Revenge of the Jipped:
Five Must Watch Revenge Games in Week 4
There’s nothing quite like a revenge narrative to add a little spice to an NFL game. In a league this competitive, there’s bound to be a lot of shuffling around. With teams at the mercy of ticket sales from impatient and irrational fanbases, they can’t always wait for young players to develop or struggling coaches to figure it out.
Sometimes they’re right to pull the trigger, sometimes they’re a little too aggressive (cough David Tepper), and sometimes they wait entirely too long to make the most obvious change in the world (looking right at you Jerry Jones). Regardless of who’s right, revenge games inevitably pop up from time to time much to the delight of the viewers. Today however, we are gifted with not one, not two, but FIVE Revenge Games. So let’s skip the high road and embrace the petty as we look at who gets a crack at the team that did them dirty!
Aaron Jones vs Packers
Aaron Jones never managed to board the Jets, but wound up in the same destination as Packers’ Hall or Famer Brett Favre, opting to give Green Bay the finger by joining their division rivals for a bigger payday. And through two weeks, Jones is a top 10 rusher who looks like he hasn’t lost a single step since the Packers nearly upset the reigning NFC Champions last year.
Now he gets his chance to prove that the Packers were fools for letting him walk. And he’s not shying away from the opportunity, openly stating that he is “definitely leaping” if he scores in his first return to Lambeau Field. To the Packers’ credit, the guy they left him for is currently four spots ahead of Jones amongst rushing leaders and has shown an ability to take loads Jones simply couldn’t….that sounded better in our heads. Jizz jokes aside, we can’t wait to see which of these RBs looks like the better signing after tomorrow and if Jones can one-up the guy who replaced him.
Zach Wilson vs Jets
Ok this one is a long shot, but if the Jets’ front 7 goes on a killing spree through the Broncos’ depth chart, they’ll eventually come across Zach Wilson. Though this revenge narrative may better suit the Jets and their fans at Metlife on Sunday, now that they’re seeing what their team looks like with competent Quarterback play.
Aaron Rodgers also gets his first chance to avenge his old pal Nathaniel Hackett for the comments Broncos’ Head Coach Sean Payton made about Hackett’s…..accomplishments in Denver. With fragile egos on both sidelines, expect this one to be chippy even if it’s not competitive.
Cliff Kingsbury vs Arizona
Look Cliff Kingsbury deserved to be fired in Arizona without question. But that by no means negates what he is doing for Rookie sensation Jayden Daniels through two weeks. No matter how talented a prospect is, 91% completion percentages don’t just fall out of the sky and Kingsbury has done plenty to set up his young signal caller with the best options available in the pass game (48 of Daniels’ completions have been less than 9 yards) While it’s still extremely early in Daniels’ career, he just outdueled Joe Burrow on the road in Prime Time and is already looking like a generational prospect.
Kingsbury gets his first chance to burn the team that dumped him, but he’ll have to go through his original crush in Kyler Murray to do it. Making matters juicier, is the fact that Kingsbury will be directly competing against the guy who replaced him, matching his Offensive wits with the Defensive prowess of Jonathan Gannon. With a pair of dynamic QBs running all over the field and plenty of pent up frustration, this one is must watch on the Sunday slate.
Eagles vs Bucs
This one is more of a playoff revenge narrative, but the point is one of these teams is super pissed at the other. The Philadelphia Eagles went from NFL Darling to NFL Laughingstock faster than P Diddy launched himself into the Epstein conversation of wildest sex scandal of all time. The Eagles were 10-1 heading into a critical NFC Championship rematch where they got, well the P Diddy treatment, from the 49ers (who themselves came in looking to avenge the 2022 NFC Championship). From that point forward, the book was out on how to beat the Eagles as they only mustered one more win the rest of the year (a one possession win against the lowly Giants).
Everyone saw the Bucs absolutely pantsing them in the Wild Card Round from a mile away, while Sirianni keeping his job in that aftermath was far more surprising. Now, armed with Saquon Barkley (and basically nobody else), Philly gets another chance to line that shit up and prove it again.
Andy Dalton vs Bengals
It all comes down to best narrative of this entire week. An inter-conference battle of the some of the baddest pussies the league has to offer as the Red Rifle leads his suddenly resurgent Panthers into battle against his old team and the guy who replaced him. Andy Dalton went on an absolute tear after replacing Bryce Young last weekend against the Raiders going 26 of 37 for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions for an offense that had only put up 13 points on the year.
But as hard as it may be for him to accept, the Bengals we’re right to move on from him. At 36 years old, Dalton still has not popped his postseason cherry, holding a record of 0-4 in the playoffs. Joe Burrow, on the other hand, had the Bengals within 3 points of a Lombardi trophy. But that doesn’t mean Dalton can’t go into Sunday’s matchup with a chip on his shoulder looking to send his former team to 0-4 and essentially doom their 2024 campaign.
