Bolt Up

[KimJongBaze]

Welcome to Las Vegas
The Raiders did just enough to hold off the Saints on Monday night to give Allegiant Stadium and the city of Las Vegas their first win in franchise history. Derek Carr threw for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to Hunter Renfrow. Las Vegas sacked Drew Brees 9 times. All-in-all, it was a great moment for the Raiders.
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Brady struggles again as Bucs drop to 0-2
Tom Brady's much anticipated home debut ended on a sour note for both him and his team. He completed 19 of 40 passes for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns, but was marred by 4 interceptions. On the other hand, Teddy Bridgewater kept a clean stat line with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Turnovers were ultimately the difference in this contest.
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Giants defeat Bears
Two teams that were shut out last week faced each other this week, with the G-Men coming out on top. Despite throwing 4 interceptions against the Lions, Nick Foles once again got the start and recorded 344 yards and a touchdown. However, the Bears were unable to slow down Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
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Players of the Week
HB Aaron Jones (GB): 8 carries, 92 yards, 2 touchdowns :: 3 receptions, 54 yards, 1 touchdown
QB Lamar Jackson (BAL): 13 of 25, 269 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception :: 8 carries, 57 yards
LB Chandler Jones (ARI): 10 tackles, 2 sacks
CB Dane Cruikshank (TEN): 9 tackles, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery, touchdown
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Notable Injuries
WR Tyler Boyd (CIN): 6 weeks (arm)
QB Kyler Murray (ARI): Season (achilles)
T Tyron Smith (DAL): Season (shoulder)
WR Deebo Samuel (SF): 10 weeks (knee)
LB Clay Matthews (CAR): Season (knee)
HB Alvin Kamara (NO): 6 weeks (foot)
TE Eric Ebron (PIT): 4 weeks (quad)
LB Anthony Barr (LB): Season (knee)
T Laremy Tunsil (HOU): 6 weeks (knee)
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Recent Transactions
Ravens release LB Tyus Bowser (signed by 49ers - 1 year, $5.64 million)
Texans release S Jaylen Watkins

[Xixak]

Damn that's a sick banner.

Tough loss to KC, looks like your defense didn't do shit.

[KimJongBaze]

Damn that's a sick banner.

Tough loss to KC, looks like your defense didn't do shit.

thanks broski.

They sure didn't, but I like the sliders where they're at right now. It takes me 1-2 games to adjust to. Wanted to bump up the CPU's run blocking after I stuffed the Bengals for less than 10 yards as a team lmao.

[KimJongBaze]

Week 3 Preview: Carolina Panthers
Record: 2-0, 1-0 NFC South

Team Leaders
Passing: Teddy Bridgewater (56% completion, 3 TD, 3 INT, 72.4 QB rating)
Rushing: Christian McCaffrey (128 yards, 4.7 ypc, 1 TD)
Receiving: D.J. Moore (10 receptions, 142 yards)
Defense: Tahir Whitehead (16 tackles, TFL, INT)

Team Rankings
Total Offense: 20th
Total Defense: 15th
Points Per Game: 19th
Turnover Differential: 9th

Injuries
HB Mike Davis
TE Seth DeValve
LB Clay Matthews

After a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Chargers move on to week 3 to face the Carolina Panthers in search of their first home win.

Carolina has started the season strong and will attempt to keep their losses at zero. The Panthers have a new head coach in Matt Rhule and a new quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater. While the offense hasn't looked particularly explosive, it's the defense that has made a significant leap from last year. Linebacker Tahir Whitehead mans the middle of the defense after Luke Kuechly's retirement and is leading the team in tackles. Carolina became the first team in NFL history to use all their draft picks on defensive players, and so far it's paying dividends.

In the first week of the regular season, Carolina defeated Las Vegas to record a win over an AFC West team. They'll hope to make the Chargers team number 2.

Los Angeles struggled to establish a ground game last week due in part to Kansas City's quick start on offense. Head coach Anthony Lynn said that in order to win games, the Chargers have to be able to control the time of possession, and that starts with successfully running the ball.

"Our defense is good, but when you're keeping those guys on the field for 35-40 minutes, they're going to wear down," Lynn said. "Football is about winning in all three phases, which includes offense. We need to do a better job at that."

