The third week of the NFL season has turned into one of the wildest weeks of the year, and that's mostly because underdogs keep winning every game. Week 3 was filled with upsets and one of the biggest ones cam from the New York Giants, who beat the Browns as a 6.5-point underdog. Not to be outdone, the Broncos won as a 6-point underdog, and it's starting to feel like the 2024 season is turning into the year of the big underdog.
The Rams continued the trend of wins by big underdogs when they beat the 49ers 27-24 as a 6-point underdog. The Rams won the game despite trailing by two touchdowns in the second half.
Through the 4 p.m. games on Sunday, underdogs of six points or more are now 9-1-2 against the spread on the season and 7-5 straight-up.
Of course, you're not here to talk about underdogs, you're here for grades, so let's get to them.
Less than a month ago, the Titans gave up on Malik Willis by trading him to Green Bay, and on Sunday, he got his revenge. Willis put on a show, becoming the first Packers QB since 2010 to throw for at least 200 yards, rush for at least 50 yards while scoring a rushing TD and throwing a passing TD. Packers coach Matt LaFleur drew up a game-plan that utilized Willis' skill set, which is something they were never able to do in Tennessee. The Packers also got a dominant performance from a defense that forced three turnovers, including a pick six from Jaire Alexander. The defense also sacked Will Levis eight times, with two of those coming from Devonte Wyatt. If the defense keeps playing like this, the Packers will be able to beat anyone no matter who their starting quarterback is.
It turns out the Titans might have traded away the wrong quarterback. The QB they have (Will Levis) has been making back-breaking mistakes all season and that streak continued on Sunday when he had three turnovers against the Packers, including a pick six. Levis, who was under siege all game, got no help from an offensive line that gave up eight sacks. To make things worse, the QB that the Titans traded away (Malik Wallis) diced up the Titans defense with 275 total yards and two touchdowns. Although most teams tend to improve as the season goes on, this team has somehow taken a step back in every game it has played this year.
The Bears had plenty of chances to take control of this game, but the offense threw those chances away. The biggest problem for the Bears is that Caleb Williams continues to struggle. Although he threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, he also had three turnovers, including two in the second half. The Bears also failed to score any points on a drive that ended with Chicago getting stopped on three straight plays inside of Indy's 2-yard line. Williams did have a great fourth quarter (14 of 18 for 122 yards and two touchdowns), but the Bears were down by double digits by the time he figured things out. If the Bears offense can piece things together for an entire game, Chicago might be able to pull off a few unexpected wins this year.
It looks like Jonathan Taylor might actually be back. The Colts offense is at its best when Taylor is running well and he was running well on Sunday. For the second time in three weeks, Taylor went over 100 yards, gashing up the Bears for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor had to be good because Anthony Richardson was way too streaky to carry the Colts offense. Although the QB made some big plays, he threw two interceptions, including an disastrous one that came in the end zone. He also completed just 50% of his passes. As long as Taylor is running like his, the Colts can win games, but Richardson's accuracy is going to have to improve if the Colts want to compete for the AFC South title.
C.J. Stroud threw an interception on his second pass of the game and things only got worse from there for the Texans. The second-year QB just couldn't figure out how to attack Minnesota's defense and because of that, the Texans offense struggled for most of the day. The Texans defense was just as bad and that's how you end up with a 27-point loss. The Texans better hope this loss was a hiccup and not a sign of things to come for the rest of the season.
This was a defensive masterpiece by Brian Flores. The Vikings defensive coordinator came up with a game plan that absolutely confused C.J. Stroud. The Texans QB looked lost for most nearly all four quarters on a day where he threw two interceptions. He also got sacked four times, with three of those coming from former teammate Jonathan Greenard. Thanks to Flores, the Vikings are giving up just 10 points per game this season. The defense was so good that it overshadowed an efficient performance from Sam Darnold, who threw four touchdown passes on just 17 completions. Aaron Jones (102 rushing yards) also helped carry the offense. With the defense playing so well and Darnold looking rejuvenated, the Vikings look like one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC.
