Album Review: Rivers of Nihil-The Work

After putting out a couple of well-received records that raised their profile enough to get them on the radar of metal's top media publications and fans of bands like Between the Buried and Me, The Faceless and Fallujah, 2018's Where Owls Know My Name marked the moment where Pennsylvania extreme metal outfit Rivers of Nihil started to really cook. Leaning more into the progressive side of their sound with the introduction of clean vocals, keyboards and brass/string instruments allowed for them to create an ambitious piece of work that blended punchy death metal with moody melodic passages to create a sprawling sound that took the listener on a commanding, subtly emotional journey. Their direct follow up effort The Work serves as a terrific counterpart to Where Owls Know My Name that shares much of the same DNA while throwing out enough curveballs to distinguish itself as a separate entity.

If Where Owls Know My Name was Rivers of Nihil's way of dipping their toes into the prog waters, The Work is their confident dive into the deep end of the pool. From the whispery, distorted vocals and sparse instrumentation of opener "The Tower (Theme from "The Work")" to the distant shredding guitars mixed with booming saxophone and jazzy drum beats of "Episode", they're unapologetically all aboard the prog weirdo express now. Some of the decisions on here (full on folky acoustic guitars driving "Maybe One Day", whatever the hell is happening instrumentally during the slower sections of "Wait") are borderline shocking for a band that didn't even utilize unclean vocals until their previous record. Committing this deeply to a balls out prog sound makes The Work harder to get into initially  and the segment of the fanbase that was solely attracted to the technical/brutal death metal aspects of their sound are very likely going to be further alienated by this as those elements are featured even less here than they were on Owls. However, once the initial "what the hell is this?" oddity effect wears off from this venture further down the prog rabbit hole, the true intention of this journey becomes clear and in my case, a lot of enjoyment followed. 

One of the more exciting parts of Owls was how certain tracks that were grouped together (ex: opening trio "Cancer/Moonspeak"/"The Silent Life"/"A Home" and "Hollow/Death is Real") flowed so seamlessly that felt more like epic length standalone songs than completely separate tracks. Here, they're able to expand that practice to an entire record and the results are pretty damn great. 

The laser focused songwriting helps build this really strong, immersive atmosphere that paints a vivid picture of wonder, anger and longing sadness that naturally unfolds over the course of 68 minutes. No matter how nutso the experimentation gets or the specific lyrical themes being explored (meditations on the double-edge sword of the creative process, America's political climate and substance abuse are just some of the topics explored here), those melancholic yet tranquil feelings and the arrangements-which range from stunningly serene to boulder on top of a monster truck heavy-that best bring them to life are always at the forefront of the record. Being able to convey so many different emotions and utilize so many tempos over the course of a single auditory experience is a special gift and since Rivers of Nihil are still in the early days of exploring it, their potential to use it even more effectively in the future is through the roof.       

Really the only bad thing about The Work is that it was released in the early days of fall when the weather hasn't really turned brisk in the Northern Hemisphere. There's something about the overall mood and textures of the melodies that just feels perfectly suited for the winter. If I were the type of person that enjoyed hiking through the woods in the snow-particularly at night, The Work would be the perfect complementary soundtrack. Since I'm not, I'll just look forward to how good this shit is going to sound when I'm freezing my ass off and looking at several mountains of snow in late December/early January.     

Grade: A-

Standout Tracks:

1.Dreaming Black Clockwork

2.Terrestira IV: Work

3.Episode 

2021 NFL Power Rankings: Week 4

()=previous ranking

1.(2) Los Angeles Rams (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

2.(1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: New England Patriots 

3.(7) Buffalo Bills (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Houston Texans

4.(4) Cleveland Browns (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

5.(5) Arizona Cardinals (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

6.(6) Baltimore Ravens (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Denver Broncos

7.(17) Los Angeles Chargers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

8.(10) Green Bay Packers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

9.(9) Las Vegas Raiders (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

10.(3) Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

11.(14) Dallas Cowboys (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Carolina Panthers

12.(12) Tennessee Titans (2-1) Week 4 opponent: New York Jets

13.(11) San Francisco 49ers (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Seattle Seahawks 

14.(15) Denver Broncos (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

15.(18) Carolina Panthers (3-0) Week 4 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

16.(8) Seattle Seahawks (1-2) Week 4 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

17.(20) New Orleans Saints (2-1) Week 4 opponent: New York Giants

18.(23) Minnesota Vikings (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Cleveland Browns

19.(26) Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) Week 4 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars 

20.(13) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Green Bay Packers

21.(21) Miami Dolphins (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Indianapolis Colts 

