13 Thoughts from Sunday's Week 3 Games
70 points and more than 700 yards of offense for the Dolphins…what is there to say that hasn’t already been said. The combination of scheme and speed seems impossible to stop. We’ll see if the Bills can at least slow it down in Week 4.
Speaking of the Bills, all the panic from their Week 1 loss to the Jets seems to have subsided, at least for now. For two straight weeks, we’ve seen them play complementary football. The defense was the story in this one, forcing 5 turnovers. A showdown vs. Miami awaits.
For the 15th straight time, the Patriots beat the Jets. This was a must-win for the Patriots with a matchup against Dallas awaiting them next week. They delivered on the strength of a mistake free game from Mac Jones, and a dominating performance by the defense. Although, it’s hard to distinguish between how good they were and how bad the Jets were. Zach Wilson didn’t turn the ball over, but his lack of awareness, decisiveness, and ability to see the field led to too many negative plays. Forget Super Bowl, the Jets need to find an answer in the passing game if they want to even sniff the playoffs.
The nerds are already out there trying to justify Brandon Staley’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from his own 24 with the Chargers leading by 4, and a minute and 51 seconds left. It’s inexcusable and we’ve see this type of decision by Staley backfire before. He’s got a great young QB who’s lighting up defenses, but his defense and decision making continue to give away games. Luckily, the Chargers got out of this one alive.
Jordan Love was 0-for-6 in the 4th quarter in Green Bay’s loss to the Falcons last week. His numbers weren’t great in the 4th quarter of this one, but he did lead the Packers to a win after being down 17-0. There were a few Rodgers-esque throws on that final drive, weren’t there?
That Falcons’ passing game is just not good enough to make any team worry, despite the weapons they have. Quarterback Desmond Ridder is still indecisive and too slow to move through his progressions. That no doubt contributed to the 7 sacks allowed by the Falcons.
Say what you want about the Cardinals, but they’ve brought it every single week this season. Against the Cowboys, it finally led to a win. Arizona relentlessly attacked the Cowboys’ weakness on defense, rushing for 222 yards on 30 carries to pull off the shocking upset.
The Chiefs offense appeared to be back to normal in Week 3, while the Bears offense continues to be a disaster. Justin Fields threw for just 99 passing yards as Chicago’s nightmare start to the season continued.
The Texans are better than many give them credit for. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has that team playing hard each week, and C.J. Stroud looks the best of the young QBs thus far. Their upset win over the Jaguars is a sign that the AFC South isn’t just going through Jacksonville by default. It’s a wide-open division.
Just when you thought the Ravens were going to grab control of the AFC North, they lose a winnable game against an inferior team. That passing game still isn’t firing on all cylinders. And another 4th down decision by a head coach (John Harbaugh this time) fails to give his team the best chance to win.
The Browns defense is for real. That much was clear from their first two games, and their third game only reinforced it. Cleveland held Tennessee to 94 total yards. 94! If Deshaun Watson can just get his game together, as he appeared to on Sunday, they might just take this division.
The Seahawks played with great balance on offense, throwing for 279 yards and running for 146. As good as their passing game is, this is the ticket to more consistency and wins.
Kenny Pickett bounced back from two rough outings and played a clean game. Josh McDaniels’ decision to kick a field goal on 4th-and-4 from the Steelers’ 8-yard line with the Raiders down by 8 and just over 2 minutes remaining defies all logic. It doesn’t matter if that decision is made in the 2020 NFC Championship game, or Week 3 of the 2023 season, it’s not the right one.