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Sam Darnold, Andy Dalton, Josh Allen, and Jayden Daniels highlighted a chaotic week three filled with some big time quarterback performances, questionable play calling, 5 undefeated teams remaining and three winless teams left.
New York Jets 24, New England Patriots 3
It was a long time coming but finally Aaron Rodgers got his first home win at MetLife Stadium as a part of the New York Jets. Rodgers was in total control in a superb homecoming performance that kept the cheers and chants going from the excited New York Jets fans. And this time, he was able to walk off the field healthy, and a winner. The star quarterback threw two touchdown passes while New York’s defense was dominant and the Jets rolled to a 24-3 victory over the New England Patriots in their home opener Thursday night. Rodgers finished the night with 281 yards and two passing touchdowns, one a 10 yard pass to Allen Lazard and the other a two yard toss to Garrett Wilson. This win for the Jets ended an eight game home losing streak to the Patriots. New York had seven sacks on the night and forced one turnover as they dominated the Patriots offense all night wreaking havoc in the backfield constantly. The Jets finished the night winning the time of possession battle 40:04 to 19:56.
New York Giants 21, Cleveland Browns 15
Malik Nabers led the way for New York catching two touchdowns and leading the Giants to a 21-15 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Nabers became the youngest player to have two touchdown receptions on Sunday and was a reliable target for Daniel Jones as he caught anything that was thrown his way. Nabers would finish with 8 catches for 78 yards and those 2 scores. Jones and Nabers connected twice in the first half as the Giants built a 21-7 lead before holding on for dear life. Jones finished with 236 yards and 2 touchdowns and 20 yards on the ground. Despite losing three offensive linemen to injuries, Deshaun Watson rallied the Browns and Cleveland had three chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter. But the Giants recovered a fumble and stopped the Browns twice on downs. The Giants were hardly perfect. They fumbled the opening kickoff and fell behind 7-0 in the first 11 seconds, and newly signed kicker Greg Joseph missed a 48-yard field goal that could have helped ice the game. The Giants’ defensive front did its job, sacking Watson eight times as the Browns had their second poor performance at home in three weeks and had some major injuries piled up.
Green Bay Packers 30, Tennessee Titans 14
For the second consecutive week with no Jordan Love, the Packers and Malik Willis found a way to win as they blew out the Titans 30-14. Willis got revenge on his former team finishing his day with 202 yards and a touchdown passing, and another 73 yards and a score on the ground. However, the Packers gave Willis plenty of help on Sunday that also contributed to the win. Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander scored a touchdown on his first career pick six late in the first quarter, helping Green Bay lead 17-7 after 15 minutes and 20-7 at halftime. The Packers ultimately scored 20 straight points for a 27-7 advantage midway through the third, prompting a loud chant of “Go, Pack, Go!” The Packers had eight sacks, their most since getting eight at Chicago on Jan. 2, 2005. They also forced three turnovers. 7 different Packers caught a pass as Christian Watson led the way with 67 receiving yards on two catches. Will Levis continued to struggle for Tennessee, he did throw 2 touchdowns but extended his NFL leading eight turnovers in his first three games this season including throwing two pick sixes. Levis turned the ball over three times on Sunday, two picks and a fumble.
Indianapolis Colts 21, Chicago Bears 16
It wasn’t a pretty game for the Colts but three rushing touchdowns and a defense that was able to shut down Caleb Williams and the Bears offense led to a 21-16 victory. Jonathan Taylor finished the day with 110 yards and two scores. His final touchdown came with 1:21 left and sealed the Colts victory. Anthony Richardson struggled yet again finishing with only 167 yards passing and two interceptions but the Colts defense came up big limiting Chicago to just 63 yards rushing, forced three turnovers, sacked rookie Caleb Williams four times and made a crucial goal-line stand late in the first half. And even though Indy had only 15 first downs, Richardson and the Colts still did enough to win. Williams continues to have growing pains as he transitions to the NFL as the lethargic Bears offense continues to trudge along. Williams finished his day with 363 yards, two interceptions, a fumble, and his first two NFL touchdowns. His first went to fellow rookie Rome Odunze who finished the day with six catches for 112 yards and a score. Cole Kmet led the way for Bears receivers finishing with 10 catches for 97 yards and a score.
