It’s hard to say that the Minnesota Vikings have the best coaching staff in the NFL. Andy Reid isn’t retired yet, after all.
But they are not far from it.
The Vikings are 3-0 this season, and what they’re doing is remarkable. They were expected to finish last in the NFC North, and they used the 10th draft pick on quarterback JJ McCarthy, who won’t play a snap this season. Without any contribution from their top-10 pick, the Vikings have won three straight games, including some quality wins. They beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, then pulled off a 34-7 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. Both teams will likely be division champions and Super Bowl contenders at the end of the season.
We’ll see where the Vikings go this season, and it will also be interesting to see what becomes of Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Flores’ defense is a big factor in the Vikings’ start. The 49ers had seven points in three quarters in Minnesota last week. The Texans were left without a chance in the first half. Houston finally got on the scoreboard with 3:56 left in the third quarter after Minnesota had already taken a 21-0 lead. The Vikings probably don’t have top-five talent on defense, but they play like a top-five team. That’s coaching.
If Flores were another defensive coordinator who achieved those results, he would be one of the top candidates to be the head coach next offseason. But we know it’s a little more complicated than that. Flores had a difficult time with the Miami Dolphins, including new criticism this year for his treatment of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit against the league will be an issue as teams consider possibly giving him an interview. Based on his work with the Vikings, it would be hard to deny Flores the opportunity. His success in Minnesota is undeniable.
The Texans struggled to develop a running game or explosive plays in the passing game. The latter isn’t usually a problem for CJ Stroud, who had one of his worst games as a pro. Minnesota plays fast and physical, with constant pressure and disciplined coverage. The Vikings confused Stroud and made him look hesitant, which was difficult.
Flores’ defense is doing its job and head coach Kevin O’Connell is getting the most out of his offense. Sam Darnold is playing better than he ever has in the NFL. It helps that he has Justin Jefferson as his starting guard. But he doesn’t have Jordan Addison or TJ Hockenson, who are out with injuries, and that hasn’t made a difference. Darnold was sidelined briefly on Sunday after injuring his knee, and when he returned to the game shortly after, he received a standing ovation. He deserves it after his performance in the first three games.
The Vikings are leading the NFC North very early in the season and have shown two weeks in a row that they can beat really good teams. In the NFL, coaching matters.
Here are the remaining winners and losers from the third week of the NFL season:
WINNER
Dallas Goedert: After a devastating loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, the Philadelphia Eagles would have expected a 1-2 start had they lost to a strong New Orleans Saints team in Week 3. And they entered the game without AJ Brown for the second game in a row.
Dallas Goedert was the Eagles’ surprise hero, catching 10 balls for 170 yards, both career highs, including a huge 61-yard gain on third-and-16 in the final two minutes that set up Saquon Barkley’s opening touchdown. The Eagles got an interception that secured the 15-12 victory.
Barkley scored two touchdowns, Jalen Hurts threw for 311 yards, the Eagles defense cooled down the heated Saints, but Goedert was the star of the win. The loss to the Falcons still hurts, but the 2-1 score isn’t so bad.
Matt LaFleur again: The Tennessee Titans gave up on Malik Willis less than a month ago, trading him to the Green Bay Packers for a seventh-round draft pick on August 27. No one batted an eyelid at the move, as Willis had not played well in his regular-season appearances.
That’s what made Sunday so sweet for Willis and so impressive for LaFleur. The Packers won their second straight game, with Willis replacing Jordan Love and helping beat his former team 30-14. While Willis played a calm, controlled game, Titans quarterback Will Levis once again threw his team out of the game, essentially gifting Jaire Alexander a pick-6 in the first half. Willis completed 13 of 19 passes for 202 yards and continues to look much better than he did with the Titans.
Love appears to be close to returning from a knee injury, perhaps as early as next week, and it’s notable that Green Bay is 2-0 without him. There are some coaches who are having great starts to the season, and LaFleur is definitely on the list of candidates for NFL Coach of the Year.
Bo Nix and Sean Payton: Payton hadn’t won a single game as head coach of the Denver Broncos in September, going 0-5 in his first two seasons with the team. Nix had a brutal first two games as an NFL quarterback.
Both were able to redeem themselves on Sunday. The Broncos’ defense played very well, Nix looked much more confident and Denver won 26-7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who looked very good with a 2-0 start to the season.
Baker Mayfield got off to a good start, but Denver kept him on edge all game. Denver allowed almost none of the big plays Tampa Bay had in the first two games. Nix seemed the more confident quarterback of the two, moving the ball forward more often than in his first two starts and making hardly any mistakes. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 216 yards and was sharp all game.
This was a good step forward for the Broncos and their rookie quarterback, and Payton can be sure that he will not lose another zero in September.
LOSER
Anthony Richardson and Caleb Williams: Towards the end of the third quarter of the Chicago Bears’ game against the Indianapolis Colts, the combined passer rating of the two young quarterbacks was below 100.
Both quarterbacks are considered promising prospects and highly drafted players, but have had slow starts this season. Richardson completed just 10 passes and threw two terrible interceptions, continuing his poor start to the season. Williams had a breakout 363 yards but also threw two interceptions. Richardson’s Colts were good enough to overcome Richardson’s bad day and win 21-16.
Williams’ third turnover effectively ended the Bears’ comeback chances. He was sacked in Bears territory in the fourth quarter by fellow rookie Laiatu Latu, also a first-round pick. Both quarterbacks have the talent to develop into very good quarterbacks, but Sunday and the start of this season were rough for them. At least Richardson was able to come away with a win.
Justin Herbert: Herbert said he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2, and that should have raised alarm bells. It’s a serious injury to have to play with, and it’s almost impossible not to have it affect your performance.
Herbert had to leave Sunday’s game early because his ankle sprain appeared to have worsened. He was replaced by Taylor Heinicke, who could do little to help the Pittsburgh Steelers pull away and win 20-10.
The Chargers are 2-1 this season, but there is cause for concern. Herbert won’t be healthy for a while, and if the Chargers keep letting him play, there’s a risk he could get back in the game. It won’t be an easy situation for coach Jim Harbaugh to handle.
Deshaun Watson and the Browns: The Cleveland Browns got off to a great start on Sunday. They recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and Watson hit Amari Cooper on the first play to make it 7-0. That was about it.
The Browns finished the first half with 41 yards of offense, including 24 yards on the first play. In the final minutes, they had a chance to win the game after New York missed a field goal, and Watson could have been the hero. But the Browns took a four-yard lead, Watson threw the last three downs, and the New York Giants won surprisingly 21-15.
The Browns should be better than 1-2, and the home loss to the Giants is tough to take. Watson wasn’t terrible on Sunday, but he wasn’t great either. And when he had a chance to redeem himself, the Browns didn’t move the ball at all.