The Chargers should do all they can to maximize the amount of time spent on offense in order to minimize the amount of time Christian McCaffrey sees the field. This will be the first time McCaffrey faces Los Angeles in his career, but in just 3 seasons he's already established himself as one of the best running backs in football.

[KimJongBaze]

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CAR (3-0) | 3 | 10 | 8 | 10 || 31
LAC (1-1) | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 || 17
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McCaffrey runs wild, Taylor pulled in Chargers loss
Even when they knew Christian McCaffrey was touching the ball, the Chargers could not stop him.

The 4th-year running back from Stanford turned in a career day that culminated with a 76-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Panthers a 28-10 lead in the 4th quarter. For the game, McCaffrey recorded 237 yards and 3 touchdowns on 22 carries. He also tied for the team-lead in receptions (4).

While the Chargers did a good job of containing Carolina's aerial attack -- Teddy Bridgewater threw for just 161 yards -- they struggled in run defense for a second straight game after dominating the Cincinnati Bengals. As a team, the Panthers rushed for 260 yards.

Perhaps the biggest story to come out of the Chargers' loss is Anthony Lynn pulling quarterback Tyrod Taylor from the game after he started 3 for 8 with 37 yards and an interception in one and a half quarters. The benching meant that rookie Justin Herbert took over the reins on offense, and it immediately led to the team's first points of the game. Herbert recorded his first career touchdown pass late in the 2nd quarter after finding Austin Ekeler out of the backfield for a 2-yard score.

The Chargers had a chance to cut into Carolina's 21-10 lead in the 4th quarter after Herbert led the Chargers down to the 1-yard line. However, the opportunity to score points was literally fumbled away by the rookie. The turnover would lead to McCaffrey's 76-yard touchdown run.

Herbert finished with an impressive stat line, minus the turnover. He completed 24 of 37 passes for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns. Whether this sets up Herbert to be the starting quarterback in next week's contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has yet to be determined, and Lynn did not reveal anything additional during his press conference.

"He [Justin] did a great job out there. We're hoping that this is a good step forward for him...he'll still need to learn the importance of ball security but I thought overall he showed what he could bring to the table for us."
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Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[CAR] G. Gano 37 yard FG (11:00)

Quarter 2
[CAR] C. McCaffrey 4 yard run (5:33)
[LAC] A. Ekeler 2 yard pass from J. Herbert (1:10)
[CAR] G. Gano 52 yard FG (0:07)

Quarter 3
[CAR] C. McCaffrey 10 yard run (2PT, 11:43)
[LAC] M. Badgley 32 yard FG (8:13)

Quarter 4
[CAR] C. McCaffrey 76 yard run (9:41)
[LAC] H. Henry 28 yard pass from J. Herbert (2:05)
[CAR] G. Gano 37 yard FG (0:15)
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Carolina Panthers
Teddy Bridgewater: 20 of 27, 161 yards
Christian McCaffrey: 22 carries, 237 yards, 3 touchdowns :: 4 receptions, 21 yards
Robby Anderson: 2 receptions, 40 yards
Shaq Thompson: 10 tackles, 3 TFL
Tre Boston: 10 tackles, interception
Brian Burns: 8 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks

Los Angeles Chargers
Tyrod Taylor: 5 of 10, 59 yards, interception
Justin Herbert: 24 of 37, 287 yards, 2 touchdowns
Austin Ekeler: 13 carries, 78 yards :: 7 receptions, 71 yards, touchdown
Mike Williams: 6 receptions, 73 yards
Keenan Allen: 6 receptions, 72 yards
Hunter Henry: 3 receptions, 58 yards, touchdown
Derwin James Jr.: 11 tackles
Uchenna Nwosu: 10 tackles, 3 TFL
Joey Bosa: 2 tackles, 2 sacks

[Caesar]

I'm enjoying you losing as the Chargers, just FYI. Needed more Tyrod in that one though. Shouldn't have benched him.

[KimJongBaze]

I'm enjoying you losing as the Chargers, just FYI. Needed more Tyrod in that one though. Shouldn't have benched him.

Glad to know.

Admittedly lost my patience with Tyrod in this one. Our first halves so far have only produced one touchdown from him, and I needed a change.

