We’re just about through three weeks of the NFL season, and one thing certainly stands out when you look around the league: The road to the Super Bowl almost certainly runs through Foxboro.
The New England Patriots are one of the best teams — if not the best team — in the entire league after three games. And, of course, they’re doing it without Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback ever to play the game.
But if you’ve been paying attention to the Patriots for, say, the past 16 years, you probably aren’t surprised by New England’s success, which is where we start this week’s NFL Stock Watch.
Bill Belichick
There’s actually a chance the Patriots enter their Week 4 matchup with the Buffalo Bills with Julian Edelman as their starting quarterback. And you know what? You’d still probably lean toward taking them to win. That’s a credit to Bill Belichick, who continues to amaze. When many coaches and teams shrivel at the first sign of adversity, Belichick seems to embrace those situations. They’re like fuel for him. He must crave adverse situations, like being without his top two quarterbacks on a short week against a playoff contender, which is what he faced Thursday against Houston. The Patriots rolled to a 27-0 win, the latest proof that no one prepares and game plans better than Belichick. To think Belichick and the Patriots are a week away from getting Brady back is a scary thought.
Houston Texans
For as good as the Patriots looked Thursday, the Texans looked terrible. They couldn’t even figure out where to stay before the game — and then apparently had the gall to use “getting stuck in traffic” as an apparent excuse for a pathetic showing in primetime. But honestly, this is the kind of thing we’ve come to expect from the Texans, pretty much for their entire existence. Everyone remembers the letterman jacket game (as much as the Texans would like to forget), and while injuries certainly played a factor, it’s hard not to lump Houston’s 30-0 loss in the playoffs last season into a growing list of humiliating defeats. No one looks better against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars of the world, but until Houston proves it can beat a good team in a big spot, it’s hard to buy in.
Arizona Cardinals
At least if you’re the Texans, it could have been worse this week. You could have been the Arizona Cardinals. While a Patriots win certainly wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, few — if any — envisioned the Cardinals getting stomped by the Bills. Arizona is just difficult to predict at this point. The Cardinals played a horrible game Week 1 against the Patriots, bounced back to throttle the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then got lit up by a Bills team seemingly in disarray and trending in the wrong direction. Maybe this team’s best chance to win the Super Bowl is behind it.
New York Jets … at least as it pertains (in hindsight) to Ryan FitzpatrickÂ
So, maybe the Jets were on to something when they spent the entire summer trying to draw the line during contract negotiations with Fitzpatrick. The sides eventually found common ground, which the Jets might be regretting right about now if they had another even somewhat viable option. To say Fitzpatrick was horrible Sunday is quite an understatement. He threw six interceptions, and there were some ugly ones mixed in. Fitzpatrick far too often tried to fit passes into tight windows, especially in the red zone where New York when 0-for-4, with Fitzpatrick throwing three picks. Not great. But the Jets don’t really have any better options, making New York’s quarterback situation a perpetual sell.
Mike Zimmer’s Coach of the Year chances
No starting quarterback. No All-Pro running back. No starting left tackle. On the road against the defending conference champions. All no problem for Zimmer, whose defensive wizardry somehow has the Vikings atop the NFC North and looking like a season-long threat, even with Sam Bradford under center. If it weren’t for that Belichick guy, we’d say it’s time for Zimmer to start finding room in the trophy case.
Twitter user @nfkrauss
John Elway doesn’t forget!
Logan Bowles
There’s really no reason for you to know the name Logan Bowles unless you’re a member of Logan Bowles’ family. But Bowles is the photographer who took this photo of Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Jalen Ramsey, which is the early front-runner for the best of the NFL season.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
