Brock Purdy
For just the second time in Purdy’s career, the San Francisco 49ers have lost consecutive games.
Purdy–missing three of his top targets in wide receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey–went 22-30 for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and zero turnovers. It brought his passing numbers to 842 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception on the season.
His favorite target was wide receiver Jauan Jennings. The pair hooked up on 11 passes for 175 yards and all three of Purdy’s passing touchdowns. This was Jennings’ first career game with over 100 receiving yards, as well as the first time he had ever scored three touchdowns in a game.
Unfortunately for Purdy, his performance was not enough to secure the win, as the Los Angeles Rams were able to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game 27-24 after Los Angeles kicker Joshua Karty made a 37-yard field goal in the final seconds, sending San Francisco to a surprising 1-2 record.
Breece Hall
The New York Cyclones (Jets) had another batch of good performances Thursday night in its 24-3 win over the New England Patriots.
Hall had another productive day on the ground and through the air. He racked up 83 total yards and one touchdown on 20 touches.
Hall’s touchdown capped off a 13-play, 91-yard drive that took 7:47 off of the clock. His performance moved him to 11th in the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 290.
Hall and rookie running back Braelon Allen have become a solid one-two punch in New York’s backfield. Allen outgained Hall on the ground in this game by one yard. This is very important because running back is a very grueling position and having another back that can take the load off of Hall for stretches of games will help him stay healthy throughout this season and the rest of his career.
Allen Lazard
In the Jets’ first game of the season against the 49ers, Lazard looked like quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target, hauling in six passes on nine targets for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
Then, in New York’s second game of the season against the Tennessee Titans, Lazard was essentially a non-factor, catching just two passes on four targets for 11 yards.
In the Jets’ most recent game against New England, Lazard met in the middle of his first two performances. He brought in three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown on just three targets.
Lazard’s touchdown came on New York’s second drive, putting his team up 7-0. From there New York never really had to sweat, winning easily.
Will McDonald IV
The biggest reason for the Jets’ success over the past two weeks has been its defense, and the standout player on its defense the past two weeks has undoubtedly been McDonald.
For a first-round pick, McDonald had a bit of an underwhelming rookie season in 2023-24. He tallied just three sacks and four tackles for loss last season and after week one against San Francisco, where he recorded just half of a tackle, one might have begun to worry that he was becoming an afterthought on this New York defense.
In the last two weeks, McDonald’s level of play has skyrocketed. He surpassed his rookie year sack total in just the last two games, recording three against Tennessee and adding two more against the Patriots to bring his total to five on the year.
Five sacks through three games has him sitting alone in second place in the NFL, trailing only Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson who has 6.5. It’s great to see McDonald’s potential finally starting to shine through.
David Montgomery
Detroit got back to its winning ways after the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week two. In week three, the Lions took down the Arizona Cardinals 20-13 with Montgomery being a major contributor.
Montgomery ran for 105 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries and brought in three passes for 17 yards. This performance moved him to ninth in the NFL in rushing yards with 231 yards. This also marked his sixth straight regular season game with a touchdown.
Hall and Allen have become a good one-two punch at running back for the Jets, but the one-two punch of Montgomery and running back Jahmyr Gibbs is probably the best the league has to offer. Gibbs comes in at 13th in the NFL in rushing yards with 207, making Montgomery and Gibbs the most productive duo on the ground in the NFL.
If Detroit looks to go on another deep run in the playoffs, it will probably be on the backs of Montgomery and Gibbs.
