Shipley's Dozen: Myles Garrett Ruins Justin Fields' Debut and More Thoughts on Week 3

In this week's Shipley's Dozen, we take a look at the NFL's most impressive young stars and the ugly debuts of Week 3.

Myles Garrett led the charge in ruining Justin Fields' NFL debut, but he wasn't alone

You won't find many performances as dominant as Myles Garrett's game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Jason Peters is a legend and future Hall of Famer (or he should be, at least), but Garrett utterly obliterated him on a down-to-down basis. The former No. 1 overall pick had the most productive game of his career, with highs in sacks (4.5) and quarterback hits (6). He did his part in ruining the NFL debut and hopeful new era of Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears. He was chasing down Fields in the open field with ease and terrorizing the rookie quarterback, and he deserves his credit for making Fields' first NFL start one of the worst quarterback and overall offensive performances in recent memory.

MYLES GARRETT. 4.5 SACKS.

📺: #CHIvsCLE on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/8iqoPoRiWa

— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2021

With that said, Garrett wasn't alone in Fields' demise. Fields himself had plenty of issues on Sunday, with his process failing him on more than one occasion. Fields wasn't helped by an absolutely brutal offensive line performance, nor was he helped by Matt Nagy looking like he had zero clue how to scheme things up for a rookie quarterback. Also, the Browns should be given credit for simply beating the Bears' already bad offense to an unrecognizable pulp. That was domination like you will rarely see at the NFL level, and that is how we will always remember Fields' first NFL start. 

Washington's defensive demise was all too predictable

There seems to be some legitimate shock to Washington's defensive demise at the start of the 2021 season. The Football Team's defense was lauded all preseason as one of the NFL's next great units, with Chase Young leading a dominant and deep defensive line and William Jackson fortifying the back end of the defense. But for as much talent as Washington has in certain areas, the defense is No. 29 in defensive DVOA, No. 28 in pass defense DVOA, No. 29 in points per game allowed (30.7 per game) and have been steamrolled by a bad Giants' offense and, frankly, a bad Giants' quarterback. 

But in a way ... are any of us really surprised? Washington has a stellar defensive front, but the tide certainly seems to be shifting to coverage being more important than pass-rush, and the Football Team currently can't cover anyone. The defense has been burned for big play after big play, and Jack Del Rio looks like he simply isn't getting the best out of the defensive talent, which was an issue with him as a coordinator in Denver as well. It would be much too harsh to say they should have been expected to be this bad, but I am far from shocked that they aren't a top defensive unit, either.  

The Chiefs are playing with zero margins for error for the first time in the Mahomes era

For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, it truly feels like the Kansas City Chiefs are playing with little margins for error. This isn't to say the Chiefs have become mere mortals because losing efforts to Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert, but the Chiefs' defense simply doesn't make any sense in theory and it is even worse in terms of performance. The Chiefs' defense ranks No. 32 in defensive EPA/play and No. 32 in defensive DVOA. They are doing strange things like playing Chris Jones on the edge (it was an especially bad idea against Baltimore) and playing Dan Sorensen over Juan Thornhill. 

On offense, the Chiefs don't have the running game to really slow a game down and play with a more conservative pace. This is fine in theory, but the Chiefs could benefit from a strong rushing attack to help them sit on their leads instead of asking Patrick Mahomes to be a hero on every play. The Chiefs are still one of the AFC's best teams, but it truly seems like their hopes and dreams live and die on every Mahomes throw more this season than in any of the previous ones. 

Lamar Jackson's start isn't being talked about enough

Lamar Jackson has evolved in his third NFL season. It was always silly to hear questions about Jackson's potential decline as defenses worked to "figure out" the former MVP. You simply don't figure out how to stop a dynamic athlete like Jackson, whether through the air or on the ground. But even with that said, Jackson has still answered calls to improve and has taken his game to another level as a passer in 2021, even if things around him have been falling apart.

Jackson has seen injuries to his offensive line, his entire backfield, his first-round receiver, and most of the receiver room in general, but he is still on pace to have the best yards per attempt and net yards per attempt of his career. His on-target % numbers are up across the board as well, while he is seeing his receivers drop over 7% of his passes, including a few touchdowns in Week 3. The production isn't all the way there yet, but Jackson has done his part.