After getting embarrassed to end things on Monday night, the Eagles defense bounced back with one of the most impressive performances by any team this season. The Eagles held the high-powered Saints offense to just 219 yards while also coming up with two huge plays in the fourth quarter. One came on a fourth-down stop early in the quarter and the other one was a Reed Blankenship pick that iced the win. Offensively, the Eagles were carried by Saquon Barkely, who ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Dallas Goedert also had a monster game with 10 catches for 170 yards. It's a good thing the Eagles won, because the victory will take some serious heat off of both Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts. Sirianni made some questionable decisions and Hurts had two red zone turnovers, but winning solves everything in the NFL, so their mistakes won't haunt them going forward.
It took three weeks, but the Saints offense finally came crashing back to earth. Derek Carr struggled against the Eagles' constant pressure, completing just 14 of 27 passes for 142 yards. The Saints defense forced two turnovers and the special teams even blocked a punt, but the offense wasn't able to capitalize on any of that. Although the defense forced two turnovers, it also got steamrolled by an Eagles offense that piled up 460 yards. The Saints got bullied in this game and it's now worth wondering if this is the Saints we're going to see moving forward.
It's hard to grade the Chargers for this game, because Justin Herbert left with an injury in the third quarter, and at that point, things were all tied up. Once Herbert left, the Chargers fell completely apart on both offense and defense. Herbert or no Herbert, though, the Chargers offense absolutely sputtered during a second half where it totaled NEGATIVE YARDAGE. The -5 yards ended up being the third-lowest total by any team in the second half of a game over the past 20 years. If Herbert has to miss any time, the Chargers are going to be in trouble.
Justin Fields is definitely doing his best to permanently earn the Steelers' starting QB. Fields was on fire against the Chargers as he completed his first 10 passes on a day where he ended up completing 25 of 32 attempts for 245 yards and a touchdown (He also had a rushing touchdown). Of course, the Steelers have been winning games with their defense this year and this win was no different. The defense beat up on both Justin Herbert and Taylor Heinicke, who were sacked a combined five times. The Steelers also shut down a Chargers rushing attack that had the second-most rushing yards in the NFL heading into Week 3. If the Steelers keep playing like this, they might make it to their Week 9 bye without a loss.
Bo Nix finally picked up his first NFL win and he definitely earned it. The rookie QB came up with big play after big play on a day where he totaled 263 yards and a rushing touchdown. Nix completed 25 passes to nine different receivers. Of course, this win also happened because the Broncos defense terrorized Baker Mayfield. Dondrea Tillman had two of Denver's seven sacks. If the Broncos proved one thing on Sunday, it's that they're good enough to play with anyone.
With the Buccaneers sitting at 2-0 and Denver sitting at 0-2, it feels like the Bucs overlooked their opponent here, because they got punched early and never really responded. Baker Mayfield never really looked comfortable and that's because the Broncos defense spent most of the day camped out in Tampa Bay's backfield (Mayfield was sacked seven times). As bad as the Bucs were on offense, their defense was worse. This was just a disastrous day all around for a team that fell asleep at the wheel.
It appears the Giants might have hit a home run with the selection of Malik Nabers in the 2024 NFL Draft. The rookie receiver has been nearly unstoppable this season and that run continued in Cleveland on a day where he caught eight passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns. As good as Nabers was, this win wouldn't have happened without a huge day from a Giants defense that sacked Deshaun Watson eight times. The Browns had the ball three different times in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead and on all three possessions, the Giants came up with a huge stop (They forced a fumble and stopped the Browns twice on fourth down). This team could very easily be 2-1 and they just might be better than we think.
The Browns committed a comedy of errors in this game, but there's a good chance that no one in Cleveland is actually laughing. They had a missed field goal, a brutal fumble in the fourth quarter on a handoff from Deshaun Watson to Jerome Ford and the offensive line got completely overwhelmed by a Giants defense that sacked Watson eight times. Another problem for the Browns is that Watson still hasn't shown that he can be a franchise QB for this team and you have to wonder how many chances they're going to give him to prove that.