Minnesota Vikings 34, Houston Texans 7
Sam Darnold and the Vikings stayed undefeated on Sunday after dismantling the Texans 34-7. Darnold matched his career high with four touchdown passes, and the undefeated Vikings intercepted C.J. Stroud twice and sacked him four times in the win. The Vikings kept the Texans off balance all day with their aggressive and unpredictable scheme preventing the Texans from gaining any traction or momentum all day. Darnold would finish the game with 181 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, Jalen Nailor and Johnny Mundt all caught a touchdown in the win. Jones had a big game overall finishing with 102 yards rushing and five catches for 46 yards and a score through the air. The Texans felt the absence of Joe Mixon heavily as they were never able to get the running game going, finishing as a team with 38 yards on 14 carries. The Texans were clearly off-kilter with the crowd noise that fed off the pressure generated by defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his protegees, with six of seven first-half penalties coming prior to the snap. C.J. Stroud finished with 215 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The Vikings, who many predicted to finish last in the NFC North now head into a week four showdown against the Green Bay Packers sitting in first place.
Philadelphia Eagles 15, New Orleans Saints 12
Early in the 4th quarter the Eagles found themselves without A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, two key playmakers on the offense. Seeing this, Saquan Barkley put the Eagles on his back and scored two 4th quarter touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a win over the Saints. A week after dropping a key third down pass, Barkley ran for touchdowns of 65 and four yards to power Philadelphia to the win. Barkley’s shorter scoring run came with 1:01 left, one play after Dallas Goedert got free across the middle on third and 16 for a 61-yard catch and run that gave him a career-high 170 yards on 10 receptions. Barkley’s 147 yards rushing and clutch scoring runs brought him no small measure of redemption after his failure to make what could have been a game-sealing catch against the Falcons. Eagles safety Reed Blankenship sealed the victory by intercepting Derek Carr’s pass over the middle with 48 seconds left, capping a banner performance by Philadelphia’s defense against an offense that had scored an NFL-high 91 points during the regular season’s first two weeks under new coordinator Klint Kubiak. The Eagles looked the better team on both sides of the ball, out gaining New Orleans in total net yards, 460 to 219. But a number of curious decisions by Sirianni, along with some clutch plays by the Saints’ defense, kept the Eagles off the board for three quarters. Hurts finished with 311 yards passing and scrambled for 25 yards. But he also turned the ball over twice in the first half, intercepted by Tyrann Mathieu in the end zone and losing a fumble on a sack by Carl Granderson. Derek Carr finished with a measly 142 yards and one touchdown and one pick as the high powered Saints offense got a big slice of humble pie on Sunday.
Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Los Angeles Chargers 10
Justin Fields shined as he led the Steelers to a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Fields continued to play well while Russell Wilson was injured and avoided turnovers. Fields produced his most efficient performance yet in a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, throwing for a touchdown and running for another as the Steelers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2020. Pittsburgh’s defense limited the Chargers to 168 total yards and the offensive line manhandled Los Angeles late. Coming into the game J.K. Dobbins was the NFL’s leading rusher and was held to 44 yards on 15 carries. The Steelers have been forced to rely heavily on their defense because the offense struggled to produce much of anything with any sort of regularity. While there remains much work to be done, Fields threw his first pick of the season on an ill-advised pass into traffic in the third quarter that cut short a potential scoring drive, for example there is also a growing belief that Pittsburgh’s throwback approach could work in 2024. The Chargers are being built in much the same way under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. Los Angeles, however, couldn’t keep pace without Justin Herbert. The Chargers franchise quarterback began the day by starting despite a balky right ankle that limited his practice time during the week. He ended it with his right foot in a boot after being pulled late in the third quarter not long after being sacked by Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts. While Herbert completed 12 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown to Quentin Johnston, he could only watch from the sideline in the fourth quarter as backup Taylor Heinicke struggled to find time in the face of a pass rush that ended up with five sacks.
