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Good morning. Sam Darnold and Justin Fields are 3-0, while Andy Dalton looks like an All-Pro and the indispensable Deshaun Watson — who makes nearly triple the amount of all three combined and has a dead cap hit of $172.7 million next year — is arguably the worst quarterback in the league. Wow.
Today:
- Week 3: Promoted/Relegated
- Kevin O’Connell’s contract
- Statistics of the week
- Today’s doubleheader
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After Week 3, we finally have enough information to confirm previous assumptions. Either “they are who we thought they were,” as Dennis Green once said, or – like Bo Nix and the Broncos, who previously won 2-0 against the Buccaneers – we’re in for a major upset.
Yes, the Bears need a new offensive coordinator. No, the Saints are not unstoppable. The stock market report after week 3:
Climbers of the third week 📈
Sam Darnold and the 3-0 Vikings. Minnesota entered the game as a 1.5-point underdog against the Texans, but finished with a clear 34-7 victory and legitimate contender status. Darnold threw four touchdown passes and returned from injury with MVP accolades. Brian Flores’ dominant, blitz-heavy defense accounted for CJ Stroud’s first two interceptions of the season. They face another test next week in Green Bay (2-1).
Pittsburgh and Seattle are also 3-0. The Steelers defense limited the 2-1 Chargers to minus five yards in the entire second half and allowed just 8.7 points per game (leads the league), but Justin Fields’ accuracy made the difference in a 20-10 win. Next week: the 1-2 Colts.
I’m less convinced about the Seahawks. They lead the league in defensive EPA per game, but they beat the Broncos (barely) 26-20 in Bo Nix’s debut, then beat the Patriots (barely) 23-20 in overtime before beating the Skylar Thompson-led Dolphins 24-3. Geno Smith and the offense struggled yesterday. Next week: the 2-1 Lions.
Malik Nabers. The Giants’ first-round pick became the first player to reach 20 catches (actually 23) and three touchdowns in just three games of his career. He caught eight for 78 yards and two touchdowns in yesterday’s 21-15 win over Cleveland (1-2). (Great discussion of Nabers in the Week 3 recap on “The Athletic Football Show” after an hour.) Unfortunately for Giants fans, Nabers might be good enough to save Daniel Jones’ career. Just look:
Sean McVay and Matthew StaffordDespite losing Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and a number of other starters and trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter, the duo somehow got the Rams in a position to kick a winning 37-yard field goal with five seconds left in regulation. With the 27-24 win over the 49ers, the 1-2 Rams completed what Jourdan Rodrigue said was their biggest second-half comeback since 2006.
Relegated teams of the third week 📉
Two NFC favorites. After two consecutive losses, the 49ers and the Cowboys are both 1-2.
49ers:
- Although Brock Purdy — who completed 21 of 29 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns — played well, San Francisco desperately needs Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle back. Health aside, as Marcus Thompson II writes, this team needs to get its act together.
Cowboys:
- Dallas can’t stop its previously vaunted defense, allowing 274 yards to the Ravens this week after the Saints gained 190. Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were frustrated during (and after) a 28-6 comeback attempt in the fourth quarter that failed and ended 28-25. HC Mike McCarthy called the team a “work in progress.” Jon Machota has more insight here.
Two former 2-0 teams. The once unstoppable Saints are now a more reasonable 2-1 after their offense struggled in a 15-12 loss to the Eagles. The Chiefs are now 3-0, but as Zak Keefer notes in his Week 3 insights, they won by a total of 13 points and escaped yesterday’s 22-17 victory over the 1-2 Falcons thanks to their defense (and again pass interference).
Will Levis, although his memes continue to trend upward. In Week 1, it was the surrender Cobra after a pick-six. Week 2, the falling fumble. Whatever that was, we saw it this week as the Titans fell to 0-3. Levis leads the league with eight turnovers in three games and was defeated by his former backup, Malik Willis, and the Packers, 30-14.
Chicago’s offense. We’re only three weeks in, but it’s fair to ask if Caleb Williams’ development is in the right hands. He had his best game yet with 363 passing yards and two touchdowns, but OC Shane Waldron had some awful plays, including a speed option on fourth-and-1 that lost 12 yards. How do you think that’s going to work behind that offensive line?
They lost twelve yards on a fourth and one. Speaking of the importance of coaches, now to Dianna:
What Dianna hears: They trust O’Connell – just ask the opposing coaches
The Vikings’ rise comes a year after they remained in the playoff race despite switching between three different starting quarterbacks – including Joshua Dobbs, who was signed midseason – following Kirk Cousins’ Achilles tendon tear.
That’s why Kevin O’Connell is the early favorite for Coach of the Year, even though teams throughout the NFL often struggle to develop quarterbacks. As one opposing defensive coach put it to me, “I would trust Kevin O’Connell more than anyone else in our league to get the most out of his quarterback.”
That’s also why Vikings ownership needs to show him some love sooner rather than later. O’Connell’s current contract expires after the 2025 season, so there’s still time. But keep in mind that the Dolphins wanted to sign Mike McDaniel, whose original contract also ran through 2025, before this season, while the Vikings decided to wait.
Back to you, Jacob.
Three insightful statistics for week 3
A picture is worth a thousand words, and statistics tell the whole story. Here are three for Week 3:
11 catches, 175 yards and three touchdowns for Jauan Jennings. With all the injuries in San Francisco, we expected a monster game from Brandon Aiyuk. Instead, according to Matt Barrows, Jennings had the best game by a 49ers receiver since Jerry Rice in 1995. His 276 receiving yards are the third-best this season, just ahead of Justin Jefferson’s 273.
319 passing yards, three touchdowns for Andy Dalton. The 36-year-old was outstanding in Carolina’s 36-22 road win over the Raiders. As Mike Sando notes in his Pick Six column, “Bryce Young’s performance through two games was so poor that ownership had to intervene to keep him on the roster.” Now it would probably take even more drastic measures to get Young back on the team, because Dave Canales clearly made the right decision. Next up: Dalton’s revenge game against the 0-2 Bengals.
D’Andre Swift ranks 154th with 1.8 YPC. After signing a three-year, $24 million contract in Chicago, Swift totaled 20 yards on 13 carries in his last performance. His longest run was four yards. Last week, Kevin Fishbain examined why a team desperately trying to establish the run…can’t.
Tonight’s doubleheader: Jags-Bills, Commanders-Bengals
Tonight is our first Monday doubleheader of the year, with the following schedule:
7:30 p.m. ET: Jaguars at Bills (ESPN): Jacksonville is 0-2 and has lost close games to Miami and Cleveland, while Buffalo is a 5.5-point favorite at 2-0, according to BetMGM. Expect it to be closer than expected. Find out who’s looking for a team in the Bills’ best-kept secret.
8:15 p.m. ET: Bengals Commanders (ABC): A duel between two quarterbacks whose paths to the NFL were incredibly similar: Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow were by no means among the top draft candidates until their surprising Heisman award after their transfer to LSU.
Before we go: Can someone explain to me why a quarterback who can still make throws like that wasn’t already a starter somewhere?
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The bounce 🏀 | The winding ⚾ | Full time ⚽ | Prime tires 🏁 | Until Saturday 🏈
(Photo: Ian Maule/Getty Images)
