Week three of the NFL season is in the books and with each passing Sunday the NFL picture becomes clearer. Some teams are beginning to separate themselves from the pack, while others are struggling to keep up. Every season always brings surprises and this season is no different. Who would’ve thought after three weeks the Jacksonville Jaguars would be 2-1 and spank the Chargers, or that the Raiders would be 0-3? It just goes to show that as much as we think we know will happen going into a season, we always get a few surprises. Here are some of the key takeaways from week three.
Dolphins Continue to Win:
The Miami Dolphins have impressed in back-to-back weeks. Last week the Dolphins went to Baltimore and out-gunned Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in a shootout. This past Sunday the Dolphins found a way to beat Buffalo, despite only running 39 plays to the Bills’ 90 and possessing the ball only 20 minutes. Buffalo has to be kicking themselves for losing this game. The Bills arguably outplayed the Dolphins, but struggled to get the ball in the end zone in the 4th quarter. Miami will have a quick turnaround as they will take on the Bengals Thursday night. The Dolphins will need more than 212 yards of offense to win on Thursday versus the Bengals if they want to move to 4-0
Lamar Jackson’s Gamble is Paying Off:
Lamar Jackson wanted the same type of contract structure as Deshaun Watson and if he continues to light up the NFL at this pace the Ravens should cut Jackson a blank check and let him fill in whatever amount he wants. Jackson threw four touchdown passes and ran for another run, as he went into Foxboro and took down the Patriots. Jackson has thrown for 10 TD passes and run for two more so far this season. Jackson leads the NFL in touchdown passes and is second in quarterback rating. If Lamar keeps up this pace he’ll be in line for another MVP and the largest payday in league history.
Packers Win Ugly:
It wasn’t pretty, but the Packers were able to hold on to a win as they beat Tom Brady and the Bucs. This was the second week in a row that the Bucs were held without a touchdown until the 4th quarter. Tom Brady needs his cast of receivers to get healthy or his un-retirement will not go as planned. Aaron Rodgers and the offense started off well, but after Aaron Jones fumbled with a chance to add on to their lead things won’t be the same. Both teams will need their offenses to get in better sync if each team wants to reach their end goal of winning a Super Bowl. A win is a win though and this game could possibly have tiebreaker implications for playoff seeding down the road.
The Jaguars Surprise Out West:
Jacksonville won their last two games by a combined score of 62-10. Doug Pederson has the Jaguars playing well and has proven how incompetent Urban Meyer was as the Jags head coach last season. Jacksonville dominated the Chargers and Trevor Lawrence outplayed a banged-up Justin Herbert. Lawrence completed 28-39 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns – looking like the prospect many people believed he would be when he entered the draft. This was a bad loss for the Chargers and they will need to get a win on the road versus the Texans next week. This roster has too much talent to start 1-3 and people will start to question their coach – Brandon Staley.
Quick takes:
- The Josh McDaniels era in Vegas couldn’t have started off any worse, as the Raiders are 0-3 and will face the Broncos on Sunday. The Raiders have lost each of their first 3 games by less than a touchdown.
- The Eagles continue to play like a threat in the NFC. They handled business in DC and Jalen Hurts continues to play at a high level.
- You don’t usually see a NFL game end 11-10, but that’s what happened in Denver on Sunday. The Broncos’ offense continued to struggle, but they found a way to pull off a win.
Week 4 Games to Watch:
Dolphins’ vs Bengals (-3.5): Bengals were able to get their first win against the Jets, but the Dolphins are 3-0 and will be a tougher test
Jaguars vs Eagles (-6.5): The Jaguars blew out the Chargers last week, but we’ll see where this team exactly is in their development versus the undefeated Eagles on the road.
Bills(-3.5) vs Ravens: Josh Allen versus Lamar Jackson. What more needs to be said?
Kansas City (-2.5) vs Tampa Bay: The Chiefs return to the stadium where the Bucs dominated them in the Super Bowl with both teams coming off a loss.
Rams vs 49ers (-2.5): This is a NFC championship game rematch, as both teams try to secure a win in the division.