Random Shots From Week 3

Joe Bryant looks at the fun from last week's action.

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 3 Joe Bryant Published 09/30/2026

random shots

Hi Folks,

We do a ton of insightful, thoughtful, and serious features here at Footballguys with smart people thinking deeply for you.

This is not one of those features.

This is Random Shots, and it's a few pages of me sharing all the random goofiness from this week. With maybe a music note and sometimes a "soap box" wrap at the end.  

Here's to Football.

J

Perfect.

This week's throwback.

We are so back. 

The league generally gets things right. 

This is not one of those things.

I love this guy.

Brock Purdy is a great example of how the quarterback job is about way more than physical traits at this level. 

Perfect.

This was the most normal Jameis Winston would be all day.

P.J. Fleck after his team beat Washington.

Pat nailed it here with the caption. I could not have predicted the next word at any point in that sentence.

If you, like me, love the details of NFL uniforms, I bet you'll love this. 

Thanks to Drew Davenport for that one. 

Foreshadowing.

Thanks to Clayton Gray for that one.

Two things on this one.

  1. Impressive.
  2. The surest jinx in sports

I was just trying to figure out whether Zay Flowers was playing. Our readers went Twelfth Night.

Sunday morning, I shared this with our Footballguys subscribers.

"Zay Flowers is a true game-time decision. Adam Schefter had reported that the team doesn't sound overly optimistic he'll go, but stressed that no decision had been made as of around 11:15 am ET this morning. My guess, and it's just a guess, is it's probably a 30-40% chance he's active.

"The other star player that's questionable this afternoon is Raiders tight end Brock Bowers. All the reporting seems to be much more optimistic about Brock Bowers playing than it does about Flowers.

"It's important to note the Raiders did not elevate a tight end like they did last week. With that said, there's no coach I trust less in the league now than Klint Kubiak. For Bowers, my guess is it's an 80% chance he's active. And again to make sure I'm totally clear, these are just my guesses based on what I'm hearing.

"If it were me, I'd likely start a replacement player for Flowers if you have one in the 1 pm game. And if you're rolling into the afternoon games with Flowers and Bowers in your lineup, I would have a pivot option. Likely needed for Flowers. And just in case for Bowers."

A Footballguys reader replied:

"Didja know you were gettin' Shakespearean?

"Away before me to sweet beds of flowers.
Love thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers."
(12th Night, I, i, 43-44)"

New Warm Ups.

Tom Brady didn't have to do him like that. 

Darnell Washington is a lot.

I'm sure this was somehow Justin Herbert's fault.

Apparently, Chad Johnson was playing the NFL on hard mode the entire time.

Thanks to Matt Waldman for that one.

Lots of whining about this topic lately.

Newsflash: Star players get a bit of preferential treatment. In every sport. They always have and I expect they always will.

With that said, this was a good use of AI. 

Thanks to Bob Fox for that one. 

Oh Trevor Lawrence.

It's probably not much solace, but it could have been worse...

Post of the Week.

When people talk about the wide receiver position taking a while to learn, they're talking about things like this.

Beautiful.

Agreed. The white facemask pops.

Cleveland fans riding high.

If Patrick Mahomes II did this, we'd still be talking about it. 

Wait. I thought Bo Nix was terrible...

Our man Jameis Winston out here living his best life.

Thanks to Eric Hemesath for that one. 

Guy put Aaron Donald in a blender.

Kyle Shanahan is fun.

If this is real, Lord help those kids.

It was sweet to see the Lions players show love for their former coach.

And this.

Just going to drop this right here.

Music note this week is a classic. The Weight by The Band.

The song was on their debut album in 1968. Talk about starting hot.

There are lot of questions and talk about the song as well. Who wrote it? Wikipedia says it was credited solely to guitarist Robbie Robertson, though bandmate Levon Helm later argued it was a communal creation. Who's Fanny? What exactly is the "Load"? And why take it off? 

I don't sweat those much. I think it's just a super chill song. Enjoy.

This is wild.

PFF catching strays.

Maybe it wasn't all A.J. Brown?...

The UCF Space U uniforms are sweet.

The details on this make it even better. 

This one hit a little too close to home.

Aaron Rodgers on the mic is good. 

Feels accurate.

random shots

Wrapping with this one. 

Sometimes (most of the time?) the best things about sports aren't about sports.

Verlander's reaction from another angle.

So good. Give those folks you love a hug.

Thank you for being part of this goofy journey with us.

And thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Drew Davenport, Matt Waldman, Bob Fox, Sigmund Bloom, Eric Hemesath, and Clayton Gray for the help. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, email me at bryant@footballguys.com.

Thanks for playing along, and I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.

Peace and Grace to you.

J

Photos provided by Imagn Images
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