NFL Week 3 Recap: Seven Unbeaten Teams Remain
The third week of the NFL season once again proved to be an exciting one with an array of marquee matchups, high-scoring affairs and even a tie. It’s time to break down the action from the roller coaster weekend within the NFL.
To start, the league continued action without plenty of star power due to notable injuries from the previous week. This required multiple teams to dig deep into their respective depth charts and live up to the “next man up” mantra. Luckily, there was a large decrease in notable injuries by the end of this week’s action.
In other news, the season is still young, but the balance of power in the NFL is beginning to take shape. Going into Sunday afternoon, 10 teams remained unbeaten with an attempt to continue perfection. Two of these teams went head-to-head in the only battle of the unbeatens: the Buffalo Bills vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bills look to be the real deal, as they were able to hold on to an early 28-3 lead to start the game behind another dominating performance from quarterback Josh Allen. Allen threw for over 300 yards for the third consecutive week and scored a total of five touchdowns to take down the Rams in a 35-32 victory. The third-year signal caller is looking like an early candidate in the MVP race.
Speaking of close wins, the Chicago Bears were able to overcome a 26-10 deficit to win 30-26 in a close affair with the Falcons to remain tied atop the NFC North. The win was orchestrated by Nick Foles, as head coach Matt Nagy had seen enough from the lackluster performance of Mitchell Trubisky to warrant the change in the third quarter. Foles finished with 188 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in less than two quarters of play. He’ll be getting the start again in Week 4.
For the first time in the NFL, the three Watt brothers played on the same field, as J.J. and the Houston Texans (0-2) took on T.J., Derek and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0). The Texans were able to keep the game competitive behind the heroics of Deshaun Watson, but the Houston defense was ultimately the downfall for the team. The Steelers advanced to 3-0 on the season with a 28-21 victory led by the 106-yard rushing performance from James Conner and five sacks from the defense.
The Seattle Seahawks, led by the dominating performance of quarterback Russell Wilson, took down the Dallas Cowboys in a 38-31 in a high-scoring affair to take sole possession of the stout NFC West and remain undefeated. Wilson is on another level, as he dominated a depleted Dallas secondary, throwing for 315 yards and five touchdowns with no turnovers. Wilson is the first player in NFL history to throw for four or more touchdowns in each of his team’s first three games.
The late-night window saw an enticing matchup, as two of the premier faces of the NFL, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers went head-to-head. The game was without star wide receivers in Davante Adams and Michael Thomas, but there was still plenty of offense to go around, as the Green Bay Packers defeated the New Orleans Saints by a score of 37-30. Rodgers proved that he is still an elite quarterback with 283 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, allowing his team to remain tied for top position in the NFC North at 3-0.
In a highly touted Monday night showdown, the defending champion Chiefs knocked off Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in Baltimore behind Patrick Mahomes’ four-touchdown performance. It’s possible that these two teams will meet again in the AFC championship game.
It was certainly a wild week in the NFL, as now just seven teams remain unbeaten. There’s sure to be more zaniness in store when Week 4 begins on Thursday night.
Austin Boley is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email aob5378@psu.edu.
