Week 3 of the NFL season provided some surprising outcomes, and teams that remain winless will now have to sound the alarm. Let's recap!
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| Chiefs' Eric Berry intercepts a pass and returns it for a touchdown. |
Even though the Eagles are now 1-2, they have reason to sound the alarm as well. Their next two games are on the road against the Broncos and the Giants. Sure, the Giants are sitting at 0-3 right now. However, division games are tough, especially on the road. Things are not looking pretty right now for the Eagles. The Chiefs are riding high at 3-0, and playing the struggling Giants at home next week. The Giants just seemed connected to this game!
Houston Texans 9 Baltimore Ravens 30
The Texans are 2-1, but there is cause for concern with this team as well. They didn't exactly finish off last season on a high note, losing an opportunity for a first-round bye in last year's playoffs before getting smashed by the Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round. They won their first two games, but they needed to come back down 21 to the Chargers to win. They also needed a 4th quarter comeback and then overtime to beat the Titans at home. The Texans don't look as strong as last year.
New York Giants 0 Carolina Panthers 38
Easily the most shocking developments of the season so far is the poor play of the Giants. I believe an 0-3 start all but guarantees them being out of the playoffs. However, the Giants can bounce back, with a schedule that isn't too difficult up ahead. They have the undefeated Chiefs on the road and the undefeated Bears on the road in a couple of weeks. Those are their most difficult games before their bye week in early November. For Giants fans (like myself), it's probably wishful thinking, but the Giants can probably get to 4-4 by that bye week.
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| Packers' Aaron Rodgers could not lift his team to victory in Cincinnati. |
This was purely a game of runs, as the Packers scored 30 unanswered points after the Bengals opened the game with 14 unanswered. After trailing 30-14, the Bengals scored 20 unanswered to get the victory, and leave the Packers at 1-2. The Packers will not panic, as they had a losing record early last season before finishing 11-5. The Packers know they'll dominate their division yet again.
St. Louis Rams 7 Dallas Cowboys 31
The Cowboys are the only team in the NFC East that looks good. If they are able to win the division, what will they be able to do with it? They only have one playoff win since 1996, and the Giants are the only team in the division to have won a Super Bowl since 1995.
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| Browns' Jordan Cameron catches game-winning pass in shocking win. |
Easily the most stunning upset of Week 3 goes to this game. The Browns were discounted by everyone, even their fan base, after they traded away Trent Richardson. Even worse, the Browns went with Brian Hoyer instead of Jason Campbell. However, the move worked and Hoyer looked good early. He did struggle as the game progressed, but a game-winning touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron has them celebrating...for one week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 New England Patriots 23
It hasn't been pretty, but the Patriots are now sitting at 3-0. Tom Brady was visibly frustrated with Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson after their win against the Jets. This time, it was much better, as Thompkins had two touchdown receptions and Dobson had seven catches. Brady is a happy man now.
Arizona Cardinals 7 New Orleans Saints 31
This game was easy to predict as there was no way the Cardinals would've been able to go into the loud Superdome and beat the Saints. However, the story of this game has been the status of Rashad Johnson's finger. Johnson lost a part of his middle finger, but it's not clear what play it occurred. When Johnson took off his glove, the piece of the finger that severed remained in the glove. Johnson had surgery, and is surprisingly expected to play next week.
San Diego Chargers 17 Tennessee Titans 20
If the Chargers would've been able to get out of Tennessee with a win, it would've been huge. However, they weren't able to, and the Chargers are probably debating whether it was an offensive pass interference on the game-winning touchdown reception by Justin Hunter. It sure looked like a push-off.
Detroit Lions 27 Washington Redskins 20
An upset I correctly predicted was the Lions defeating the Redskins and well, I was right. Throw history out of the window because this is 2013. The Redskins' defense continues to disappoint, and the Redskins' offense continues to...disappoint. Though they played much better than the previous two games, that offense isn't quite where it was last year. At least they're 0-3 with a quarterback trying to recover from an ACL tear. What's the Giants excuse?
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| Dolphins' Dion Sims catches game-winning pass in upset win. |
I thought about it for a moment when making my Week 3 picks of picking the Dolphins in this game. Sure, the Dolphins are still a bit unknown, but the Falcons aren't a superior team either. The Dolphins head into the Superdome next Monday against the undefeated Saints as well. Who would've thought when looking at the Monday Night Football schedule that the Dolphins and Saints would both be 3-0?
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| Jets' Santonio Holmes catches game-winning pass over the Bills' Justin Rogers. |
The battle of rookie quarterbacks was won by Geno Smith, after E.J. Manuel found himself being harassed by the Jets' defense all day. The Jets almost gave away the game, with 20 costly penalties. Smith's game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes gives Jets' fans reason to believe in him.
Jacksonville Jaguars 17 Seattle Seahawks 45
As I stated in the Week 3 preview, I remember when the Seahawks beat the Cardinals 58-0 last year. I thought this game would take a similar turn, but the Jaguars were actually able to put up 17 points in Seattle. The 49ers were only able to score three last week. This game was over fast, as Pete Carroll went with Tarvaris Jackson in the third quarter to finish out the game.
Indianapolis Colts 27 San Francisco 49ers 7
It shouldn't be alarming when you're 1-2 because it's just three games. However, there is reason to be alarmed at the 49ers now. A week after only scoring three points, they only scored seven at home and were physically pounded by the Colts. It's been reported that Frank Gore lashed out at Jim Harbaugh for his lack of rushes, but it wasn't like the 49ers weren't running the ball. Kendall Hunter and Anthony Dixon got carries as well, and Kaepernick only attempted 27 passes. The Colts just took it to them. On a side note, the Colts were probably inspired by Ahmad Bradshaw, who has now won in his last three visits to Candlestick Park.
Chicago Bears 40 Pittsburgh Steelers 23
The Steelers were thoroughly dominated by a Bears team that barely beat the Vikings at home last week. Simply put, I don't see how the Steelers turn things around. The defense just isn't as physical anymore, and the offense is struggling to get anything going. What can Mike Tomlin do to fix this? I'm not sure, because it never seems he's involved with the game anyway. Most times, you can find him cheerleading on the sideline without a headset. This isn't good.
Oakland Raiders 21 Denver Broncos 37
No one had any doubts about the outcome of this game, but the Raiders can take some positives out of it. Sure, their defense had no answer for Peyton Manning, but Terrelle Pryor had a solid game before leaving with a concussion. Hopefully, that concussion isn't too serious where he'll have to miss a number of games. There is room for improvement for Pryor, but the Raiders have to be encouraged.
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