Denver Broncos 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7
Bo Nix got his first win on Sunday as a professional quarterback as Nix and kicker Wil Lutz led the Broncos to an upset win over the previously undefeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nix finished the game throwing for 216 yards while running for 47 more and a score, while also not throwing an interception after throwing four in the first two games of the season. Wil Lutz kicked field goals of 43, 38, 33 and 43 yards for Denver, which was facing the prospect of starting 0-3 for the second straight season under coach Sean Payton. Denver’s defense did its part in support of Nix, too, sacking Baker Mayfield seven times and intercepting the Bucs quarterback once to set up a first-quarter touchdown. The Broncos also turned away two Tampa Bay possessions in Denver territory in the fourth quarter, stopping one drive on downs and forcing a fumble on the other. The three-time defending NFC South champion Bucs, looking to start a season with three consecutive victories for the first time since 2005, were limited to 223 yards total offense. The loss was especially disappointing for them because it came on the heels of beating Detroit on the road the previous week. Mayfield finished the game with only 163 passing yards, one touchdown and a pick. Chris Godwin had another solid game hauling in six catches for 53 yards and a score. Godwin only had one touchdown all of last season and already has three the first three weeks of this season.
Carolina Panthers 36, Las Vegas Raiders 22
After benching Bryce Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton, the Panthers appeared to be going in the wrong direction. Then Sunday came and Dalton had a dominant game finishing with 319 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Panthers to a blowout 36-22 win over the Raiders. Dalton was supposed to be the veteran backup and mentor to Bryce Young, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick. Carolina, now 3-17 going back to last season, was outscored a combined 73-13 by the Saints and Chargers in the first two weeks. With the Panthers’ receivers making their frustration with Young obvious, coach Dave Canales said Dalton gave the team the best chance to win. Dalton resembled the quarterback who earned the nickname “Red Rifle” in his prime more than a 36-year-old who last started in week three of last season. Dalton has thrown for 1,027 yards and 10 TDs in four career starts against the Raiders. His first three-TD performance in two years lifted a Panthers offense that had scored a single field goal in its previous two road games. To go along with Dalton’s huge game, Chuba Hubbard rushed for 114 yards and caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Diontae Johnson had eight receptions for 122 yards and a TD. Gardner Minshew completed 18 of 28 passes for 214 yards with a touchdown and interception. The Las Vegas running game, which entered the game last in the league with a 49-yard average, totaled just 55 yards. Perhaps more alarming, the Raiders’ defense had no answers for Dalton, Hubbard or Johnson. Not having Maxx Crosby for every defensive snap for the first time this season after he hurt his ankle against the Ravens didn’t make matters any easier.
Seattle Seahawks 24, Miami Dolphins 3
Mike Macdonald in his year with the Seahawks already has them off to a 3-0 start and a lead atop the NFC West division. Meanwhile, in Miami there will again be questions about who will be under center as quarterback Skylar Thompson was injured in the blowout loss. Geno Smith led the way for Seattle finishing with 289 yards, a touchdown and two picks. That touchdown was a 71 yarder to D.K. Metcalf finished with four catches for 101 yards and a score. Zach Charbonnet, starting for the injured Kenneth Walker III, finished with 91 yards and two scores on the ground. A week after losing Tua Tagovailoa to the third concussion in the past two years, the Dolphins watched Skylar Thompson suffer a chest injury in the second half, leaving Tim Boyle to try to lead the charge back from a 17-3 deficit. Thompson had 107 yards passing before exiting. Seattle is the first team since the Steelers in 1979 to start 3-0 and hold each of those opponents to under 150 yards passing. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for seven catches for just 66 yards.
