NFL Week 3 included some absolutely amazing action. Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins made a major statement in a win over the Buffalo Bills. However, Tua suffered some injuries in that game and is questionable to go for Week 4.
On the other end of the ledger, playoff contenders in that of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers put up stinkers in their respective losses. All the while, the Jacksonville Jaguars look to be the real deal. Remaining in the AFC, there’s certainly something up with Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Below, we look at the top-10 takeaways from NFL Week 3.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated power rankings after NFL Week 3
Philadelphia Eagles look like a well-oiled machine
For the first time since all the way back in 2016, the Eagles find themselves at 3-0. They pretty much dominated an overmatched Washington Commanders team on the road during NFL Week 3, taking a 24-0 lead into halftime. Jalen Hurts threw three touchdowns in the second quarter alone.
The defense had its way with Washington’s offense, sacking Carson Wentz a total of nine times. We’re talking about domination from the skill positions, the defensive secondary and in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
There’s a ton of optimism in Philadelphia right now. The Eagles are heads and shoulders above their NFC East counterparts. Hurts is playing stellar football. The defense continues to do its thing. How good is it? Hurts was receiving “MVP” chants at FedEx Field in Maryland after the game. That’s insane.
Related: Ranking the top-20 defenses after NFL Week 3
The New England Patriots are a hot mess
New England has a losing record through three games for the second consecutive season. Prior to that, this had happened just once over the past decade. We know very well the post Tom Brady era has not gone too swimmingly. But this iteration of Bill Belichick’s squad looks lost without any real sense of direction.
Following New England’s ugly 37-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in NFL Week 3, the team ranks 25th in scoring and in the bottom 11 in points allowed. Second-year quarterback Mac Jones suffered a pretty significant high-ankle sprain and will likely be lost for some time. If that weren’t enough, New England has a road date with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Packers next week before facing improved Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns clubs. This could spiral out of control in relatively short order.
Related: Ranking the top-20 offenses after NFL Week 3
Competitive Detroit Lions can’t close the deal
Detroit held a 24-21 lead late in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday as it attempted to go 2-1 for the first time since 2017. The Lions had the Vikings right where they wanted them. Jared Goff and the offense was facing a fourth-and-four from Minnesota’s 36-yard-line. Detroit had gone for it on fourth down six times earlier in the game. Instead, Campbell opted to kick a 54-yard field goal. Kicker Austin Seibert missed his second field goal of the game, giving Minnesota prime field position.
“I frickin regret my decision there at the end. I should have gone for it on fourth down. I told the team that,” Dan Campbell said after the game.
Kirk Cousins ultimately led Minnesota down the field 55 yards on three plays, culminating in a game-winning 28-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn. Up 14-0 early in the first quarter, Detroit looked primed for his second consecutive win. It just couldn’t get over that final hump. It stings. But the competitive nature of Campbell’s Lions has to be seen as one of the top takeaways from NFL Week 3.
Something up with the Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders’ inability to come out and play at a high level impacted this team big time under first-year head coach Josh McDaniels in NFL Week 3. Vegas gave up a whopping three first-half touchdowns to the Tennessee Titans, falling down 24-10 at the half. While Derek Carr and Co. would make the game close at the end, it was not enough in a 24-22 loss.
Now at 0-3 on the campaign, McDaniels held a closed-door meeting with owner Mark Davis after Sunday’s loss. We have no idea what the meeting was about. But it can’t be seen as a good thing for the head coach in his first season with the Raiders. It also has Vegas as the only winless team in the NFL and facing a major uphill climb.
“Not the end of the world, but at the same time, there’s an urgency. It’s not like we’re in OTAs and, ‘we’ll get it right eventually.’ We have to get it right now. So, whenever coach gives us our corrections tomorrow, you go in with thick skin and take it and then do better.”
Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr after NFL Week 3 loss
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The Miami Dolphins are the real deal
The backdrop to Miami’s thrilling Week 3 win over the Buffalo Bills was the head injury quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered and the protocols that led to him returning to the game. We can also focus on the decision Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie made to stay in bounds and let the clock run out at the end of the matchup.
What we do know is that Miami now finds itself with the best record in the NFL at 3-0. It disposed of a Bills team that remains odds-on Super Bowl favorites after Buffalo dominated each of its first two opponents. While Tua was not as good as he was during an historical Week 2 outing, he’s been on fire to start the 2022 campaign.
- Tua Tagovailoa stats (2022): 72% completion, 925 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 117.8 QB rating
After Buffalo scored 14 points in the first half, its offense was held to a single field goal through the final two quarters. That included Miami’s bend, but not break defense forcing a turnover on downs with the team up 21-17 after Buffalo had driven down the field 73 yards on 17 plays. This team looks absolutely legit on both sides of the ball heading into Thursday night’s road date with the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Season-saving win for the Indianapolis Colts
NFL Week 3 was not exactly pretty for Frank Reich and the Indianapolis Colts. Matt Ryan was sacked another five times and has gone down and has gone down 12 times in three games. Without a consistent passing attack, star running back Jonathan Taylor averaged a mere 3.4 yards per rush.