It is time to dialogue about Arthur Smith 

Arthur Smith, we had such, such high hopes for you. I personally saw Smith as arguably the best head coaching candidate in the entire cycle of coaches this year and, sure, it is still early, but this start has been rough. The Falcons and Smith did pick up their first win of the season on Sunday against a bad Giants team, giving the first-year head coach his first NFL win before the likes of Urban Meyer, Robert Saleh and Dan Campbell have gotten their debut wins. But if a 17-14 win over a hapless Giants team is the highlight of the season so far, then I have questions. 

Smith has not looked like the same bright offensive mind he was in Tennessee, or he is at least trying to do so much that the Falcons' galaxy-brained offense has become one of the NFL's worst. Cordarrelle Patterson has had a larger role than Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts (????), while Smith is now in the process of implementing a bigger role for Felipe Franks. Franks is a good athlete who has some serious value on the football field, but this feels like a wild idea for a team that is struggling to get the ball to the player they drafted with the No. 4 overall pick. The Falcons' offense is No. 30 in EPA/play and No. 32 in offensive DVOA, even with some decent players on offense. 

VIDEO: #Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith ends his press conference and double taps #Believe @TedLasso sign when he leaves. Just like the TV show!! @AFCRichmond pic.twitter.com/iShUC51VtH

— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) September 29, 2021

Big Ben continues to move like a geriatric slug, so what is next for the Steelers?

The Steelers have no hope. They will win more than a few games and likely even have a chance for meaningful football in December, but the Steelers currently have no hope at quarterback for the present or the future. Ben Roethlisberger has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL this season, with the arm strength of an aging and over-the-hill quarterback and the mobility and grace in the pocket of an aging and over-the-hill slug. 

The Steelers can't throw the ball deep, Ben is taking bad sacks and bad turnovers because he simply can't move like a professional quarterback anymore, the offensive line has had some down moments, and the rookie running back has looked, well, like a rookie. The Steelers have talent, but it surely seems like they are a few years too late on solving their quarterback problem. Now, it is coming back to bite them. 

Ben Roethlisberger throws this INT right into Logan Wilson's hands. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/XJjj8vRHto

— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) September 26, 2021

Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay have the Rams looking like a flawless machine

The Rams are, for my money, the best 3-0 team in football. The Rams and Matthew Stafford each had a ton of pressure on them entering the 2021 season, but so far each has answered the call. They have done it against two teams with a combined 1-5 record and a good Tampa Bay team, but more important than who they have done it against is how they have done it. It truly looks like Stafford has unlocked all of the secrets to the McVay offense that Jared Goff couldn't unlock. 

The Rams are in the NFL's best division in the NFC West and sooner than later we will see just how for real they are. But as they showed against the defending champs in Week 3, Stafford and McVay are completely in sync and have been able to turn the Rams into an explosive offense with the ability to score from all levels of the field. Add in the two best defenders in football, and the Rams are well off for the next 14 games.

The CJ Henderson trade puts a new spin on the Jaguars' first-round misfires 

The Jaguars traded CJ Henderson to the Carolina Panthers earlier this week, once again giving up on a rookie first-round pick before his rookie contract is up. They did it with Leonard Fournette last year after three seasons but gave up on Henderson even quicker, trading him to the Panthers after just 10 career games in a Jaguars uniform. There are plenty of teams that are bad at drafting in the first-round, but the Jaguars have been downright awful at it -- all while picking in the top-5 more often than not.

2010: Tyson Alualu. 

2011: Blaine Gabbert (bust). 

2012: Justin Blackmon (bust).

2013: Luke Joeckel (bust).

2014: Blake Borltes (bust). 

2015: Dante Fowler Jr. (bust/traded). 

2016: Jalen Ramsey (traded). 

2017: Leonard Fournette (released).

2018: Taven Bryan.

2019: Josh Allen. 

2020: CJ Henderson (traded). 

2020: K'Lavon Chaisson.

