We've reached October, which means "it's still early" is starting to do a lot of heavy lifting for some NFL fan bases.
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it → reach → bases
There's plenty of football left, obviously, but at some point your team has to actually win a game instead of telling everyone it's going to be fine (it's not going to be fine, Chargers fans).
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it → be → everyone
Meanwhile, I'm back with another round of opinions that could look brilliant or incredibly stupid by next Sunday (yeah, about that Drake Maye comment last Sunday ...).
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that → look → comment
At least, that's what I tell myself.
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I → tell → myself
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
It's hard to glean too much from a game where the Commanders were forced to go to their third-string quarterback after Marcus Mariota suffered a knee injury in the first quarter.
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Mariota → glean → quarter
Instead, I'm going to sing the praises of Jonathan Taylor, who has six rushing touchdowns in four games and plays a very old-school game.
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who → go → game
That's cool because a few years ago, we thought old-school running backs were done in the NFL.
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backs → think → NFL
Taylor and Derrick Henry, in particular, aren't going to let that happen any time soon.
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that → go → ?
How can any NFL fan not love Jameis Winston eating a W?
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Winston → love → W
Without Jaxson Dart, the Giants aren't a threat to make a deep run in the postseason.
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Giants → make → postseason
They probably won't even make the postseason.
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They → make → postseason
But right now, who cares?
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who → care → ?
Plus, they've got the Commanders in Week 5, and Washington's uncertain QB situation could make that task quite a bit easier.
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task → get → Week
It might not last, but Giants fans should enjoy the early success.
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fans → last → success
As soon as you think you know something, the NFL reminds you that you don't.
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you → think → you
Of course, the 1–2 Patriots, who looked awful in Week 3, went into Buffalo and beat the previously unbeaten Bills as seven-point underdogs.
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who → look → underdogs
This is the type of game that makes the NFL great.
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NFL → make → game
Just when you think you have a handle on which teams are good and which teams are bad, the NFL says, "You don't know what you think you know."
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you → think → handle
Look, I'm not going to overreact to the Bears beating the Jets.
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Bears → look → Jets
But regardless of opponent, Chicago head coach Ben Johnson just went 2-0 with Case Keenum starting in Week 3 and Tyson Bagent starting in Week 4.
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Bagent → go → Week
For the record, entering this stretch, neither Keenum nor Bagent had even started an NFL regular-season game since 2023.
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Keenum → enter → 2023
The defense deserves a lot of credit (and Johnson deserves credit for hiring Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator), but scoring 50 points with those two QBs shows that Johnson is one of the league’s sharpest offensive minds.
Cowboys 34, Texans 30
Takeaway:
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Johnson → deserve → Takeaway
If it's possible for an October game to be a season-defining game, this was it ... for both teams.
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this → define → teams
This is the type of win that the Cowboys can use to build momentum, especially with two winnable games coming up against the Buccaneers and Packers.
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games → use → Buccaneers
Scoring 28 second-half points against one of the league's best defenses is exactly the type of thing that can instill confidence in an offense for the rest of the season.
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that → score → season
On the other side, I don't know how the Texans recover from this.
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Texans → know → this
Not only did they fall to 0-4, but they blew a double-digit second-half lead and allowed the Cowboys to take the lead with an 11-play, 74-yard drive in just 1:43 right after Houston had retaken the lead.
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Houston → fall → lead
Only one team in NFL history has made the playoffs after starting 0-4: the 1992 San Diego Chargers.
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team → make → playoffs
So, not only do they have to reverse a 34-year-old trend, but they have to do it coming off one of Houston's most heartbreaking losses in recent memory.
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they → have → memory
The good news for the Eagles is that, unlike the Texans, their heartbreaking blown double-digit second-half lead dropped them to 2-2 instead of 0-4.
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lead → blow → 2
The bad news is that it probably doesn't make them feel any better.
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them → make → ?
I've said for three weeks that the Eagles are a deeply flawed team, but their record said otherwise.
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record → say → weeks
Now, their 2-2 record feels more appropriate.
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record → feel → ?
This felt like a must-win for the Packers against a bad Bucs team starting a backup quarterback.
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This → feel → quarterback
And, credit to them, they got it done.
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it → get → them
But they didn't make it easy on themselves, didn't look good doing it, and nearly blew it late.
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it → make → it
Todd Bowles is probably on his way out in Tampa, but Matt LaFleur's seat might start to heat up if Green Bay doesn't start playing better, particularly on offense, over the next month.
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Bay → start → month
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
