For the third week in a row, NFL football was an absolute treat. Week 3 continued to bring the best of everything. From jaw-dropping moments, amazing performances, heart-stopping finishes, and an unforgettable doink, this might have just been the best week of the young season. Let’s recap what happened:
Panthers 24-9 Texans 
Thursday Night Football was about as uneventful as it appeared to be on paper. Outside of a 2nd quarter TD pass by rookie QB Davis Mills, the Texans were nothing short of anemic on offense from start to finish. Houston amassed 193 yards, less than half of the Panthers. The rookie QB had a decent game, throwing for 168 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans were simply never in this game. It was another great game for the aforementioned Panthers offense, with Sam Darnold throwing for 304 yards, 126 going to WR D.J. Moore, and committing 0 turnovers, propelling his team to a surprising 3-0 record. However, Carolina did not get out of this game unscathed. Star RB Christian McCaffrey, who looked great coming off of last year’s injury, suffered a hamstring injury and will be out for several weeks. Moreover, rookie CB Jaycee Horn, their first round pick, broke his foot and will be out for a while. It’s two big blows to a team that seemed to be chugging along very well early in the season. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the coming weeks as the schedule gets harder.
Bills 43-21 Washington 
This game in a word: embarrassing. That is, if you’re looking at it from the perspective of the WFT. Let’s start with the positives however, all of which falling with the team in blue. This game was exactly what we expected out of Josh Allen and the Bills offense after last year. Even last week’s 35-0 blowout of the Dolphins didn’t show us what we saw on Sunday. Allen was spectacular, throwing for 358 yards and 4 touchdowns on 74% completion, adding another score on the ground as well. Buffalo’s offense moved the ball up and down all day long on Washington’s defense to the tune of 481 total yards, 16 more first downs, and over 11 more minutes of time of possession. They also didn’t commit a single turnover, while the defense forced 3 of their own (2 interceptions and a fumble recovery). Now, you might be asking, “why did the game come so easy to the Bills?” And the answer is the absolutely dreadful performance by the other team. Washington did not even show up to this game. It’s a miracle that they scored 21 points. From the jump, you could tell that they either didn’t want to be there, or they were so unprepared that they didn’t even deserve to be on the field. For the third time in three games, the once-vaunted defense gave up an opening drive touchdown, this time on an 8 play drive that included a 3rd and 15 conversion, the first of 9 conversions on 15 attempts in the game by Buffalo. 2 more easy, seamless touchdown drives later, and it was 21-0. The “best defensive line in football” generated no pass rush, and the secondary was getting torn apart, whether they were in zone or man. How does a front filled with 1st round picks get 0 sacks? I understand Allen is mobile, but come on. What are we doing here. The offense wasn’t much better. Outside of a sensational catch and run for a touchdown by RB Antonio Gibson, who is still somehow being criminally underused, and a subsequent TD after a strange, fluke kickoff, Washington was just as bad with the ball in their hands. QB Taylor Heinicke was nothing short of dreadful, constantly forcing the ball into tight coverages and throwing 2 very poor interceptions (he would have had 3 if it weren’t for a penalty). To make a long story short, this game said a lot about the Bills and their potential, but it said much more about the incompetence of Washington. This team has a plethora of issues: coaching, personnel, effort, etc. It is genuinely embarrassing to watch.
Browns 26-6 Bears 
You’ve really gotta feel for Justin Fields. In the rookie QB’s first NFL start, he was given perhaps the worst gameplan I have ever seen, and got absolutely destroyed. The Browns won this game convincingly, that’s apparent just from the score, so let me give you some more numbers that speak for themselves. Cleveland sacked Fields a whopping 9 times, half of them coming from star DE Myles Garrett, thanks to Chicago’s inexplicable dedication to a 5-man protection with one of the worst offensive lines in football. The Bears moved the chains 6, yes, SIX times in the entire game. They amassed 47 (!!!) total yards of offense. Their net passing yardage? 1 yard. One. Single. Yard. Three feet. A single hash. Once again, the majority of these issues stem from the dreadful offensive line play, but the even worse gameplan from HC Matt Nagy. It was so bad that it almost seemed like Nagy was sabotaging Fields, which is not too hard to believe. The kid was thrown out there with the intention of him getting killed, and it was disgraceful to watch. I just feel terrible for him. Cleveland wasn’t even very impressive in this game, they just went out there and played football, and that was more than enough to beat this joke of a Bears team.