Baltimore Ravens 28, Dallas Cowboys 25
Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson ran all over the Dallas Cowboy defense as the Ravens went into Dallas and came out winners by the score of 28-25. The final score doesn’t indicate how much of a blowout this game was as Baltimore entering the 4th quarter led 28-6 and were averaging an absurd 9.0 yards per play. Henry finished the game with 151 yards and two touchdowns complimenting Lamar Jackson’s nice game who finished with 182 yards and a touchdown through the air and 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jackson put the game away with a nifty fake to start a 10-yard run as the Ravens finished with 274 yards rushing. It’s the most Dallas has allowed since twice giving up at least 294 with one of the worst defenses in franchise history in 2020. The Cowboys have allowed 120 points in their past three home games, including a 48-32 wild-card loss to Green Bay in January that ended Dallas’ 16-game winning streak at AT&T Stadium. Dallas lost consecutive home games in the same regular season for the first time since 2020, after Prescott’s gruesome, season-ending ankle injury in week five of a 6-10 season. Prescott finished the game with 379 yards and two touchdowns but much of those yards came in garbage time in the 4th quarter. Baltimore did a great job at limiting Ceedee Lamb, who was visibly frustrated multiple times during the game, he finished with four catches for 67 yards.
Los Angeles Rams 27, San Francisco 49ers 24
The Rams, who came in down their top two wide receivers, had gotten blown out the previous week and were starting who knows who at left tackle, took the field Sunday against a rival that has dominated them for a half-decade. The Rams then fell behind San Francisco by 14 points in the second half, and they still trailed by double digits midway through the fourth quarter. Then magic happened. Kyren Williams rushed four yards to score his third touchdown of the day with 1:51 remaining, and rookie kicker Joshua Karty hit a 37-yard field goal with two seconds left to complete the dramatic rally by Los Angeles, which outscored San Francisco 20-3 in the final 19 minutes. Williams caught a TD pass and rushed for two scores for the Rams, who avoided their first 0-3 start under Sean McVay in remarkable fashion. Stafford passed for 221 yards, and Tutu Atwell had four catches for 93 yards. Jauan Jennings set career highs with 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns for the 49ers, who blew a lead of at least 14 points for the first time since 2018. While the Rams have salvaged hope for their season, the defending NFC champions were left flustered, frustrated and under .500 for the first time since Brock Purdy became their starting quarterback in 2022. Brock Purdy was without George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey or Deebo Samuel but still managed to put up 297 yards and three touchdowns.
Detroit Lions 20, Arizona Cardinals 13
Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes and the Lions defense was able to corral the elusive Kyler Murray as the Lions were able to come away with the victory over the Arizona Cardinals 20-13. Goff would finish the day with 199 yards, two touchdowns and a pick, most of the offense coming in the first half before the Lions defense stepped up to slam the door on the Cardinals. David Montgomery had a solid game rushing for 105 yards and a score. Jahmyr Gibbs contributed 83 yards on the ground and 20 through the air with a score. His score came on a hook and lateral by wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown. Goff threw short to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who immediately lateraled to Gibbs, who dashed 20 yards for the touchdown. St. Brown led the way for Lions receivers tallying 7 catches for 75 yards and a score of his own. The Lions defense came alive in the second half as Aidan Hutchinson had another sack bringing his total to 6.5 for the season. On the day, the Lions held the Cardinals to just 277 total yards, forced a turnover and only allowed the Cardinals to get 17 first downs. Murray finished with only 205 yards, a touchdown and an interception passing and only had 45 yards on the ground. Marvin Harrison Jr was kept in check only having five catches for 64 yards and a score.
Kansas City Chiefs 22, Atlanta Falcons 17
Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice and a stout defense is what led Kansas City to another close win on Sunday Night football vs the Atlanta Falcons. Mahomes shook off an early interception to finish the game with 217 yards, two touchdowns and that one pick. Mahomes favorite target on the night was Rashee Rice. The second year wideout finished with 12 catches for 110 yards and a score, showing the ability to take a short catch and turn it into a massive gain. After Isiah Pacheco was placed on injured reserve (IR) at the beginning of the week for Kansas City after fracturing his fibula late in the game last week against the Bengals, the running game was in question for KC. However, undrafted rookie Carson Steele stepped up, finishing his first professional start with 72 yards on 17 carries while also catching a ball for two yards out of the backfield. On the night 8 different Kansas City Chiefs caught a pass from Mahomes. The Chiefs have been far from perfect, that’s for sure but their record has remained unblemished by a combined 13 points. Coming off an upset victory at Philadelphia, the Falcons had a couple of shots at the go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes. Kirk Cousins threw a pair of incompletions in the end zone from the Chiefs 6 after the Falcons passed up a shot at a field goal with just over four minutes remaining. Atlanta got the ball back, drove down the field with help from a couple of penalties, and had third-and-one at the Kansas City 13. Tyler Allgeier was stuffed for no gain and Bijan Robinson was thrown for a three yard loss by Nick Bolton on fourth down with less than a minute remaining. Cousins finished the game with 230 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Bijan Robinson was held in check all night finishing with 31 yards on 16 carries and a score. Drake London was the Falcons leading receiver as he finished with six catches for 67 yards and a score. For the third consecutive week Travis Kelce was a bit of a non factor within the Chiefs offense and will be interesting to see what becomes of it as the Chiefs head to LA next week to face the rival Chargers.
