so we’ll make business decisions going forward as well.”
The comment led many to speculate on which players Pierce’s comments were directed at.
Star wide receiver Davante Adams was one name that was raised, and according to ESPN, Adams didn’t dismiss the notion it could have been about him.
“I feel like, I don’t know, this is tough for me to identify that. I’m not sure.”
It’s a worrying sign for a team to have fractures just three games into a season, especially when there’s so much time to turn it around.
Adams will cost the Raiders a cap hit of $44.1m ($64.5m AUD) next season, so it’s likely they move him on at season’s end.
If things keep on this trajectory, he’ll be out of Vegas much sooner.
HISTORY AGAINST SUPER BOWL FANCIES AFTER ROUGH START
History says a 0-3 start means doom.
After a shock 38-33 loss to Washington on Tuesday (AEST), the Cincinnati Bengals are now 0-3, with their playoff odds plummeting to almost zero.
It’s crazy to think that a team as well-regarded as the Bengals, boasting star QB/WR duo Joe Burrow and Ja’marr Chase, are winless, especially given two of their losses were against two of the worst teams in the NFL last season (New England, Washington).
Since 1979, only six teams have overcome a 0-3 start to make the playoffs, with the latest coming in 2018 when the Texans progressed after losing their first three games.
In fact, only one team in 25 seasons (2018 Texans) have made the postseason despite starting in a 0-3 hole.
What makes it a near impossible task for the Bengals though is that they are in a tough division, which includes the Baltimore Ravens and unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s been a difficult season from the outset, with Burrow battling to be healthy, receiver Tee Higgins missing the first two games and Chase holding out in preseason in the hopes of getting a contract upgrade.
With all that said, 0-3 would have been far from this team’s mind, with many pundits tipping the Bengals to reach the AFC Championship Game.
STAR’S WARNING TO FANS FOLLOWING LOSS – (NY Post)
The train in Dallas appears to be veering off the tracks just three weeks into the regular season.
The Cowboys, now 1-2 after dropping two straight on home turf in Arlington, “seemed like [they] couldn’t get out of [their] own way” Sunday, according to owner Jerry Jones, whose team came up short following a late comeback attempt against the Ravens.
“I’m very disappointed that we got beat today,” Jones said after the 28-25 defeat.
“Very disappointed. And you can’t in any way sugar-coat the fact that we got beat, and there were parts of the way we got beat that were really areas we’ve got to get a lot better in.”
Trailing 21-6 at halftime and 28-6 in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys — led by $240 million ($350m AUD) quarterback Dak Prescott — scored 19 straight points in the final nine minutes but fell short to Baltimore, which notched its first win of the season.
Before halftime, however, star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb appeared to yell at Prescott on the sideline as Dallas failed to score a touchdown.Lamb, the recipient of a four-year, $136 million contract extension this off-season, had four receptions for 67 yards.
Prescott, who went 28-for-51 with 379 yards and two touchdowns, then delivered a fiery postgame message as he walked through the tunnel.
“Jump off if you want,” he said, with speculation swirling on social media if Prescott was referencing those ready to throw in the towel.
Prescott, 31, then stressed accountability in his postgame remarks.
“We’ve got to lock in and be more focused on our job and take accountability,” the three-time Pro Bowler said, noting the offence needs to be more “professional” in its approach.
“Every part of what being a professional is it’s doing your job and being prepared for every part of the job.
“So time away from the building to being in the building, just being a pro and understanding that you can only get so many practice reps, but you can watch the film, you can do all these other things that’ll help make up for it. And we just got to be more focused.
The Cowboys once again entered the year with high expectations despite a quiet off-season, which saw rivals take their free-agent talents off the board (a la centre Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorance Armstrong to Washington).
Dallas also lost running back Tony Pollard to the Titans, with the team staging a reunion with former first-round pick Ezekiel Elliott, who spent last season in New England.
Jones — who said “I like our personnel” following the loss — was asked about the decision not to pursue current Ravens running back Derrick Henry this off-season, which prompted a rather candid response.
“We couldn’t afford [Henry],” said Jones, who watched the former Titan rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns Sunday after agreeing to a two-year, $16 million deal with Baltimore in the off-season.
With a visit to the rival Giants on deck on Friday morning (AEST), Jones knows the Cowboys have “a lot of work to do” to right the ship.
LEGEND’S HUGE CALL ON REJUVINATED QB – (NY Post)
Bill Belichick thinks Sam Darnold has finally overcome his ghosts after a four-year battle.
Belichick said on Monday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” that Darnold, starring in his first season with the Vikings after crashing out with the Jets as their No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, is well-liked throughout the league — outside of the Big Apple.
“I’ll say this: Everybody has liked Darnold except the Jets,” Belichick said to laughter from McAfee and cohost AJ Hawk.
“The people in Carolina that I talked to, they really liked him. … I know [Vikings coach] Kevin [O’Connell] and some of the coaches in Minnesota they really like this guy too, so it seemed like the only people that didn’t like Darnold was the Jets.”
Darnold has looked extremely efficient in three games while starting for the Vikings in the place of injured 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy.
The 27-year-old currently leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (eight) and is second in the NFL in quarterback rating behind Josh Allen.
After three lousy seasons with the Jets, they traded him to the Panthers for a 2021 sixth-rounder, 2022 second-rounder and 2022 fourth-rounder.
He spent two seasons with the Panthers before joining the 49ers as Brock Purdy’s backup last season.
Darnold’s rocky time with the Jets included his infamous “Seeing ghosts” comment on Oct. 21, 2019, when Belichick’s defense befuddled quarterback — the former Patriots coach was seen laughing on the sideline during the “Monday Night Football” showing in which Darnold threw for just 86 yards and four interceptions in the 33-0 bloodbath.
Now removed from coaching and a media pundit, Belichick has changed his tune on Darnold and seems to be high on the Vikings as a whole.
“It will be interesting to see how they can sustain this,” Belichick continued.
“I don’t think anyone is looking past them now. Probably opponents coming up in the future saying, ‘Hey, this is how we measure our program; how do we do right now against probably one of the best two or three teams in the league.’”
The Vikings dominated the Texans en route to a 34-7 victory despite coming into the contest as home underdogs.
Entering Sunday, Pro Football Focus rated the Vikings as the league’s third-best offence and Darnold had the fourth-best passer rating.
After throwing four touchdowns and zero interceptions, Darnold will likely remain in the top-five among quarterbacks if not move higher, according to the data outlet.
Source Agencies
