Not trying to be a buzz kill, I just enjoy keeping a level head about things.
Last two times we were 3-0 we missed the playoffs, and once it wasn't even close. Being 3-0 means we've found a way to win but it doesn't mean this team isn't without some deficiencies that we aren't always gonna be able to overcome. 2013 and 2018 both had emotional week 3 wins. 2013 we had a sensational comeback against at Atlanta team that had been a perennial contender, and I think that was the loss that started the end of the Mike Smith era. 2018 we had a 14 point 4th quarter to beat the Raiders and I really thought, after the Jay Cutler aberration due to the RT training camping injury in 2017, that we were just picking up where we left off when RT got hurt on that great run in 2016.
I'm not saying there isn't a ton of reason for optimism - we have the growth from Tua under a better coaching staff with better weapons, we have a defense that's found a way to get things done when the game's on the line, even when they've gotten their butts handed to them, and we've dispatched the two teams we usually play the worst against in successive weeks. I've just learned the hard way that a 3-0 start doesn't mean you've punched your ticket as a contender - just like a slow start, even before the 17 game season, doesn't mean you're out of it, as shown in our last two playoff seasons of 2008 and 2016.
Last two times we were 3-0 we missed the playoffs, and once it wasn't even close. Being 3-0 means we've found a way to win but it doesn't mean this team isn't without some deficiencies that we aren't always gonna be able to overcome. 2013 and 2018 both had emotional week 3 wins. 2013 we had a sensational comeback against at Atlanta team that had been a perennial contender, and I think that was the loss that started the end of the Mike Smith era. 2018 we had a 14 point 4th quarter to beat the Raiders and I really thought, after the Jay Cutler aberration due to the RT training camping injury in 2017, that we were just picking up where we left off when RT got hurt on that great run in 2016.
I'm not saying there isn't a ton of reason for optimism - we have the growth from Tua under a better coaching staff with better weapons, we have a defense that's found a way to get things done when the game's on the line, even when they've gotten their butts handed to them, and we've dispatched the two teams we usually play the worst against in successive weeks. I've just learned the hard way that a 3-0 start doesn't mean you've punched your ticket as a contender - just like a slow start, even before the 17 game season, doesn't mean you're out of it, as shown in our last two playoff seasons of 2008 and 2016.
