Chiefs, Falcons are last remaining unbeatens
The Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons might have the two best rosters in the National Football League. They are also the last unbeaten teams after a wild Week 3 took out a whopping eight teams that came into Sunday without a defeat.
Kansas City took care of business against the Los Angeles Chargers, riding 172 rushing yards from rookie phenom Kareem Hunt to win 24-10. Meanwhile, the Falcons were able to survive a last-second scare at Ford Field, beating the Detroit Lion 30-26 despite two Matt Ryan interceptions, including a pick-six.
While much can and will change throughout the campaign, it’s hard to see how both these teams won’t be factors late in January and perhaps into February. The Falcons are playing without outside linebacker and reigning sack master Vic Beasley Jr. due to a hamstring injury, and yet the Dirty Birds are riding high atop the NFC South.
As for the Chiefs, nobody has looked better to this point. Kansas City is leading the league in penalties and yet has won by double-digits over the New England Patriots and Chargers, along with a seven-point victory over the Philadelphia Eagles that included a garbage-time touchdown.
The Chiefs have a trio of playmakers in the aforementioned Hunt along with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. while Alex Smith is completing 77 percent of his throws with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. At this point in the year, it would be Smith and Hunt fighting over the NFL MVP award.
As for the teams that were knocked off their perches today, there were plenty of shocking results. The Oakland Raiders were thoroughly dominated in the nation’s capital, being laughably outgunned while giving up big plays and getting none of their own. The Redskins were tremendous in getting to 2-1, and now have the challenge of taking on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium come next Monday night.
In Buffalo, it was the Bills taking care of the Denver Broncos, who looked a bit lost in their 26-16 defeat. Denver watched as Trevor Siemian was intercepted on two occasions, helping to seal what was a very disappointing defeat. The Broncos struggled to move the ball throughout, and now are looking at a one-game deficit in the AFC West with the Raiders coming to town this week.
Finally, the worst loss of the weekend belong to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who somehow managed to lose 23-17 in overtime against the Chicago Bears. Pittsburgh gained just 282 yards of offense while playing lousy football, coughing up a pair of turnovers. The Steelers are bailed out by losses from the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, but it still hurts in the race for home-field advantage.
All told, three weeks into the season, it is the Chiefs and Falcons fastest out of the gate.
