So much happens during one singular week in the NFL. How could one possibly cover everything thing that goes on from the NFC East to the AFC West, from Thursday to Monday, from injury wire to biggest fantasy implications?
Verge tries to wrap up each game and blanket the important storylines in only four sentences, or four quarters. Week three is over, let’s get to it.
Thursday Night Football
Tennessee Titans 7 – Jacksonville Jaguars 20
The legend of Gardner Minshew grows every week. The Jags got their first win of the season and Minshew got the first win of his professional career as the rookie QB continued his impressive play for the injured Nick Foles.
As for Tennessee, they moved to 1-2 after their impressive week one victory against Cleveland. It might be early in the season, but is it time for the Titans to reconsider their situation at quarterback?
NFL Sunday
Detroit Lions 27 – Philadelphia Eagles 24
The Detroit Lions would be 3-0 if it wasn’t for the 4th quarter meltdown at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. Since week one, the Lions have beaten the Chargers and the Eagles, two teams who won playoff games last year.
Speaking of Philadelphia, they’ve suffered back to back losses after 7 dropped passes, 2 lost fumbles and 3 offensive pass interferences. The offensive personnel and special teams must do more to help out Carson Wentz, he is playing well too well for them to be 1-2.
Cincinnati Bengals 17 – Buffalo Bills 21
Starting 3-0 is an impressive feat, regardless of the competition. Yes, the combined record of the teams the Bills have played is 1-8 but Josh Allen has been fantastic.
Offensively, Buffalo doesn’t have the flashiest roster. However, they play solid defence and as long as Josh Allen continues playing at a high level, the wins should continue to pile up.
Miami Dolphins 6 – Dallas Cowboys 31
The Dolphins played their best half of football on the road against the Cowboys. It wasn’t nearly enough though as Dallas ran up the score in the second half against Rosen and Miami.
It wasn’t the most impressive win for Prescott, Elliot and company but they moved to 3-0 and created early separation in the NFC East. Kellen Moore could be the next young offensive coordinator scooped up for a head coaching job before you know it.
Denver Broncos 16 – Green Bay Packers 27
The Broncos continue to disappoint, moving to 0-3 and Joe Flacco struggled against the ever-improving Packers defence. It doesn’t appear to be Denver’s season, especially offensively.
Green Bay moved to 3-0 but there is a bit of an alarming trend growing, for the third straight week the Rodgers led offence couldn’t fully shut the door on their opponent. It hasn’t equated a loss for the Packers yet, but it definitely is something to keep an eye on.
Atlanta Falcons 24 – Indianapolis Colts 27
Jacoby Brisset was an OT loss on the road in LA away from being 3-0. That being said, 2-1 coming on the wings of Andrew Luck’s retirement is a great sign for the Colts and their new starting QB.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, Matt Ryan and co. are back to being an infuriating football team. The NFC South is there for the taking but Atlanta has to do much more in the way of consistency.
Baltimore Ravens 28 – Kansas City Chiefs 33
Baltimore and Lamar Jackson kept it close down the stretch but it wasn’t enough. The Ravens couldn’t climb out of the hole created by the high octane Chiefs offence.
Pat Mahomes put up 23 more points in the 2nd quarter, continuing his impressive performance in that quarter of play alone. Don’t be surprised if these two teams meet again in January.
Oakland Raiders 14 – Minnesota Vikings 34
The Vikings moved to 2-1 after a convincing victory over Oakland. Dalvin Cook has looked great and continues to be the focus of the Vikings offence, taking a lot of pressure off of Kirk Cousins.
The Raiders looked less than stellar in the road loss. Gruden, Carr and the rest of the team have a lot of work to do if they want to keep pace with the rest of the AFC.
New York Jets 14 – New England Patriots 30
The Patriots are 3-0. After going up 20-0 in the first half against the Jets, New England won quite easily and set New York on their way to 0-3.
As the Jets continue to look lost without Sam Darnold and other key players, the biggest news this week involving these teams is about the Patriots cut ties with Antonio Brown. It doesn’t seem like it affected New England too much on Sunday, but it could down the stretch.
Carolina Panthers 38 – Arizona Cardinals 20
Kyle Allen replaced Cam Newton to the tune of 4 touchdowns and a win over Arizona. Carolina needed this win in the worst way to keep pace with the rest of the struggling NFC South, thanks to Allen’s big day.
The Cardinals remains winless, and with Seattle coming to town next week, Kyler Murray might have to wait yet another week for his first professional win. The tank just might be on in Arizona.
New York Giants 32 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31
Giants fans got their wish in week 3, and Daniel Jones started for long-time veteran Eli Manning. Many thought it would be a rough go for the rookie, but the rookie looking like anything but.
Jones had a huge day and even led New York to their first win of the season after a late game-winning drive. The Giants now hold the same record as the eagles in the NFC East, holding off the tanks for now.
Houston Texans 27 – Los Angeles Chargers 20
The Texans have had one of the toughest opening season schedules throughout the NFL and would be 3-0 if it wasn’t for a brutal late-game loss to the Saints. With an improved offensive line and much healthier personnel overall, the Watson led Texans are in a good position.
The Chargers moved to 1-2. With the exclusions of Darwin James, Hunter Henry and Melvin Gordon, it’s hard to imagine LA’s season getting any easier without three of the Charger’s best players.
Pittsburgh Steelers 20 – San Francisco 49ers 24
Mason Rudolph struggled in his first career NFL start, but he and the Steelers defence did plenty to stay competitive against the young and still undefeated 49ers. San Francisco held on late and are 3-0 for the first time in the Kyle Shannahan/Jimmy Garoppolo era.
Pittsburgh moves to 0-3 which will be a steep hole to climb out of, even this early in the season. With Baltimore and Cleveland both losing this week, it will be fascinating to see if the Steelers can stay competitive in the AFC North.
New Orleans Saints 33 – Seattle Seahawks 27
The Saints are being asked to win for a few weeks without Drew Brees. Teddy Bridgewater may have won their most challenging game, a road contest in Seattle.
It’s quite difficult to make heads or tales of the Seahawks who now move to 2-1. First half play has been the Achilles heel for Seattle who scored 20 points in the 4th but only 7 points in the prior 3 quarters.
Los Angeles Rams 20 – Cleveland Browns 13
It was another offensively challenged game for the Cleveland Browns. Baker Mayfield and rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens have yet to figure out a rhythm for the offence, and losing their tight end David Njoku indefinitely will not help matters.
Cooper Kupp’s health has turned out to be even more important than previously imagined. If Todd Gurley can stay healthy as well, there will truly be no shortage of weapons for Jared Goff and Sean McVay.
Monday Night Football
Chicago Bears 31 – Washington Redskins 15
As the Green Bay Packers stay undefeated, and the Vikings and Lions continue to keep pace, it’s very important for the Chicago Bears to not fall back too far in the NFC North. They moved to 2-1 after easily defeating Washington.
QB Mitchell Trubisky played better than he had in previous weeks, but still nowhere close to his play last season where he made the Pro Bowl. The Redskins move to 0-3, starting the clock for when rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins will see the field for the first time.