Ravens 19-17 Lions 
I have seen more than enough instances in several sports in my lifetime to understand that some higher power does not want certain teams to be happy. The Detroit Lions might be the biggest example of that, and Sunday’s loss was just another chapter in a seemingly never-ending book of heartbreak. That being said, I want us to backtrack a bit. The Lions never had any business being in this game late. The Ravens, for all their struggles, were the better team throughout. Lamar Jackson was dialed in throwing and running the football, and if it wasn’t for not one, not two, but three huge drops by WR Hollywood Brown, this game would have been a blowout. However, the NFL is not a “could’ve would’ve should’ve” league. Baltimore made mistakes and very nearly paid for them. In the second half, the Lions staged 3 consecutive scoring drives, getting 2 touchdowns and a late field goal to take a 1 point lead with just 64 seconds on the clock. A couple of stops and penalties later, and all they had to do was stop a Ravens 4th and 19 on their own 16 with 26 seconds left. They gave Lamar all day in the pocket, and he was able to find a receiver with enough separation past the sticks to pick up an improbable first down. Still, they were well out of field goal range, and with just 7 seconds left, a win seemed out of reach. Baltimore ran one play, a simple throw out of bounds to kill some clock, but they got away with an egregious delay of game to still be in position to kick a field goal rather than throwing up a Hail Mary. They rolled out Justin Tucker to at least attempt a game-winning kick from a whopping 66 yards out. Tucker put everything into it, and while it was right down the middle, it looked like it might be a little short. It took a bounce off the crossbar and went end-over-end perfectly into the net, and the Ravens won it. Between the insane kick, the missed delay of game, the inexplicable 4th down conversion, and seemingly supernatural factors, the Lions were never meant to win this game. You can’t help but feel sorry for them.
Titans 25-16 Colts 
Amidst a plethora of wild games, this may have been the most uneventful game of Week 3. And it’s hard to believe it went the way it did. I’ll let the numbers do the talking on this one. RB Derrick Henry had another king-like performance on the ground, racking up 113 yards on 28 carries. Ryan Tannehill did his thing as well, throwing 3 touchdowns to go along with 197 yards through the air. However, there is a stat in this game that makes no sense to me. The Titans turned the ball over 3 times in this game. The Colts never committed a turnover. And still, Tennessee had 103 more yards of offense and 8 more minutes of possession. How on earth is that possible? The Colts were spoon-fed chance after chance and did absolutely nothing with it. The struggles have to be attributed to the subpar play of QB Carson Wentz, who had a measly 194 yards passing on 51% completion. I understand that he has been banged up, but against a pretty bad defense like Tennessee’s, that is a poor, poor statline. Indy also still can’t get RB Jonathan Taylor going for some reason, as the second year man only put up 64 yards rushing. The Colts were played into the game, but they played themselves right out of it. I expected a lot more out of this team, but their incompetence on offense has cost them every game they’ve played in, and it has dug them a nearly insurmountable 0-3 hole. I suppose you reap what you sow.
