TNF Recap Week 3: Rams vs 49ers

Two nights ago, on Color Rush Thursday, a shocking thriller of a game took place in Santa Clara, California. To be fair, like most NFL fans, I wasn’t initially too thrilled about this Thursday night matchup. However, a couple factors allowed me to have a more than vested interest in this Rams-49ers contest. First off, being a die-hard Yankees fan, this playoff race has dominated much of my TV watching. However, the squad was off on Thursday, leaving a deep and empty black hole in my evening. I’ve spent the better part of this summer screaming at my TV during Yankees games. But without them tugging at my heartstrings for one night, I needed this Thursday NFL game to serve as a semi-replacement. On top of that, it is always nice to have a couple fantasy implications sprinkled into the first game of the week. In this particular situation, I started Rams D, while my opponent started “Fragile” Sammy Watkins. Seriously, when is that guy not hurt. My dipshit friend also convinced me to split a bet with him for the Rams and 49ers to score under 40 points (more on that later…)

So, imagine my total excitement when that scrub quarterback, otherwise known as journeyman Brian Hoyer, threw an interception to my fantasy defense on the first play from scrimmage! Unfortunately, Nickell Robey-Coleman, the Rams cornerback, got tripped up before he could take it all the way for a pick 6. I was then forced to see Todd “ACL” Gurley punch it in for an easy score. But ah well, shit happens.

By the time the 49ers got to play a real possession on defense, I was shocked that their D totally resembles that Key and Peele East-West sketch, with all of the downright ridiculous names of the players. Here are some of the key members of the Niners D: Cornellius “Tank” Carradine, Navarro Bowman, Ray-Ray Armstrong (yes, he uses a hyphen), DeForset Buckner, and (my favorite) Jaquiski Tartt. Seriously though, I’m pretty sure Jordan Peele came up with at least half of those names and had the guys legally change them as a joke.

What followed for the next 4 quarters was an absolute aerial attack of massive proportions. That is not exactly what people were expecting from Jared Goff and Brian Hoyer. But, I have to give them credit, both guys stepped up big time. Each had a lot to prove and for different reasons. Goff is the stereotypical California surfer dude who somehow got drafted #1 over Carson Wentz and that guy who starts for the Cowboys who was taken in the 4th round. Think his name is Prescott or something like that…

So yeah, last year Goff looked like a potential bust, but he has definitely turned things around in this year’s first three games and I give him a solid thumbs up! He completed 22/28 passes for 292 yards with 3 TDs and 0 picks.

As for Hoyer, he’s been bounced around by more teams in the NFL than Shaq played for in the last few years of his NBA career. He was 23/37 with 332 yards, 2 passing TDs, and a rushing one too. Throw in the aforementioned interception and that is a pretty solid game from Johnny Football’s old backup quarterback. And, obviously, Hoyer is not the long-term solution in San Fran, but if he could weather the storm until they get a franchise cornerstone, that would be a huge deal for them.

The final score of this Color Rush Thursday game was 41-39…for those who aren’t too strong in the math department, they destroyed the under by 40 points! Needless to say, I was not too happy with my friend who had been hounding me to split that bet with him until I finally agreed.

I also had to watch Sammy Watkins score two big touchdowns against my fantasy team, so not a great start to my Week 3 in that department. But, overall, that was a great goddamn football contest. Everyone in America was treated to a pleasant surprise by two franchises who have not been strong offensively in recent years. In addition, the 41-39 score was the most points ever scored in a Thursday night game. If somebody told me the score without the team names, I would have never in my wildest dreams guessed the Rams or the Niners.

I seriously doubt we’ll get another Thursday Night Game this year that even vaguely resembles what we just saw, but, hey, it was fun while it lasted. I’m sure a 12-6 or 13-10 Color Rush matchup will be coming very soon.