Hemingway Report Week 3: Backup Quarterbacks Win 5 Games

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Almost 25 percent of the games in Week 3 featured backup quarterbacks in their first start of the season and overall, backups won five games during a underdog heavy week in which dogs went 9-7 against the spread including Teddy Bridgewater and the New Orleans Saints upsetting the Seahawks in Seattle.

Teddy Bridgewater Backup QB New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater surveys the defense against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. (Image: Scott Eckland/AP)

The legend of Garner Minshew continues. Nick Foles’ backup quarterback led the Jaguars to victory on Thursday Night Football.

Daniel Jones led the Giants to a comeback win after Eli Manning’s benching. Jones is making fans forget that they hated the fact the Giants wasted a #6 pick on the untested rookie from Duke.

Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints did something no one has ever done in the Pete Carroll era. The Seahawks have one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL, but they lost their first game in September under a Carroll-coached team.

But not all backups fared well. Luke Falk and the Jets offense looked awful against the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph could not pull out an upset against the Niners thanks to last minute heroics from Jimmy G.

HOME DOGS AND CATS

Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Tennessee Titans 7… Hope you blindly bet the under again on Thursday Night Football. The Jags came to play, even Jalen Ramsey and the defense. Gardner Minshew is looking better and better each week. He threw zero interceptions and tossed 2 touchdowns including one to his favorite target DJ Chark.

GAME OF THE WEEK: KC/BALTIMORE

Kansas City Chiefs 33, Baltimore Ravens 28… John Harbaugh is getting guff for his aggressive play calling, but we all knew the Ravens needed 35-40 points to beat the Chiefs in KC. WR Mecole Hardman scored another touchdown after stepping in for Tyreek Hill.

WICKED-UGLY BACKDOOR COVER

New England Patriots 30, NY Jets 14… The final score should have been a lot worse, but Bill Belichick is getting soft because he didn’t run it up against the sad-sack Jets. The Pats improved to 3-0, but they lost WE Julian Edelman to a shoulder/rib injury.

OVERRATED RAMS AND BROWNS

LA Rams 20, Cleveland Browns 13… This snoozer of the week was 6-3 at halftime. New head Freddie Kitchen made a couple of bad decisions in this game, but even his inexperience cannot overcome the simple fact that the Browns and Baker Mayfield are overrated. Then again, Sean McVay’s Rams didn’t exactly blow the Browns out of the water.

3-0, BABY!

Dallas Cowboys 31, Miami Dolphins 6… The Dolphins actually put up two field goals after they swapped out FitzMagic for Josh Rosen. Dak Prescott found Amari Cooper twice in the end zone. Cowboys improved to 3-0 after another easy victory.

Green Bay Packers 27, Denver Broncos 16… Easy win for the Packers against a decent pass rush. Aaron Rodgers credited his offensive line for helping him keep his uniform clean. The Packers D is the real reason the Cheesekids started 3-0. The D allowed only 35 points all season, including zero points in the fourth quarter.

San Francisco Niners 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 20… Jimmy G shrugged off a turnover-plagued game and threw a winning touchdown to Dante Pettis with 1:15 to go to pull off a comeback win against backup Mason Rudolph and the visiting Steelers. The Niners D stuffed James Conner and the run game.

Buffalo Bills 21, Cincinnati Bengals 17… The Buffalo Bills are 3-0 and tied for first place in the AFC East. The Bills are one of six 3-0 teams. Who would have predicted that? By the way, bring a helmet to Orchard Park. The Bills Mafia finally discovered the wonders of fireworks.

CLOSE SHAVES

Indianapolis Colts 27, Atlanta Falcons 24… The Colts improved to 2-1 under Jacoby Brisett, who tossed 2 more touchdowns and 310 yards. Matty Ice did what he could with 3 TDs, but the Falcons D couldn’t stop the Colts in crunch time.

Detroit Lions 27, Philadelphia Eagles 24… So the Lions are 2-0-1 and technically have yet to lose a game. But Matt Patricia is the Rodney Dangerfield of the league this year. The Lions beat the Eagles in Philly and still do not get any respect. Are the Eagles vastly overrated this year? If so, they’re the best 1-2 team in the NFL.

Houston Texans 27, LA Chargers 20… The Chargers blew a lead in the second half again. DeShaun Watson (351 yards, 3 TD) outslugged Phil Rivers (318 yards, 2 TD), but the Texans run D shut down Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson.

SO EASY

Minnesota Vikings 34, Oakland Raiders 14… The Vikes improved to 2-0 at home and ran all over the Raiders. Dalvin Cook unleashed 143 combined yards including a rushing touchdown. Who thinks the Raiders should be 0-3? Knock if you’re with me.

Chicago Bears 31, Washington Redskins 15… The Skins are now 0-8 in their last eight Monday Night Football appearances. Mitch Trubisky got the offense back on track. Mitchy hooked up with Taylor Gabriel for three touchdowns.

BACKUPS CRUSH

NY Giants 32, Tampa Bay Bucs 31… Let’s be honest, Bruce Arians gifted the Mara Family and Mr. Jones a W in this one. But hey, all terrible coaching decisions aside, backup quarterback Daniel Jones is making the Giants draft team look like gods among mortals. Jones contributed to four touchdowns in a comeback victory over the Bucs, but the G-Men suffered a huge loss when Saquon Barkley went down with a high-ankle sprain.

New Orleans Saints 33, Seattle Seahawks 27… It’s not easy to beat Seattle at home. The 12th Man had never lost in September in the Pete Carroll regime, but they never had to play Teddy Bridgewater. Yet, backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and RB stud Alvin Kamara pulled off a rare win in Seattle. Cue the Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Carolina Panthers 38, Arizona Cardinals 20… All the money went all-in on the Cards when word go out that Cam Newton would be out with a foot injury. Backup quarterback Kyle Allen made everyone forgot about Cam’s health issues. Allen tossed four touchdowns including two to Greg Olsen. Christian McCaffrey is back on track after a rough Week 2. CMAC racked up 188 combined yards plus a touchdown.

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