Matchups, predictions for a pair of NFL games featuring Eagles rivals in Week 3
- Week 3 of the NFL season is here.
- The Giants are a laughingstock.
- Can the Commanders stay frisky against their biggest test?
- The Cowboys get their shot at Jonathan Gannon.
By Jake Beckman
Arizona Cardinals versus Dallas Cowboys
This is the last time the Arizona Cardinals play an NFC East team this season until they visit Philly in Week 17, so it’s great that we can stop thinking about this team. That being said, we might’ve been wrong about the Cardinals.
They are very bad. We weren’t wrong about that. We were wrong about them being the worst team in the NFL. They’re actually the second-worst team in the NFL. It feels important to get out in front of that.
Cardinals offense versus Cowboys defense
The biggest news of the week, whether you like it or not, was Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs tearing his ACL. There isn't much more to say about the injury, other than that. He’s out for the rest of the season, and it looks like the guy taking over is going to be DaRon Bland.
We all know the reality of Diggs. He plays very aggressively which often leads to interceptions, but that also leads to a tendency to give up big plays. It’s safe to assume that Bland is less aggressive but also less talented.
The Cowboys' defense is good, which is super disappointing and sad. They’re the best defense in the league and Micah Parsons looks like the best football player in the world right now. It sucks, and this week, Dallas gets to tee off on ANOTHER bad offense which is only going to make them look better.
This Arizona offense has a first-half point differential of +23. Through two weeks, that’s pretty good. That's much better than we thought things would look actually. Unfortunately for them, a football game is longer than 30 minutes. Their offense has a second-half point differential of -30, so that’s where their 0-2 record is coming from.
Arizona has shut down during the second half of their games. They lose their juice. They have lost leads. They have been walked over. It’s hard to gauge why this is the case. What could the reason be?
Oh, that’s right! Their head coach is Jonathan Gannon. Boy, that guy sure does like to do nothing in the second half of games.