22.(16) New England Patriots (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

23.(19) Washington Football Team (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

24.(22) Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs 

25.(24) Chicago Bears (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Detroit Lions

26.(25) Indianapolis Colts (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Miami Dolphins

27.(29) Atlanta Falcons (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Washington Football Team

28.(28) Houston Texans (1-2) Week 4 opponent: Buffalo Bills

29.(27) New York Giants (0-3) Week 4 opponent: New Orleans Saints

30.(31) Detroit Lions (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Chicago Bears

31.(32) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

32.(30) New York Jets (0-3) Week 4 opponent: Tennessee Titans  

Week 3 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2021 Edition

 Quarterback

MVP: Josh Allen (Bills)

Now, THIS is the type of performance fantasy owners expected when they used a top 30-35 pick on Allen. Buffalo's newly minted $200 million franchise QB picked on a surprisingly overmatched Football Team defense all game long-throwing for 358 YDS and 4 TD's and adding a 2-YD TD on the ground. With a very soft schedule of defenses (Texans, Chiefs, Titans) leading up to the Bills Week 7 bye, this could just be the start of a dominant run for Allen.  

Honorable Mentions: Justin Herbert (Chargers), Matthew Stafford (Rams), Kirk Cousins (Vikings)

LVP: Russell Wilson (Seahawks)

Russell Wilson becoming the 1st quarterback that failed to pick on the Vikings porous secondary was certainly not the outcome most people expected coming into this weekend's slate. Russ only managed to string together 298 YDS and a TD in a very disheartening double digit loss for the now 1-2 Seahawks. He'll look to right the ship against a very depleted 49ers secondary in Week 4.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Kyler Murray (Cardinals), Daniel Jones (Giants), Baker Mayfield (Browns)

Running Back

MVP: Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys)

The bench Elliott for Tony Pollard crowd had about as rough of a night as the Eagles did on MNF. Elliott bullied Philly's soft defense with punishing run after punishing run, finishing the game with 116 scrimmage YDS (95 rushing, 21 receiving) and a pair of scores on only 20 touches in a blowout victory for the Cowboys in their home opener. Even with Pollard continuing to excel as a change-of-pace option (he posted 60 YDS on 11 carries last night) in the Cowboys backfield, Elliott's RB1 status is in no danger moving forward. 

Honorable Mentions: Kareem Hunt (Browns), James Robinson (Jaguars), Najee Harris (Steelers)

LVP: Ty'Son Williams (Ravens)

Greg Roman cooked up a very odd game plan for the Lions on Sunday and that shockingly meant the the Ravens leading rusher not named Lamar Jackson coming into Week 3 only managed to get 5 carries during the entire game (which he turned into 22 YDS). Luckily for Williams,  his workload shouldn't be impacted too much in future weeks as Latavius Murray (7 CAR/28 YDS) and Devonta Freeman (3 CAR/8 YDS) also failed to do much of anything with their limited touches against the Lions horrific defense. The Ravens wonky running back committee is going to be a headache-inducing messing moving forward, but there's just too much upside present in this run-dominant offense to give up on Williams (or Murray for that matter) at this point.

Dishonorable Mentions: Damien Harris (Patriots), David Montgomery (Bears), Miles Sanders (Eagles)

Wide Receiver 

MVP: Mike Williams (Chargers)

Williams can now add hero of the Chargers stunning road upset victory over the Chiefs to his impressive early 2021 resume. The 5th year wideout was lights out on Sunday, posting 7 REC/122 YDS/2 TD's (the second of which was the game-winner)and a successful 2-PT conversion on the afternoon. Displaying a terrific rapport with Justin Herbert and seemingly fully healthy for the 1st time in an eternity, Williams appears to be morphing into a weekly WR2 right before our eyes. 

Honorable Mentions: Cooper Kupp (Rams), Davante Adams (Packers), Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)

LVP: DeAndre Hopkins (Cardinals)

Even with tempered expectations on account of him playing through a rib injury that held him out of practice all of last week, a 3 REC/21 YD performance for Hopkins against a decimated Jaguars secondary that has struggled enough when they're fully healthy is a huge letdown. After this poor performance, it wouldn't be a shock if Hopkins sat against an ultra physical Rams secondary in Week 4.

Dishonorable Mentions: Allen Robinson (Bears), Rondale Moore (Cardinals), Robby Anderson (Panthers)

Tight End

MVP: Mark Andrews (Ravens)

On an ugly afternoon for the Ravens passing attack in which Marquise Brown dropped 3 potential TD's, Andrews season-best 5 catch, 109 YD performance provided a much needed bright spot in their controversial win over the Lions. A Week 4 tilt against a stifling Broncos defense will be a very tough test for Andrews-who was very quiet in the Ravens prior 2 games.  