Buffalo Bills 47, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
Josh Allen threw for four touchdowns as the Bills steamrolled the Jaguars to open up the Monday Night Football doubleheader. Buffalo scored on seven of their eight possessions excluding the last one when they kneeled the game out. All four of Allen’s touchdown throws came in the first half as he was able to sit most of the second half due to the enormous lead. Allen finished with 263 yards and those four touchdowns through the air and added 44 yards on the ground. And he spread the wealth, completing touchdown passes to Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Ty Johnson. James Cook also had a score as he opened the scoring with a six yard run. Buffalo’s defense, meanwhile, limited the Jaguars to 70 yards, five first downs and a field goal in five first-half possessions. The game was essentially over when Allen completed a 16-yard TD pass to Johnson 19 seconds before halftime. The four-time defending AFC East champions are off to their first 3-0 start since 2020 and third since coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017. They have topped 30 points in each game. Jacksonville’s latest defeat comes after a week where they suffered an 18-13 loss to Cleveland. The Jaguars squandered leads of 14-0 and 17-7 in a season-opening loss at Miami. Lawrence finished with 178 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He’s lost eight straight starts dating to last season, and hasn’t won since he had 364 yards passing in a 24-21 victory at Houston on Nov. 26. More concerning is a Jaguars defense that couldn’t find a way to stop Allen. The Bills gained 288 yards, posted 19 first downs and converted 6-of-8 third-down chances and both fourth-down opportunities in the first half alone.
Washington Commanders 38, Cincinnati Bengals 33
What a coming out performance for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. He led the Commanders to a 38-33 upset win over the Bengals, commanding the offense to the tune of scoring on every possession during the game. Daniels finished his nearly flawless game 21 of 23 for 254 yards, two touchdowns and added 39 yards and a score on the ground. The number two overall draft pick set an NFL rookie record for completion percentage at 91.3%. Neither Washington nor Cincinnati punted or turned it over, the first time that’s happened in the Super Bowl era. Joe Burrow finished the game with 324 yards and three scores, but the Bengals simply couldn’t keep up. Cincinnati is off to its worst start since dropping its first 11 games on the way to a 2-14 finish in 2019. Jayden Daniels first career touchdown pass went to tackle Trent Scott, the second straight week the Bengals have allowed a touchdown to an offensive lineman, his second and third both went to Terry McClaurin the latter sealing the game on a beautiful ball thrown by Daniels from 25 yards to out to the back pylon where McClaurin made a sensational grab to seal the game with 2:10 remaining. McClaurin finished with four catches for 100 yards and the two touchdowns. Ja’Mar Chase was the leading receiver for Cincinnati, who will have to dig themselves out of a huge hole following the 0-3 start, he snagged 6 balls for 118 yards and two scores. Following week three the Commanders find themselves tied atop the NFC East with the Eagles (2-1) and the Bengals find themselves at the bottom of the AFC North (0-3) and one of three teams still yet to win a game this year.
Week four will kickoff with the Dallas Cowboys visiting New York to play the Giants on Thursday night football and will conclude with another Monday night football doubleheader featuring the Tennessee Titans at the Miami Dolphins and the Seattle Seahawks traveling to Detroit to play the Lions.
