What’s the best part of the Thr33 & Thr33 series? Honestly, I’m so glad you asked. We only look at Sunday performances. This means, if your team plays Monday, Thursday, or any other day that’s not reserved for football and Jesus, they are spared the judgement. Won’t be on losers. But, also won’t be on winners. We’re simply looking at who made us happy on our day of rest, and who didn’t. Deal? Sweet, let’s get right into the Week 1 shade and praise.
Winners
Tyreek Hill (WR) – Kansas City Chiefs
Tyreek Hill more than shined in the Chief’s ten point victory over the Chargers on Sunday. Not even two minutes into the game, Hill fielded a punt at his own 9 yard line. Long story short, he housed it. My nostalgia kicked in, I’ll admit. I may or may not have seen ex-Chief Dante Hall taking it all the way back, but that’s neither here not there. Later in the opening quarter, Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill across the middle, and Hill took it the rest of the way for a 58yd touchdown reception. It was Mahomes’ first career TD pass, and one that put KC up by two scores. It would be the 4th quarter before we saw more scoring from Hill. Mahomes was able to find Hill a second time, this time for a 1yd reception. Hill would finish with 268 all purpose yards when it was all said and done. That would include 7 receptions and 3 TD’s. If you watched this man on Sunday, my bet was you enjoyed it. Definitely a winner.
James Conner (RB) – Pittsburgh Steelers
A diamond in the rough, if you will. We’ll get to the rough later, let’s talk about the diamond. James Conner was the no-doubt starter when star RB Le’veon Bell didn’t report to the team in time to make his Week 1 paycheck. The scoring in the Steelers’ tie to the Browns didn’t kick off until the 2nd quarter, but it was Conner getting the job done. He capped off a 10-play, 88 yard driver with a 4yd run into the end-zone. It was Conner’s first career rushing touchdown, but it wouldn’t be his last. He would also tally Pittsburgh’s final touchdown of the contest, coming late in the 3rd quarter. This one was a 22yd touchdown run, capping a 2 play drive (first play was a 17yd run from Conner). All in all, James Conner would rack up 31 rushes for 135 yards with the two TDs, while adding 5 receptions for 57 yards. Not a terrible showing for someone filling in – a winner in my book.
Clayton Fejedelem (S) – Cincinnati Bengals
You probably didn’t see this one coming. Guess what? Neither did Clayton Fejedelem. The second string safety was thrown into action on Sunday after starting safety Shawn Williams was ejected. A helmet-to-helmet collision with Andrew Luck sent Williams packing and opened an opportunity for Mr. Fejedelem (I do love sayin’ it). He racked up 10 total tackles, but more importantly, sealed the victory for Cincy. Andrew Luck took over the 4-minute offense, down by four with a shade under four minutes to go. The Colts drove all the way down to the Cincinnati 25-yard line. They were threatening. After a penalty and incompletion, Luck’s third down pass to Jack Doyle looked to be good for the line-to-gain. That was, until Fejedelem stepped in. The safety jarred the ball loose before Doyle was down, and with under a minute to play, had his own 83yd scoop ‘n’ score for his first career TD. The Bengals would finish with some insurance, a 34-23 W. He who is clutch, is also a winner.
HONORABLE MENTION: Patrick Mahomes
Losers
Pittsburgh Steelers
You actually may have seen this one coming. First off, and to no one’s surprise, the Steelers couldn’t get RB Le’veon Bell to report for Week 1. That’s a mini-L, but since it didn’t happen on Sunday, it’s not the reason they made it here. They’re here because they disappointed. Smith-Schuster had 119 receiving yards, Antonio Brown had 93 receiving yards, and we already mentioned what James Conner put up. All of this, and they couldn’t beat the Cleveland Browns. Big Ben threw three interceptions, and Pittsburgh couldn’t score in the opening or the closing quarters (not to mention OT). They let the Browns off their losing streak without forcing them to earn a W. Pittsburgh, WYD?!?!
Buffalo Bills’ QBs
Ouff! Use whatever word you’d like, but this one was ugly. Horrendous. Nobody on Baltimore’s 47-3 winning roster played lights out, but when the opposition can’t even get in the end-zone, no one really has to. Nathan Peterman started behind center for the Bills, and it’s a start he’s gonna wanna forget. Peterman went 5 for 18 passing, amassing a whopping 24 yards and 2 interceptions. Peterman was sacked three times, and finished with a passer rating at a solid 0.0 flat. Down 40-0, Buffalo turned to rookie Josh Allen for the remainder. Next to Peterman, Allen looked like a star. However, he didn’t fare much better. Allen threw 6 for 15, with 74 yards. Allen tallied neither a TD nor an interception, and he, too, was sacked three times. His passer rating was a tad higher at 56.0. Not the showing you’d like to see at the quarterback position from a team who made the playoffs a year ago. Losers.
New Orleans Saints’ Defense
Yeah, if these guys started on your fantasy team as a D/ST like they did for me, you feel this one. More importantly, I’m sure you were involved in or overheard at least one pre-season discussion that saw the Saints representing the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl. My point is – this shouldn’t have happened. In their high-scoring shootout with the Bucs on Sunday, the Saints saw themselves fall to 0-1 with a 48-40 loss. The Buccaneers officially scored the most points on Sunday, edging the Ravens by a point. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 21 for 28 with 417 yards and 4 TD’s through the air. He also added 36 rush yards and a TD on the ground. The only reason he wasn’t on the winners board is because Desean Jackson had 146 yards receiving while Mike Evans added 147 for Tampa. Need I go further? Saints looked like losers this week.
HONORABLE MENTION: Leonard Fournette
That’ll be it folks. A more black and white, X’s and O’s type article than you’ll usually see from me, but expect it to be here for you, every Monday. Now let’s get ready for some Monday Night Football, shall we?