Chargers 30-24 Chiefs 
After over a year of making incredible plays and racking up insane stats, Justin Herbert finally has his signature win. The Chargers’ young QB put on a masterpiece on Sunday in Arrowhead in an absolute thriller, but I want to start with the other team first. I dismissed a lot of the questions with the Chiefs after last week’s loss in Baltimore, but now, I’m starting to have questions of my own. Did the offense still do their thing? Absolutely. But, it wasn’t without a lot of problems. The Chiefs turned the ball over 4 times, a stat that is so uncharacteristic of this team that you’d think it was a lie if you didn’t watch the game. Half of those turnovers were interceptions thrown by Patrick Mahomes, and both of them were questionable. The first one came on a patented no-look pass, but it still should have been caught by the receiver. The second one, however, was a screw-it ball that you never see Mahomes throw. It almost seems like this team is getting desperate, and I really don’t understand why. I know their defense has some shortcomings, but there is 0 reason for this offense to be playing this style of offense. Speaking of that defense, let’s get into Herbert’s game. After a slow first quarter, #10 was dialed in for the rest of the game. It was a back and forth affair that saw the Chargers in prime position to win after the second of the two aforementioned Mahomes picks. In a tied game, LA was faced with a crucial 4th down and decided to go for it due to kicking troubles that had plagued them all game long. Even after a false start backed them up 5 more yards, the Chargers still went for it and got it on a huge catch by Mike Williams, who had another massive game. A few plays later, and Herbert found Williams once more, this time for the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds left. It was the icing on the cake for a masterful game for them both, with Herbert throwing for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns and Williams catching 7 passes for 122 yards and 2 scores. This was a win that seemingly means a great deal, not just in the division, but in the landscape of this season. Not only have the Chargers emerged as a legit threat, but the Chiefs have a lot of questions that need answering very fast in an ultra-competitive division.
Saints 28-13 Patriots 
I wouldn’t let the score fool you on this one. The Saints were certainly the better team in this game, but the margin might not have been too massive. The Patriots got a ton of unlucky breaks that were ultimately their downfall. Between an insane touchdown throw by Saints QB Jameis Winston in which he was being tackled backwards, a carom that led to a pick six, and some other bad bounces, New England didn’t have much go their way on Sunday. However, I don’t want to discredit the Saints. Their defense showed up in a massive way, picking off rookie QB Mac Jones 3 times after he hadn’t thrown a single interception in his first two games. While the Patriots outgained the Saints in total yards, it was New Orleans’ defense that locked it down to secure the win. The Patriots offense just raises so many questions. In a seemingly run-first offense, Jones threw the ball 51 times. He was also somehow the team’s leading rusher with just 28 yards. This was never the most talented unit, but it seemed good enough to get the job done, especially against a Saints defense that got gashed just a week ago. But this might be what the Pats are now. New Orleans might be even more confusing, given their extremely inconsistent nature through 3 weeks, but that’s a story for another time.
Falcons 17-14 Giants 
What a snoozefest. Approximately nothing of note happened in this game. The biggest thing that happened at MetLife on Sunday was Eli Manning’s halftime ceremony. Here’s all that you need to know: the Falcons were down 7 in the 4th, and on the their final two possessions, they scored a touchdown and a game-winning field goal as time expired to go home with the win. And that’s about all I got for the game itself. The Giants are now in an 0-3 hole and are still in just as poor of a position as they’ve been for the last 5 seasons now. There is seemingly no saving this team from the pit of despair that they’ve dug themselves. On the other side, Atlanta picked up their first win of the year with likely not many to follow, but it was still good for this group to pick up their first W under new HC Arthur Smith.
Bengals 24-10 Steelers 
If you weren’t aware that the Steelers have a Ben Roethlisberger problem before Sunday, then surely now you do. Of all of the lethargic, uninspired performances that we’ve seen from the Steelers offense over the last two seasons, this week’s might have been the worst one yet. The statsheet might be a little deceiving on this one, so I’ll just tell you what I saw from Pittsburgh. Big Ben was absolutely dreadful. Not only could he not throw the ball downfield, but even short and intermediate routes looked terrible. The actual Big Ben would be more mobile in the pocket, as the Bengals were able to get 4 sacks on the statue of a QB. Ben also threw 2 picks, one of which being a literal dumpoff to the defender. I understand he’s old and I understand he doesn’t have the best offensive line, but what I saw on Sunday was just inexcusable. The injury-riddled defense was just as bad, allowing the Bengals to carve them up despite having the ball for 11 less minutes. QB Joe Burrow had a nice bounce-back game with 172 yards and 3 touchdowns on 78% completion. 2 of those scores went to Jamarr Chase, who has burst onto the scene early in his career. Any and all questions about him have surely been dropped (see what I did there?). I don’t know if the Bengals will have a better season than the Steelers. But they looked like the significantly better team, and I think that’s an accurate reflection of where these two franchises are right now.