Honorable Mentions: Travis Kelce (Chiefs), George Kittle (49ers), Mike Gesicki (Dolphins)

LVP: T.J. Hockenson (Lions)

For the first time this season, the Lions passing attack ran through somebody else besides Hockenson as the star tight end only managed 2 catches for 10 YDS against the Ravens. He'll almost certainly fare better against a Bears defense that allowed a TD to the struggling Austin Hooper last week.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Noah Fant (Broncos), Robert Tonyan (Packers), Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Broncos

A date between the staunch Broncos defense and the Jets struggling rookie QB Zach Wilson played out pretty predictably with Denver picking up 5 sacks and 2 INT's against in a 26-0 victory. After a cupcake opening trio of games against the Giants, Jaguars and Jets, the Broncos will finally face a real test in Week 4 when the Ravens come into Mile High.

Honorable Mentions: Cardinals, Browns, Saints

LVP: Football Team

The Football Team defense has been a huge flop to start 2021 and their surprising struggles were especially evident on Sunday when they gave up 43 points while registering zero sacks or takeaways against the Bills. If they can't produce a good showing against a flat Falcons offense in Week 4, they'll be an immediate drop candidate. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Steelers, Buccaneers, Ravens

Tom Hardy Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out various related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Tom Hardy-whose latest project "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" hits theaters this Friday.

Tom Hardy's Filmography Ranked:

18.The Revenant (D)

17.Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (D+)

16.Legend (C-)

15.Mad Max: Fury Road (C-)

14.This Means War (C)

13.Bronson (B-)

12.Black Hawk Down (B-)

11.Capone (B)

10.Dunkirk (B)

9.Venom (B)

8.The Drop (B)

7.Locke (B)

6.Rocknrolla (B+)

5.Lawless (B+)

4.The Dark Knight Rises (A-)

3.Layer Cake (A)

2.Warrior (A)

1.Inception (A)

Top Dog: Inception (2010)

Hardy's global breakout role just happened to come in one of the most seminal films of the 2010's. By blending crazy action sequences with an ambitious, mind-bending sci-fi premise and incredible visual effects, Christopher Nolan was able to conjure up one of the most dazzling projects of his vaunted career thus far.

Lowlight: The Revenant (2015)

After an opening that features an incredibly intense battle sequence between fur trappers and a war party from the Arikara tribe and a bear attack that leaves protagonist Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) on the brink of death in the opening 30 minutes, I was all in on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's arctic western survival tale. What followed that standout opening is some of the most meandering, hollow and generally insufferable moviemaking that I've ever endured in my entire life. This hellish 2 hour stretch of cinema is effectively just a grueling loop of DiCaprio foaming at the mouth while trying to crawl back to his fur trapping camp, Hardy mumbling about pelts and pretty nature imagery that I guess Inarritu hopes covers up the fact that The Revenant is ultimately just an artsy 1820's-set revenge movie that suffers from a disturbing lack of the exploitative fun that defines the subgenre.     

Most Underrated: Warrior (2011)

Warrior doesn't nesscairly subvert its cliched melodramatic sports movie setup (two estranged brothers are forced to square off against each other in an MMA tournament), it just manages to find a much more effective way of utilizing its familiar formula than the vast majority of films that fall under the same umbrella. The character development of the brothers (Hardy, Joel Edgerton) as well as their father (Nick Nolte) is terrific, the acting from Hardy, Edgerton and Nolte is so emotionally transparent that they're able to sell even the most potentially contrived moments the script throws out there and the fight sequences have a brutal, visceral edge to them that makes them feel like real MMA bouts.     

Most Overrated: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

As an action movie diehard, the hailing of Fury Road as one of the finest films that the genre has ever produced continues to bewilder me. Outside of a tremendous performance from Charlize Theron, I don't even think there's anything particularly noteworthy about it. There's not a single fight, shootout or chase sequence that's impressively staged, the characters outside of Theron's Furiosa are pretty dull and the villain (Immortan Joe) is a Hall of Fame-caliber lame cornball antagonist that tries embarrassingly hard to be imposing, but just ends up coming off as ridiculous. Both Theron and Hardy have starred in far more engaging, creative and rewarding action projects than this over the years and I'd be willing to wager that they will appear in several more before their careers come to a close.

