Week 3 of the NFL season is nearly complete and we are finally starting to see who is about that action and who isn’t.
Obviously, the biggest game of the week will be tonight when Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, but as we wrap up this weekend’s slate of games we give you our main takeaways from a wild Week 3.
Bears vs Falcons
Well, the Falcons did it again. For the second straight week, they managed to give up a game in the fourth quarter where they were in complete control. The Dodo Birds choked against the Chicago Bears, arguably the most unimpressive undefeated team in the league. All it took was the benching of the imposter that is Mitch Trubisky at the start of the third quarter. Once backup Nick Foles gained a rhythm against the defense it was wraps. Foles threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and led the Bears to the comeback victory. The comeback was of course aided by Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense when they completely mismanaged the clock in the latter stages of the game. At the end of the day, Atlanta has proven they are softer than a Pillsbury crescent roll and fold easier than a Waffle House omelet at 2 AM.
Rams vs Bills
This matchup was one of the most intriguing showdowns of the day. The Bills completely Falconed this game up by surrendering a 28-3 lead against the Rams in a little more than a quarter of play. It’s like the Bills watched all of the Dodo Birds’ game film last week and were inspired to engineer a meltdown of their own. The Rams scored 29 unanswered points between the middle of the third quarter to the 4:30 mark in the fourth quarter. It took a game-winning 11-play touchdown drive from Josh Allen and the Bills offense to seal a 35-32 victory. Allen has quietly looked like one of the most improved quarterbacks in the game during the early parts of this season. On Sunday he threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns while also making defenders miss with his deceptive speed that only a QB who chose to play in the great state of Wyoming could have.
Bengals vs Eagles
This game is notable because it’s the first tie of the year, and we must point out that the Philadelphia Eagles still don’t have a win this season. This was mostly a back-and-forth game, with the Bengals’ first-overall pick Joe Burrow playing relatively well and the Eagles’ Carson Wentz once again delivering a pedestrian performance. In overtime, it became a battle of two 0-2 teams who both didn’t know if they wanted their first win or not. To Wentz’s credit he did have the game-tying scramble touchdown that put the game into overtime but his overall play yesterday looked more like a draft bust than like a former league MVP candidate. He threw for only 225 yards, had two picks and a passer rating of only 62.8. His play has been pretty dreadful all season and has left many calling for the Eagles’ second-round pick Jalen Hurts to get a chance.
Cowboys vs Seahawks
One of the most entertaining games of the day was played between the Cowboys and Seahawks. Seattle squeaked out a 38-31 thriller behind the arm of early MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson, who threw for 5 touchdowns and 315 yards on Sunday. He has thrown the most touchdown passes (14) through three games in NFL history (he would have had another had receiver D.J. Metcalf not pulled a Leon Lett and coasted after catching a perfectly-placed deep ball that Cowboys DB Trevon Diggs knocked out of his hand and out of the end zone for a touchback). Wilson is also the first quarterback to throw for 4-plus touchdowns in each of his team’s first three games. Outside of Ezekiel Elliot forgetting how to catch dump-off passes, the Cowboys actually didn’t play that poorly. You could say the secondary was atrocious, and it may have been, but you also have to look at how Wilson is torching every defense this season. Dak Prescott had a solid day with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 93.6. He did have two interceptions but his last one was with less than ten seconds left and was one of the last attempts to tie the game. Even at 1-2, the Cowboys are still tied for first place in the NFC East, many of us knew this division would be slaw going into this year but for the division to be this cheeks to start the season is disgraceful.
Packers vs Saints
The Packers showed us once again last night why they are one of the most impressive teams in the league to start the season. They go into New Orleans and find a way to carve out a win against a talented Saints crew. What makes the win even more impressive is that the Saints actually outgained the Packers in total yards, but Green Bay was able to make timely plays like forcing Swiss Army Butter Knife Taysom Hill to fumble at the start of the 4th quarter and Aaron Rodgers finding Robert Tonyan for a short touchdown pass after a defensive pass interference penalty put Green Bay on the goal line. Rodgers threw for three touchdowns on the day and had a passer rating of 124.9 in the win. He was helped out by the production of Allen Lazard — stepping up with No. 1 receiver Davante Adams nursing a hamstring injury — who had six catches for 146 yards and a touchdown and also by running back Aaron Jones who had another solid day on the ground averaging over four yards a carry. These cheeseheads are rolling right now and rightfully in the conversation as one of the best teams in the league after Week 3.
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