Week 3 is in the books. The Bills continue to steamroll after their week 1 loss to Pittsburgh, whose fortune has rolled the other direction after a 24-10 divisional loss sinks them to 1-2.
Elsewhere in the AFC North, the Ravens won yet another nail-biting finish in Detroit as they look to establish consistency after their big Sunday Night Football win over Kansas City. The Matthew Stafford led Rams have rightfully taken their place atop the league’s power rankings after a dominant win over the Buccaneers, whose defense looks to be on the ropes after a few key injuries.
In terms of individual performances, Myles Garrett had himself a career day, logging a franchise record 4.5 sacks in the Browns’ 26-6 win over the Bears. League-wide competition is terrific as after just three weeks, there are merely five undefeated teams left. Early season losses to the leagues heavyweights have evened the playing field for the rest of the underdogs, setting up this season for drama worthy of a mid-day soap opera. It’s gonna be awesome.
Winner – 3/4 of the AFC West
The Raiders lead the AFC West. It feels weird to say, but they deserve it. Gruden’s squad has shown all the qualities needed to win consistently in the NFL. Derek Carr leads the league in passing by a wide margin, the defense looks much improved and the team has consistently shown grit after already pulling off a pair of tough overtime wins.
Unlike the similarly undefeated Broncos, Las Vegas has played a trio of strong teams in the Dolphins, Steelers and Ravens, making their perfect start even more impressive. There is an exciting energy around the team that is reminiscent of the 2016 group that went to the playoffs and had Derek Carr as a legitimate MVP candidate until his injury. Granted, it’s still early, but it certainly feels like there’s something going on in the desert that’s worth paying attention to.
Also at 3-0 are the Raiders bitter division rivals, the Denver Broncos. It’s a much different undefeated though, as the combined win percentage of their opponents is 0%. Yup, all three of Denver’s opponents have a cumulative record of 0-9. This is not to take anything away from the Mile-High men, as any win in the NFL is a good one, but taking on the Ravens this weekend will be a more accurate gauge of the team’s ability.
In third place are the Chargers, who look good but will need second-year-quarterback Justin Herbert to calm down a little bit as he tends to throw a turnover worthy ball. It feels weird to have the Chiefs listed as a loser, but here they sit at 1-2 and alone in the basement of their division.
Kansas City looked downright sloppy in their week 3 loss to the Chargers, with Mahomes throwing a pair of ugly interceptions on a disappointing four-turnover day. Sunday’s gaffs give Mahomes three picks on the year, an uncharacteristically high number for the young phenom who threw just six total last season.
Winner – Kupp/Stafford Connection
The Rams replacing Jared Goff with Matthew Stafford may go down as one of the best trades in NFL history. Up until this year, Goff and Stafford had played their careers in opposite situations. Stafford was the superstar QB stuck on a team doing nothing but treading water, while Goff was a mediocre player on an offense loaded with everything a quarterback could possibly want.
The trade gives Stafford – who played the first 12 years of his career under the question “what if…” – a chance to prove he truly is the Hall of Fame talent that Detroit thought they were drafting with the 1st overall pick back in 2009. Stafford has immediately developed great chemistry with Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, who currently leads the league in yards, catches and touchdowns.
Though Kupp has always been a talented receiver, he has eclipsed 1000 yards in just one of his four years in the league, but the surge of productivity following the Stafford signing looks like it could boost his career to new levels. This is the quarterback-receiver marriage that Sean McVay’s offense has needed from day one.
Ever since the team’s 2016 super bowl run, the offense has failed to click due to the limits of Jared Goff’s skillset. However, with Stafford under center, the creativity of the McVay offense is fully on display and that’s going to be a problem for all other 31 franchises.
Loser – Rookie Quarterbacks
Last week I singled out Zach Wilson, this week I’m gonna tackle the whole bunch of ‘em. Through three weeks, rookie QBs have a combined starting record of 1-10. Those aren’t franchise numbers. The singular win came at the hands of Mac Jones, who beat fellow rookie Zach Wilsons Jets by a secure score of 25-6.
Other than that win, rookie QBs have been getting hit, picked, beat and generally victimized through the first three weeks of the NFL season. Both quarterbacks tied for the league lead in interceptions (seven) are first year signal callers Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence. Last Sunday, the combined passer rating for the rookies was a sad 53.2.
Bears QB Justin Fields made his much anticipated debut against the Browns only to get sacked nine times, complete six passes, and put up six total points in a loss. The only early round QB who has not disappointed so far is 49ers QB Trey Lance, only because he hasn’t started a game yet. Granted, there have been flashes from Wilson, Lawrence, Lance and Jones, but fans are getting restless for a couple of good outings from the future franchise leaders.
Loser – New England Patriots
As a Patriots fan, this hurts to write. We currently sit at 1-2 and look worse than that. Our sole victory comes against a Jets team which looks to be picking 1st overall when the draft rolls around next year.
Defensively, we look slow and lack violence in the trenches to stop the run. In summation, this does not look like a Bill Belichick coached team. Rookie QB Mac Jones has looked average at best, and is not helped by a group of skill players who would be little more than role players on almost every other NFL team.
The offense does not have a single player who can be counted on in must-get situations. Both big-name tight ends brought in as free agents have been ineffective so far, with Jonnu Smith actually dropping a pass that led to a pick six. Next Sunday Tom Brady comes back to Gillette as a visitor for the first time and he will not show any mercy. If by some miracle we pull off an upset, be sure to see the Patriots in the winners column next week, but I don’t expect that game to be competitive past the 3rd quarter. For two decades, the Patriots escaped the cyclical nature of success in the NFL, but it looks like time has finally caught up.
Rebel Recap
- DK Metcalf: 6 catches, 107 yards, 1 touchdown (Seattle Seahawks 17, Minnesota Vikings 30)
- Elijah Moore: 3 catches, 22 yards (New York Jets 0, Denver Broncos 26)
- Dawson Knox: 4 catches, 49 yards, 1 touchdown (Buffalo Bills 43, Washington Football Team 21)
- AJ Brown suffered a minor injury
