NFL Week 3 Recap: What We Learned

The third week of the 2009 National Football League season was one to remember – Brett Favre stirring the Minnesota Vikings to a crazy last-second victory; Detroit winning its first game since December of 2007 – and with the memories came a lot of lessons. What did NFL betting enthusiasts learn this past weekend? Here are a few of the most important things:

DeSean Jackson is a breakout star.

How else to explain what Philly’s sophomore sensation has done through three weeks? It’s clear he’s now officially the Eagles’ big-play threat on offense. In Week 1 vs. Carolina he scored an 85-yard punt return for a TD; in Week 2 vs. New Orleans he hauled in a 71-yard pass for a score and on Sunday against Kansas City, Jackson scored on a 64-yard catch-and-run play (all told, he had six catches for a career-high 149 yards). The Eagles have scored 56 points over the last two weeks without the services of QB Donovan McNabb, and Jackson is a big reason for it. When the Eagles finally get everybody back healthy, they’ll be absolutely deadly on offense and should literally attack Over/Under totals.

Matthew Stafford is going to be alright.

After a questionable start to his professional career, one that included five interceptions thrown to just one touchdown, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford didn’t look like the No. 1 overall selection from the 2009 Draft. In fact, he looked downright lost. But all that changed on Sunday with a stellar performance (21-of-36 passing, 241 yards, 1 TD) in a long overdue win for the Lions. By defeating the Redskins 19-14, Stafford showed the ability to lead a team and cut the turnovers that plagued him throughout the first two weeks – he’ll be interesting to watch moving forward as the Lions now face some extremely difficult defenses in Chicago and Pittsburgh in back-to-back weeks. Not a great string for sports betting players looking to back Detroit in the coming weeks.

The Houston run defense is awful.

The Texans have absolutely no idea how to stop the run, and it’s killed them throughout the first three weeks. They rank dead last in all the major rushing defense categories: yards allowed per game (204.7), runs of 20+ yards (seven) and total yards (614). On Sunday, it was Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew who feasted on Houston; the diminutive runner racked up 119 yards and three scores en route to a 31-24 win. If Houston can’t figure out how to stop opponents on the ground, they’re an impossible wager week-to-week. While great offensively, the Texans inability to stop people means they can’t cover and are dicey as all heck on the moneyline.

The Cleveland offense is extremely awful.

The Browns are and an out-and-out mess. It takes a certain kind of ineptitude to average 9.7 points per game and convert just 24 percent of your third downs but, incredibly, Cleveland has that certain kind of ineptitude. Imagine if you’re coach Eric Mangini and you have to pick a QB for next Sunday. Do you start Brady Quinn, the guy that you pulled, who went 6-for-8 with an interception against Baltimore? Or do you start Derek Anderson, the guy who replaced Quinn, who went 11-for-19 with three interceptions? Yeah, we know, lousy choice either way.