NFL Week 3: Observations and notes
While there are still 14 weeks to be played in this NFL season, it’s unlikely we’ll find another as crazy as the one just witnessed.
The upsets were early and often, headlined by the New York Jets pounding the Miami Dolphins, and the Pittsburgh Steelers being handled by the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Both of those games seemed like foregone conclusions heading into the opening kickoff, and yet the favorites ended up getting on the plane home with tail tucked firmly between legs.
Speaking of plane trips, the Baltimore Ravens are going to feel like the flight from London to Baltimore takes a few years. The Ravens went into Wembley Stadium hoping to get to 3-0 on the season against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, and instead got destroyed to the tune of a 44-7 score. You know the game was bad when the opposing team had more points (44) than your starting quarterback had passing yards (28). If Joe Flacco wasn’t signed to one of the most unfriendly-team deals in history, the Ravens would be benching him or damn close to it.
The Cincinnati Bengals almost pulled off a shocker of their own in Wisconsin, leading the Green Bay Packers 21-7 after William Jackson III picked off Aaron Rodgers and took it back to the house. However, the Packers were able to tie the game in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter and eventually win it in overtime on a short Maos Crosby field goal. The loss leaves the Bengals desperate at 0-3, all but assured to be missing the playoffs for a second straight year.
As for the teams that took care of business, the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons remain the only two remaining undefeated squads. There’s a good argument to be made that both Kansas City and Atlanta have the best rosters in football, loaded with speed and talent on each side of the ball.
The Falcons and Chiefs were both able to win on the road Sunday, taking out the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers, respectively. Kansas City is being powered by rookie running back Kareem Hunt, who has rushed for a league-leading 401 yards through three weeks. In each game, Hunt has scored a touchdown of 50+ yards, showcasing immense playmaking ability.
Finally, what to make of the Oakland Raiders, who were thrashed by the Washington Redskins. Oakland was beaten 27-10 by Washington, which picked off Derek Carr on a pair of occasions. Carr and the Raiders only scored when the Redskins set them up with turnovers within their own red zone. If Oakland wants to be a real Super Bowl contender, the defense must do better than allow just shy of 500 total yards.