Top Experimental Biopic: Capone (2020)

A surreal psychological drama about Al Capone's declining mental state caused by his bout with  neurosyphilis-which caused frequent hallucinations and slowly rotted his brain to the point where he effectively reverted back to being a child-in the final years of his life was a hugely ambitious gamble for Josh Trank to make with his first film following the widely publicized Fantastic Four debacle. While it's certainly an uneven project overall, a deep committal to illustrating Capone's steady decline from feared gangster to helpless man whose mind and body are failing him and the strong lead performances from Hardy as Capone and Linda Cardellini as Capone's loyal, but exasperated wife Mae prove to be enough to make it work.

Best Movie That I Forgot Hardy Was In: Layer Cake (2004)

I haven't seen Layer Cake in over a decade and sincerely have no recollection of Hardy even being in the movie. That Guy Ritchie-esque British gangster thriller is overflowing with energy, crackling dialogue and clever twists, so good for Hardy for being able to win a role in something so great at a very early stage of his career.        

Way Too Early Oscar Predictions: 2021 Edition

Returning to something that more closely resembles the traditional fall festival season this year has brought back one of cinema's proudest traditions: Hyperbolic praise for films and actors. Maybe it was because people were overjoyed to return to physical screenings in some of the world's most sacred film venues after watching last year's awards contenders in their living rooms or perhaps movie fans are going to be in for a serious treat over the next few months as they plow through one of the deepest slates of high quality award-contending films in recent memory, but the amount of declarations involving words and phrases like "career best", "generational" and "masterpiece" that came out of Venice, Telluride, Toronto and last night's New York Film Festival premiere of  The Tragedy of Macbeth felt significantly higher than usual. 

For the sake of early awards prognostication, all of this heavy enthusiasm makes it even harder to get a read on who/what the strong early contenders are. How can you handicap a race when there about two dozen people and films simultaneously getting crowned as early frontrunners in nearly every major category? Well thankfully, I have no shame in being completely wrong and spent roughly 90 minutes earlier this afternoon trying to figure out who has the highest odds of rising up from of this crowded field and compete for the movie industry's biggest honor.    

As always with things like this, it needs to be noted that several prospective contenders including Don't Look Up, Licorice Pizza, House of Gucci, West Side Story, Nightmare Alley, Tick, Tick... Boom!, A Journal for Jordan, The Harder They Fall, The Unforgiveable and Being the Ricardos have yet to be screened for critics/industry shot callers and the forecast for each of these races could be significantly impacted once they do. Without further ado, here are my way too early predictions for next March's Oscars.       

*indicates the projected winner

Best Picture:

Belfast*

Don't Look Up 

The French Dispatch

King Richard

Licorice Pizza 

Nightmare Alley   

The Power of the Dog

Spencer

The Tragedy of Macbeth

West Side Story

Best Director:

Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)

Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Joel Coen (The Tragedy of Macbeth)*

Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alley)

Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

Best Actor:

Clifton Collins Jr. (Jockey)

Bradley Cooper (Nightmare Alley)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)

Will Smith (King Richard)*

Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Best Actress:

Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)

Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)

Jennifer Hudson (Respect)

Kristen Stewart (Spencer)*

Best Supporting Actor:

Jamie Dornan (Belfast)

Andrew Garfield (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Corey Hawkins (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Ciaran Hinds (Belfast)*

Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)

Best Supporting Actress:

Catriona Balfe (Belfast)

Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Kristen Dunst (The Power of the Dog)*

Anjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Frances McDormand (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Best Original Screenplay:

Belfast*

Don't Look Up

The French Dispatch

King Richard

Licorice Pizza 

Best Adapted Screenplay:

CODA

The Lost Daughter

Nightmare Alley

The Power of the Dog

The Tragedy of Macbeth*

Best Animated Feature:

Encanto*

Luca

The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Raya and the Last Dragon

Sing 2

Best International Feature:

The Hand of God*

A Hero

I'm Your Man

Parallel Mothers

The Worst Person in the World

Jake Gyllenhaal Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted relevant accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Jake Gyllenhaal-whose latest project "The Guilty" releases in select theaters this Friday and on Netflix on October 1st.

Jake Gyllenhaal's Filmography Ranked:

23.Okja (D)

22.Velvet Buzzsaw (D+)

21.Enemy (C-)

20.Bubble Boy (C-)

19.The Sisters Brothers (C)

18.Demolition (C)

17.The Good Girl (C)

16.Everest (C+)

15.Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (B-)

14.Love & Other Drugs (B-)

13.Life (B-)

12.Southpaw (B-)

11.The Day After Tomorrow (B)

10.Spider-Man: Far from Home (B)

9.Nocturnal Animals (B)

8.Zodiac (B)

7.Jarhead (B)

6.Stronger (B+)

5.Prisoners (A-)

4.Source Code (A)

3.End of Watch (A)

2.Nightcrawler (A)

1.Donnie Darko (A+)

Top Dog: Donnie Darko (2001)

By weaving a complex, mind-bending sci-fi mystery that begs to be revisited and dissected down to the smallest detail into a tragic coming-of-age narrative, Donnie Darko is able to establish itself as a uniquely compelling product that has seamlessly withstood the test of time.    