Cardinals 31-19 Jaguars 
I’ll give credit to the Jaguars for sticking in this game for a lot longer than I thought they would. Granted, that only came from one of the wildest plays you’ll ever see. The Cardinals, for some reason, wanted to attempt a 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half, and naturally came up short, but Jamal Agnew took it from the back of the endzone all the way back for an amazing 109 yard touchdown to take the lead going into halftime. The Jags might not have a play that good for the rest of the season, but to be fair, they have set a pretty high bar. The second half was all Arizona, however, as you would expect. Kyler put up the numbers once again with 316 yards on 82% completion and a rushing touchdown to continue to bolster his early MVP campaign. It wasn’t as flashy of a game as so many of their others, but they did what they had to do to win this easy one and get to 3-0.
Broncos 26-0 Jets 
This game confirmed something I have thought for a while now: the Jets are truly the worst team in football. I thought it after last week, but this atrocious performance confirmed it. I don’t even take much pride beating this dead horse. It’s just painful to watch. The Broncos, on the other hand, are a delight to watch, and even though they’re a bit banged up, they still seem to be running like a well-oiled machine. Everyone was getting involved on offense, and it was really nice to watch. Teddy Bridgewater had another efficient outing with 235 yards on 76% completion. Both Denver RBs, Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, found the endzone. And the defense ensured that the outcome of the game was never, ever in doubt. I understand that Denver hasn’t really played anyone this year, but I really like what I’m seeing from this team. I’m excited to see what they do when they start playing real football teams.
Raiders 31-28 Dolphins 
Please, Vegas, let me breathe every once in a while! Between the need to come back in every game and the undying love for overtime, the Raiders are a walking heart problem. I think most of the credit for the latter part of that goes to the resilience of the Dolphins. Even without Tua, they held their own for the majority of this game. They started up 14-0, and even after giving up 25 unanswered points, they clawed their way back into the game, scoring the game-tying touchdown and 2-point conversion with 2 seconds left. In overtime, needing a field goal to tie and a touchdown to win, they were faced with a 4th and 20 deep in their own territory and somehow converted. They extended the game with a field goal, but the Raiders did their thing to win the game with a field goal as time expired. It was a fun, back and forth affair, but the Raiders should have won this won a lot easier. That being said, they came out with a win to get to 3-0, and they did it in style. QB Derek Carr continued his insane play, throwing for 386 yards to extend his league lead as well as 2 touchdowns. Vegas is a real threat in the AFC West right now, but for some reason, I still have my doubts with the longevity of that. More on that tomorrow.
Rams 34-24 Buccaneers 
The Game of the Week/Year didn’t exactly live up to the hype, but the quality of football on display at SoFi on Sunday was sensational. From start to finish, this was a complete masterpiece by the Rams. HC Sean McVay had an outstanding gameplan, and his team executed it to perfection. While the first half was close, LA got a late touchdown to go into halftime up 7, and then came out of the locker room blazing with a long touchdown pass from Matt Stafford to Desean Jackson to assert their dominance in the game. It was another stellar performance from Stafford, who threw for a massive 343 yards and 4 touchdowns. 2 of those scores went to Cooper Kupp, who has emerged as the WR1 on this team and a truly lethal threat. Kupp had 96 yards on 9 catches in addition to the 2 touchdowns. The Rams defense also did their job to make sure the game never got to be too close, although Tampa had themselves quite the day on offense as well. They had 446 offense, 39 more than LA, with 432 of those yards coming from Tom Brady’s arm. However, it was the Bucs’ inability to run the football that would be their downfall. This team is plenty good enough to win games throwing the football, as they demonstrated on opening night, but against a team as stacked as the Rams, it’s a futile effort. I have no doubt that the Bucs will bounce back, but for now, they have been knocked off the mantle. The NFL’s new team to beat resides in the City of Angels.