2021: Trevor Lawrence. 

2021: Travis Etienne.

That is.... that is a lot of bad draft picks, with the return on investment of the Henderson pick perhaps being the worst of them all. The Jaguars won't get better until they start hitting consistently in the first-round, but for now, the Jaguars are left to rebuild and hope for better fortunes in future drafts. 

The Cowboys have taken complete command of the NFC East, all on the back of their superstar QB

The Cowboys are one of the clearest playoff teams in football through three weeks, in large part because the NFC East kind of stinks out loud. Washington is 1-2 with a bad defense and backup quarterback, the Eagles are 1-2 with an uneven offense and middling defense, and the Giants are one of the NFL's few winless teams through three weeks. The Cowboys have found a ton of success through three weeks, however, averaging 30.0 points per game, winning two games in a row and taking the Buccaneers down to the wire. 

The biggest reasons the Cowboys are so dang good despite some obvious roster holes? They have a superstar quarterback in Dak Prescott. Prescott is one of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL and is arguably the second-best "young" quarterback behind only Patrick Mahomes. He has taken complete command of the Cowboys offense and has looked flawless through three weeks, lifting an otherwise average Cowboys team to great heights so far.

Why do the Giants hate throwing to Kadarius Toney? 

The Kadarius Toney pick was always a weird one for the New York Giants because 1) New York didn't have a pressing need at wide receiver and 2) Toney seems like the anti-Dave Gettleman selection. Asking Jason Garrett to find creative ways to get a unique talent like Toney the ball was always a tall task, and so far this has manifested into a legitimate issue for a bad Giants' offense through three weeks.

In Week 3 alone, Toney saw two targets on 31 routes ran. This is the same number of targets that backup receiver C.J. Board saw, while former Giants' practice squad member and Jaguars' draft pick Collin Johnson saw seven targets, tied for most on the team. The Giants don't have any plans for Toney and so far the offense is having an easier time getting the ball to Jaguars' castoffs over their first-round pick. Toney is a unique talent, but the blame should go on the Giants for just having no plan for Toney from the jump. 

Mike LaFleur and Zach Wilson: Still having a rough go at it

At this point in the early 2021 season, you would likely see most pundits rank the three rookie quarterbacks who have started all three weeks like so: Mac Jones, Trevor Lawrence, then Zach Wilson. There can be some debate among the top-2 despite Lawrence's turnovers, but Wilson and the Jets' offense has been downright putrid. It hasn't flashed since Week 1 and is now among the worst in the entire league at every imaginable metric, scoring just two touchdowns through three games and averaging 6.7 points per game. 6.7! 

A lot of this can be placed on the usual ups and downs that come with starting a rookie quarterback, but there are some fair questions that can be asked about offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. He hasn't made many things look easier for his rookie quarterback, with his relative inexperience as a play-caller becoming an issue on more than one occasion in Week 3. It is early, but it is fair to wonder if hiring a first-time play-caller to develop Wilson was the right idea.

Assessing this week's Tank Brigade

The ball is rolling on the 2022 NFL Draft for a few teams. There are five 0-3 teams in the NFL and a handful of other squads that already have bleak futures for the rest of 2021. With that in mind, let's take a look at the current standing of the 2022 NFL Draft order ahead of TNF, with some thoughts and a thank you to Tankathon.

The current top-10 of the 2022 NFL Draft, via Tankathon

If the NFL Draft were today, I would imagine the New York Jets would take Kayvon Thibodeaux, who would also be a welcomed addition to Jacksonville. The Jaguars could look to improve a bad defense with Kaiir Elam or Derek Stingley Jr., or they could look to bolster the offense with a top offensive lineman like Evan Neal. 

The Eagles could look at a quarterback if they end up with a pick this early, but Malik Willis is the only one I would currently bet the franchise on. Sam Howell and Spencer Rattler have had rough starts to the season. Ultimately, the Lions look like a team that needs to be playing for a quarterback, while the Giants could ultimately give Daniel Jones another year solely because there are no better options in the draft. 

My early guess: the Lions get the first pick, followed by the Jets, Falcons, then Jaguars and Giants.