With all of that as a backdrop, Indianapolis pulled off the most-surprising win over the week with a hard-fought 20-17 win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Primarily, the Colts’ ability to make Kansas City’s offense one dimensional was key here. Mahomes led the Chiefs with 26 rushing yards. It enabled DeForest Buckner and Yannick Ngakoue to do their thing in pressuring the quarterback. On offense, Ryan played his first mistake-free game in the horseshoe with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“This is a big win, but it’s one game. We’ve got another big one next week, so we’ve got to put this one behind us.”
Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich after Sunday’s win
Indeed, a loss here would’ve sent Indianapolis to 0-3 on the season. Only six teams since 1979 have earned a playoff spot after starting 0-3. Now with their first win under their belt, the Colts must face off against the division-rival Tennessee Titans in Week 4. The winner will be competing for the division title while the loser will find itself at 1-3 and in a major hole.
Related: Trevor Lawrence and the top QBs after NFL Week 3
Jacksonville Jaguars statement win
Jacksonville is in the midst of its first actual winning streak since about midway through th 2019 season after a shocking blowout road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in NFL Week 3. It was complete and utter domination in every aspect of the game. That included Trevor Lawrence vastly outplaying Justin Herbert in the 38-10 win.
“I think it’s how we finished this game. The offense went down and scored when we had to at the end, and the defense stopped them at the end. That’s something that, I think, hasn’t been the case here.”
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson after blowout Week 3 win
Lawrence completed 28-of-39 passes for 262 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. It’s just the continuation to what has been a stellar start to his sophomore campaign.
- Trevor Lawrence stats (2022): 69% completion, 772 passing yards, 6 TD, 1 INT, 103.1 QB rating
Defensively, Jacksonville held court against an injury-ravaged Chargers offense. That included rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd continuing to play at a high level. This unit also held high-priced Chargers receiver Mike Williams to one catch on six targets. Things are coming together in Duval with a potential statement game coming up against Pederson’s former Philadelphia Eagles team next week.
San Francisco 49ers offense can’t get out of its own way
One of the biggest takeaways from NFL Week 3 was San Francisco’s ugly 11-10 loss to the Denver Broncos on “Sunday Night Football.” Primarily, the offense was completely inept with Jimmy Garoppolo getting his first start of the season. Garoppolo accounted for two turnovers (fumble, interception) and took a sack in what was one of the most hilariously bad plays of the season.
All said, San Francisco scored 10 points in the game. It racked up 81 yards in the second half with three turnovers. Head coach Kyle Shanahan abandoned the run despite the 49ers leading Denver for a vast majority of the game.
Meanwhile, star left tackle Trent Williams suffered a high-ankle sprain and will miss at least four weeks of action. Now at 1-2 on the season, San Francisco looks to be in trouble heading into a Week 4 outing against the defending champion Los Angeles Rams. And in reality, the team only has itself to blame for this.
Related: Super Bowl and playoff predictions following NFL Week 3
Injuries impact the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Tom Brady continues to show frustration
Despite heading into NFL Week 3 with a perfect 2-0 record, it has been a real struggle for Brady and the Buccaneers’ offense. Without wide receivers Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Julio Jones for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, that continued. Tampa Bay put up 285 total yards in a 14-12 loss to Aaron Rodgers and Co.
“Yeah, [it’s] just execution. We’re not on the same page. We’ve got to get on the same page there and we’ve definitely got to get better at it if we want to win more games.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles on Week 3 loss
The Buccaneers went 2-for-11 on third downs. Brady himself struggled to get any help from the Buccaneers rushing attack despite completing 31-of-42 passes for 271 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. Tampa Bay now has to deal with a potential change to its Week 4 outing against the Kansas City Chiefs due to the potential landfall of Hurricane Ian.
Dallas Cowboys find a way without Dak Prescott
Dallas was 0-1 after an ugly Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It had lost star quarterback Dak Prescott to injury for multiple weeks. Star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was struggling big time. It seemed that this team was in the initial stages of a lost season with Cooper Rush taking over under center.
Then, Dallas shocked the masses by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals at home in Week 2. Seen as road underdogs against the New York Giants on Monday night, Dallas found itself down 13-6 in the second half. That’s when Rush led the Cowboys on three consecutive scoring drives while completing a combined 13-of-15 passes en route to taking control of the game. It was a game-changing moment in Jersey, one that could end up saving the Cowboys’ season altogether.