[KimJongBaze]

Patriots keep things rolling behind Cam
Newton isn't putting up jaw-dropping numbers (760 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) through 3 games, but he's done enough to lead the New England Patriots to a 3-0 start in a new era without Tom Brady. The Patriots have actually done most of their damage in the run game - James White and Sony Michel have combined for 347 yards and 5 touchdowns so far. New England also ranks in the top 5 in both total offense and total defense.
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Dolphins move to 2-1 with Tagovailoa
Sticking in the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins are now winners of 2 straight games after an embarrassing loss to New England in week 1 (some have even said that the Patriots ran up the score as revenge for last year's week 17 upset). Tua Tagovaloia threw three interceptions in that first game. In the last two contests, he's thrown for 339 yards and 3 touchdowns with no turnovers.
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Rams and Seahawks remain winless
We are nearly at the quarter-mark of the season, and while seeing the Rams without a win through 3 games is surprising, seeing the Seahawks at 0-3 is shocking. In fact, the only other team that is winless so far are the Cincinnati Bengals. Sitting in the same division as the reigning NFC champions, it will be tough for Seattle and Los Angeles to climb back to the top if they can't resolve their early season woes.
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Players of the Week
HB Christian McCaffrey (CAR): 22 carries, 237 yards, 3 touchdowns :: 4 receptions, 21 yards
QB Josh Allen (BUF): 21 of 32, 221 yards, 2 touchdowns :: 6 carries, 37 yards, touchdown
LB Thomas Davis Sr. (WAS): 12 tackles, interception, touchdown
CB Nevin Lawson (LV): 10 tackles, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery
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Notable Injuries
WR Tyler Boyd (CIN): 5 weeks (arm)
QB Kyler Murray (ARI): Season (achilles)
T Tyron Smith (DAL): Season (shoulder)
WR Deebo Samuel (SF): 9 weeks (knee)
LB Clay Matthews (CAR): Season (knee)
HB Alvin Kamara (NO): 5 weeks (foot)
TE Eric Ebron (PIT): 3 weeks (quad)
LB Anthony Barr (LB): Season (knee)
T Laremy Tunsil (HOU): 5 weeks (knee)
HB Kareem Hunt (CLE): 7 weeks (collarbone)
LB C.J. Mosley (NYJ): 5 weeks (ankle)
WR Josh Reynolds (LAR): Season (foot)
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Recent Transactions
Eagles release LB Nathan Gerry

[KimJongBaze]

Lynn names Justin Herbert starter against Buccaneers
Citing Los Angeles' need to win now with their current roster, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn named rookie quarterback Justin Herbert the starter when his team faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

"We believe this team is playoff-ready with the right pieces. Justin can take us to that next level now, and he showed everyone a glimpse of his talent last week. He's rightfully earned the starting spot this week."

The move probably comes sooner than Lynn would have liked, but after replacing the benched Tyrod Taylor in last week's contest versus the Carolina Panthers, Herbert completed 24 of 37 passes for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was impressive enough to get him named the team's starting quarterback.

"Obviously it's a great feeling," Herbert said about the opportunity. "I thought I played pretty well in the preseason. I felt a rhythm with my teammates. What matters now is getting that connection dialed up again and winning some games."

Herbert will become the third rookie to start at quarterback this season joining Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and Miami's Tua Tagovailoa, both of whom were selected in front of him in the 2020 draft.

The Chargers are off to a 1-2 start following two consecutive losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers. In their first 3 games, the Los Angeles offense struggled to score points early. With Tyrod Taylor under center, the team scored a total of 16 points in 3 first halves and just one offensive touchdown. Lynn is hoping that inserting Herbert into the lineup can kick-start the Chargers' offense and help the team dictate the game earlier on.

"We've talked a lot about controlling the game more to lighten the load on our defense," Lynn told reporters following practice. "That means sustaining drives and keeping the ball in our possession. The less time the other team has with the ball, the better our chances."

When asked about his thoughts on making his starting debut against Tom Brady, Herbert replied, "It's an awesome opportunity to play against one of the greatest quarterbacks. Hopefully we'll get to shake hands afterwards, but right now I'm focused on doing everything I can to help my team win."

[Captain Canada]

Justin

Good to see Cam Newton doing it up big in New England. Also, getting throttled by KC and Christian McCaffrey must have seriously hurt your feelings.