Lowlight: Okja (2017)

In the vast, gem-filled filmography of Bong Joon-ho, Okja stands out in all the wrong ways. The film is so uncharacteristically disjointed, dull and questionably acted that I could be easily convinced that the South Korean auteur didn't really direct it. The good news is that if/when Bong makes another movie primarily in English, he won't have to try hard to top something that's this sloppy and devoid of intrigue.

Most Underrated: Source Code (2011)

Gyllenhaal's extended run of starring in excellent films in the early-to-mid-2010's started with this sadly overlooked sci-fi thriller. Duncan Jones does a terrific job of balancing straight suspense and headier ideas about time travel, AI, etc. without ever heading into overly convoluted territory, the 93-minute runtime ensures that not a single second is wasted and the central performance from Gyllenhaal remains some of the most stellar work he's done in his career.

Most Overrated: Zodiac (2007)

Despite the presence of some electrifying moments of suspense and great acting from a trio of the industry's best living performers (Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr.) in David Fincher's ambitious film about the San Francisco Chronicle reporters and cops trying (and failing) to identify the infamous serial killer that terrorized Northern California in the late 60's, the questionable pacing in spots during its overlong nearly 3 hour runtime and inevitable anticlimax makes it a merely good procedural in my eyes opposed to the masterpiece that many see it as.

Most Eerie Look at Modern Society: Nightcrawler (2014)

Dan Gilroy's masterful satire about the ethics of modern cable news is pretty much a real life horror movie. While the behavior of petty thief turned videographer Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) and ratings-hungry news anchor Nina Romina (Rene Russo) may be heightened to manufacture intrigue on screen, media employees that have a desire to make money off the suffering of others and a willingness to capture and showcase horrific violent crime footage absolutely are, and that fact should terrify the hell out of all of us. 

Worst Pre-Breakout Project: Bubble Boy (2001)

A mere two months before the wide release of Donnie Darko, the still green Gyllenhaal led one of the more forgettable comedies of the entire 2000's in Bubble Boy. Outside of Danny Trejo's amusing supporting performance as a kindhearted biker, this silly road movie about an immunocompromised young adult (Gyllenhaal) who embarks on a cross country trip to stop the wedding of the woman he loves (Marley Shelton) just doesn't tap far enough into its ridiculous premise to be consistently funny.

2021 NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

 ()=Previous ranking

1.(1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

2.(3) Los Angeles Rams (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

3.(2) Kansas City Chiefs (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

4.(5) Cleveland Browns (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Chicago Bears

5.(7) Arizona Cardinals (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

6.(10) Baltimore Ravens (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Detroit Lions

7.(8) Buffalo Bills (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Washington Football Team

8.(4) Seattle Seahawks (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

9.(18) Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Miami Dolphins

10.(13) Green Bay Packers (1-1) Week 3 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

11.(14) San Francisco 49ers (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Green Bay Packers

12.(17) Tennessee Titans (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

13.(6) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

14.(19) Dallas Cowboys (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

15.(15) Denver Broncos (2-0) Week 3 opponent: New York Jets 

16.(16) New England Patriots (1-1) Week 3 opponent: New Orleans Saints

17.(12) Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

18.(23) Carolina Panthers (2-0) Week 3 opponent: Houston Texans 

19.(20) Washington Football Team (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Buffalo Bills

20.(9) New Orleans Saints (1-1) Week 3 opponent: New England Patriots 

21.(11) Miami Dolphins (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

22.(22) Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Dallas Cowboys 

23.(21) Minnesota Vikings (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

24.(26) Chicago Bears (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Cleveland Browns

25.(24) Indianapolis Colts (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Tennessee Titans

26.(25) Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

27.(27) New York Giants (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

28.(30) Houston Texans (1-1) Week 3 opponent: Carolina Panthers

29.(29) Atlanta Falcons (0-2) Week 3 opponent: New York Giants 

30.(28) New York Jets (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Denver Broncos

31.(31) Detroit Lions (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Baltimore Ravens    

32.(32) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) Week 3 opponent: Arizona Cardinals