Vikings 30-17 Seahawks 
This game amplified exactly what I thought about both of these teams: the Seahawks are not as good as we thought, and the Vikings are much better than their record would suggest. I’ll start with the winning team. It was a very easy but very strong day at the office for Minnesota’s offense, as they had whatever they wanted on the ground and through the air, even without Dalvin Cook in the lineup. Kirk Cousins had another great game with 323 yards and 3 touchdowns on 79% passing. WR Justin Jefferson continued his star play with 118 yards and a touchdown on 9 catches. And in Cook’s stead, backup RB Alexander Mattison was surprisingly awesome with 112 yards on 26 carries. The Seattle defense was just as porous as ever, and it did their offense no favors whatsoever. It wasn’t the worst day for the Seahawks on that side of the ball, but they simply didn’t do enough to win. The 17 points on the scoreboard should tell the story there. I just don’t know if Seattle has what it takes to overcome their shortcomings. Meanwhile, Minnesota is a lot better than I thought, and I already thought they were good. If Kirk Cousins can continue to play mistake-free football and this offense stays healthy, they will be very competitive, and they could find themselves winning a good amount of games this year.
Packers 30-28 49ers 
Aaron Rodgers is back. Drop all the storylines. End all the conspiracy theories. The Bad Man is back and ready to take names. I really thought the 49ers defense had what it took to keep this man in check, and I was very, very wrong. The Packers jumped out to an early 17-0 lead on the back of incredible throw after throw from #12. For the entire first half, the entire Green Bay offense was seemingly unstoppable. The second half, on the other hand, was a different story. The Niners defense actually did make a few stops to put their offense in a position to score points, and they did just that. It wasn’t the prettiest game from Jimmy Garoppolo, but the San Francisco QB did what he had to do, and with just a couple minutes left, he found his team down by 6. Jimmy led the 49ers on an impressive drive right down the field that included several key 3rd down conversions, and was capped by a 12 yard catch and run by FB Kyle Juszczyk to take a 1-point lead with just 37 seconds left. Fans all over the Bay Area were going crazy ready to celebrate their team being 3-0. Little did they remember that any amount of time on the clock is too much time left for Aaron Rodgers to do his thing. With zero timeouts and those 37 seconds left to play, it took just two plays, two throws from Rodgers to Davante Adams, to get the Packers in fringe field goal range. For some reason, the 49ers didn’t feel like covering the most lethal WR in football, and it set up Green Bay perfectly. Masno Crosby lined up to kick the game-winner and nailed it from 51 yards out to complete the upset. It was vintage Rodgers and a moment that the Packers needed not just for themselves, but to shut up all the narratives about them. Rodgers finished with 261 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, but the star of the show was Adams, who had 132 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches. It was awesome to see him make the big catches to set up the winning kick considering he got absolutely walloped on a hit earlier in the game that somehow wasn’t flagged. Ball truly never lies. The moral of this story is simple. It doesn’t matter how good you play for 59 minutes of football. You cannot give the Bad Man even a second.
Cowboys 41-21 Eagles 
Relax, Cowboys fans. The Eagles are as bad of a team as you’ll play all year long. Be lucky you face them twice. That being said, I really liked what I saw out of Dallas on Monday Night Football. Their offense played great against a terrible defense, that was more than predictable. Dak Prescott had another very good game, throwing for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dallas’ 2-headed monster on the ground delivered once again as well, as Ezekiel Elliott ran for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns and Tony Pollard added 60 yards on 11 totes of his own. But in my opinion, the story of this game, and this team, continues to be the defense. The Cowboys D has surprised me big time this season. This unit was just dreadful a year ago, but they look like a completely new unit so far in 2021. The stars of the show are the kids on the block: CB Trevon Diggs and LB Micah Parsons. Diggs has been lockdown so far this season, clamping Eagles WRs all night long and adding a pick 6 for the icing on the cake. And Parsons, the team’s first round pick, brings a whole new level of athleticism and dynamic playmaking ability to this defensive line. Maybe Dallas finally has the defense to match the offense. But, like I said, this is the Eagles, so I’ll try not to overreact. While Philly looks the part on the statsheet thanks to some late-game statpadding and catchup football, this team is just unwatchable on both sides of the football. Jalen Hurts is clearly not the answer at QB, and outside of WR, there isn’t a single position that this team has down right now. They might be in a sorrier state than they were last year. What a mess.
All stats taken from ESPN.
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