The Ravens almost choked away another double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but Lamar Jackson saved the day. Jackson used a 9-yard run to convert a third-and-6 with just over two minutes left to play to ice the game. It was fitting moment for the Ravens, who bulldozed through the Cowboys defense to the tune of 274 yards. Derrick Henry led the way by rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. As for Jackson, he totaled 269 yards and two touchdowns. The Ravens are now 15-1 in the John Harbaugh era when rushing for at least 250 yards and if they keep running like this, they're not going to lose very many games this year. This was a win that Baltimore had to have and although there are still some concerns when it comes to the Ravens -- like Justin Tucker, who missed another field goal -- this team is back on the right track.
The Cowboys almost pulled off a dramatic comeback with 19 points in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. The Cowboys defense dug a big hole and then Derrick Henry pushed them into the hole. The Cowboys simply had no answer for the Ravens running back. Dak Prescott threw for 379 yards, but he had under 200 heading into the fourth quarter. Brandon Aubrey was one of the few bright spots for Dallas. The Cowboys kicker hit the second-longest field goal in NFL history with a 65-yarder, but outside of him, this team didn't do very many things well on Sunday. It could be a long season for Dallas.
San Francisco almost never chokes away big leads, but that's exactly what happened in this game. The 49ers led 21-7 in the second half before the wheels fell off the wagon. The 49ers defense got diced up by Matthew Stafford, who threw for 110 of his 221 yards in the fourth quarter. They could have put this game out of reach in the fourth quarter, but Jake Moody missed a field goal and the offense failed to get a first down with just over a minute left to play. It was a shocking loss, especially when you consider that the 49ers had been 50-0 under Kyle Shanahan when leading by at least 14 points in the second half. JaJuan Jennings finished with 175 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches, an impressive effort that will not go to waste for a 49ers team that's suddenly in a three-way tie for last place in the NFC West.
The Rams looked to be left for dead in the fourth quarter, but Matthew Stafford brought them back to life to help L.A. pull off one of the most improbable wins of the day. Stafford didn't have Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp, but he still managed to throw for 110 yards in the fourth quarter to help lead the comeback. With the top two guys out, Tutu Atwell and Demarcus Robinson both came up huge in the fourth quarter. Kyren Williams was the Rams' biggest weapon with 116 total yards and three touchdowns. This was a huge win for a battered Rams team that might have just saved its season.
The Lions scored on their first two offensive possessions of the game and then they let their defense do the rest. Aidan Hutchinson led a unit that came up with big play after big play: Not only did Detroit hold Arizona to just one third-down conversion in the entire game -- the Cardinals went 1 of 9 -- but they also stopped Arizona twice on fourth down. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 188 rushing yards, which helped the Lions control the flow of the game. This wasn't a perfect day for the Lions, but they beat an upstart Cardinals team on the road, which still counts as impressive.
Kyler Murray threw a touchdown pass on Arizona's opening possession, but then the Cardinals offense completely disappeared after that. The Cards had two separate drives in the second half where they drove inside of Detroit's 40-yard line, but came away with zero points. One problem for Arizona was that no one besides Murray had any success running the ball. Murray led the team with 45 yards on the ground, but the rest of the team combined for just 32 yards. When the Cardinals are one-dimensional, they become very beatable and the Lions defense made them one-dimensional on Sunday.
Carolina's decision to bench Bryce Young and turn to Andy Dalton is looking pretty brilliant so far. With Young on the bench, Dalton carved up the Raiders by throwing for 319 yard and three touchdowns, making him the first QB in the NFL this year to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in a game (Young has never done that in his entire career). The biggest benefactor of Dalton's play was Diontae Johnson, who went off for 122 yards receiving and a touchdown. Defensively, the Panthers weren't forced to play from behind, which seemed to revive them. With Dalton under center, the Panthers are suddenly a more entertaining team and a team that could win a few games this year. Maybe the Panthers should have given him the starting QB job earlier.
The Raiders pulled off an upset over the Ravens last week, but they couldn't handle Andy Dalton this week. In their home opener, the Raiders didn't give the fans in Vegas much to cheer for. The defense got embarrassed by a Panthers offense that totaled 437 yards. It wasn't just the defense that struggled for the Raiders, though, they also had two failed fourth downs, a missed field goal and an interception by Gardner Minshew in the fourth quarter. Minshew struggled for most of the game before getting benched for Aidan O'Connell in the fourth quarter. This was a surprising loss for a team that had a chance to improve to 2-1, but instead, falls to 1-2.
