Last week's Sunday Night Football matchup on NBC was a good one as the Miami Dolphins squeaked out a close win over the New England Patriots, 24-17. There were some lulls here and there in terms of the action but it all came down to a wild lateral in the final 30 seconds, so it was all worth it.
Will Week 3 contain the same level of excitement? It's hard to match a last-ditch lateral to an offensive lineman, but we'll have to find out.
Who is Playing Sunday Night Football?
The Las Vegas Raiders are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is at 8:20pm ET in Las Vegas, Nevada at Allegiant Stadium, a work of art masquerading as a football stadium that definitely explains why the Raiders are constantly on primetime television. The NFL likes to show it off.
In terms of the on-field play there's a good chance this one gets ugly. The Raiders are dealing with injuries to their top two receivers, Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. New quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is the same guy he's always been-- capable of scoring touchdowns and leading an average offense but incapable of going above and beyond the call of duty. Garoppolo has 385 yards passing in the first two games and has thrown as many interceptions (3) as touchdowns (3). The defense is filled with no-names who got smoked by the Buffalo Bills last week.
Does that mean the Steelers will be able to put up points in bunches? Well, that might be a challenge as Pittsburgh's offense is not really built to put up points in bunches. Or points at all, really. Kenny Pickett has gotten off to a brutal start in his sophomore season, throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions in the first two weeks. Worse, he's only managed to lead the offense to a total of 16 points. The Steelers beat the Browns last week because the defense scored two touchdowns.
Maybe going against a soft defense in Las Vegas is what they need to get right. We do know for sure that the Steelers' defense is very good and should have a field day with Garoppolo if his top two targets are out.
If you love offense, this one might not be for you. But appreciators of great defense should flock to their televisions to watch T.J. Watt go to work.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as NFL Week 3: Who is Playing Sunday Night Football?.