The Dolphins offense runs like a well-oiled machined with Tua Tagovailoa, but without him, that machine looks broken. In their first game without Tua, the Dolphins offense was a disaster: Miami couldn't convert on third down (1-for-12), couldn't convert on fourth down (0-for-3) and couldn't protect either of its quarterbacks, who got sacked a total of six times. The Dolphins are a team that's built to win with their offense and if their offense isn't working, they're not going to win, and right now, it's not working.
When your quarterback throws two interceptions, you don't usually win by three touchdowns, but that's exactly what the Seahawks did thanks to an impressive defensive performance. The Seahawks racked up seven sacks with two of those coming from Derick Hall. The Seahawks sniffed out nearly everything the Dolphins tried to do on offense, holding Miami to just 205 yards. As for the offense, Zach Charbonnet put on a show with 91 yards and two touchdowns. Geno Smith also had solid passing numbers despite his two picks (He completed 76.5% of his passes for 289 yards). The Seahawks are a well-rounded team and based on how things have played out through three weeks, they feel like a team that could steal the NFC West this year.
The Chiefs offense usually comes up with the clutch plays for Kansas City, but on Sunday night, it was the defense that came up big. The defense came up with two huge fourth-down stops in the final four minutes to seal the win. That was on top of two sacks and an interception that the defense also recorded. When you have Patrick Mahomes and your defense only surrenders 17 points, you're pretty much guaranteed a win. The Chiefs are now 40-0 since the start of the 2018 season when holding their opponent to 17 points or less. If the defense keeps playing like this, a three-peat might be possible. Offensively, Mahomes seems to have a new favorite weapon in Rashee Rice, who caught 12 passes for 110 yards and a TD. He's now gone over 75 yards in all three games this year and it won't be long before opposing defenses start keying in on him.
The Falcons pulled off a improbable comeback in Week 2, but they were out of magic on Sunday night. This team played well enough to win, but if you want to beat the reigning champs, you have to make championship plays and that's what Atlanta couldn't do. The Falcons drove down inside Kanas City's 15-yard line twice in the final five minutes, but came away with zero points on those two drives that both ended with a fourth-down stop. The upside for the Falcons in this loss is that Kirk Cousins looks to have more chemistry with his receivers -- Darnell Mooney and Drake London both had at least six catches -- and the defense proved that it can go toe to toe with the NFL's best offenses. Despite the loss, the Falcons should be feeling confident as they head into a Week 4 showdown with the Saints.
The Patriots were expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year and after playing two surprisingly good games to start the season, the bad Patriots finally showed up. Playing behind a battered offensive line that was missing multiple starters, Jacoby Brissett never really had any time to throw and Rhamondre Stevenson never really had any room to run. If you can't throw the ball or run the ball, it's hard to win in the NFL. Brissett was sacked five times and Stevenson ran for just 23 yards on a night where New England only had 139 total yards. The Patriots defense also struggled, but that's what happens when your offense can't move the ball and you get stuck on the field for more than 40 minutes. The only silver lining for Patriots fans is that they finally got to see the debut of Drake Maye
It took three weeks, but Aaron Rodgers finally looked fully comfortable on the field and if we learned one thing from Thursday's game, it's that a fully comfortable Aaron Rodgers is a dangerous Aaron Rodgers. The Jets QB diced up the Patriots defense by completing 27 fo 35 passes to eight different receivers. Not only did Rodgers throw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, but he showed off his mobility with three runs for 18 yards. Rodgers was in total command of a Jets offense that piled up 400 yards, and if this is a sign of things to come, there's no reason this team can't compete for a playoff spot. Rodgers was so good that he overshadowed a nearly perfect performance by a Jets defense that totaled seven sacks -- with two of those coming from Will McDonald IV -- while also surrendering just 139 yards. This was a dominant win by a Jets team that suddenly feels dangerous