Welcome to the Week 3 grades!
The third week of the NFL season has turned into one of the wildest weeks of the year, and that’s mostly because underdogs keep winning every game. Week 3 was filled with upsets and one of the biggest ones cam from the New York Giants, who beat the Browns as a 6.5-point underdog. Not to be outdone, the Broncos won as a 6-point underdog, and it’s starting to feel like the 2024 season is turning into the year of the big underdog.
Through the 1 p.m. games on Sunday, underdogs of six points or more are 8-1-2 against the spread on the season and 6-5 straight-up.
Of course, you’re not here to talk about underdogs, you’re here for grades, so let’s get to them.
Green Bay 30-14 over Tennessee
A Packers Less than a month ago, the Titans gave up on Malik Willis by trading him to Green Bay, and on Sunday, he got his revenge. Willis put on a show, becoming the first Packers QB since 2010 to throw for at least 200 yards, rush for at least 50 yards while scoring a rushing TD and throwing a passing TD. Packers coach Matt LaFleur drew up a game-plan that utilized Willis’ skill set, which is something they were never able to do in Tennessee. The Packers also got a dominant performance from a defense that forced three turnovers, including a pick six from Jaire Alexander. The defense also sacked Will Levis eight times, with two of those coming from Devonte Wyatt. If the defense keeps playing like this, the Packers will be able to beat anyone no matter who their starting quarterback is. D- Titans It turns out the Titans might have traded away the wrong quarterback. The QB they have (Will Levis) has been making back-breaking mistakes all season and that streak continued on Sunday when he had three turnovers against the Packers, including a pick six. Levis, who was under siege all game, got no help from an offensive line that gave up eight sacks. To make things worse, the QB that the Titans traded away (Malik Wallis) diced up the Titans defense with 275 total yards and two touchdowns. Although most teams tend to improve as the season goes on, this team has somehow taken a step back in every game it has played this year.
Indianapolis 21-16 over Chicago
C Bears The Bears had plenty of chances to take control of this game, but the offense threw those chances away. The biggest problem for the Bears is that Caleb Williams continues to struggle. Although he threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, he also had three turnovers, including two in the second half. The Bears also failed to score any points on a drive that ended with Chicago getting stopped on three straight plays inside of Indy’s 2-yard line. Williams did have a great fourth quarter (14 of 18 for 122 yards and two touchdowns), but the Bears were down by double digits by the time he figured things out. If the Bears offense can piece things together for an entire game, Chicago might be able to pull off a few unexpected wins this year. B Colts It looks like Jonathan Taylor might actually be back. The Colts offense is at its best when Taylor is running well and he was running well on Sunday. For the second time in three weeks, Taylor went over 100 yards, gashing up the Bears for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor had to be good because Anthony Richardson was way too streaky to carry the Colts offense. Although the QB made some big plays, he threw two interceptions, including an disastrous one that came in the end zone. He also completed just 50% of his passes. As long as Taylor is running like his, the Colts can win games, but Richardson’s accuracy is going to have to improve if the Colts want to compete for the AFC South title.
Minnesota 34-7 over Houston
F Texans C.J. Stroud threw an interception on his second pass of the game and things only got worse from there for the Texans. The second-year QB just couldn’t figure out how to attack Minnesota’s defense and because of that, the Texans offense struggled for most of the day. The Texans defense was just as bad and that’s how you end up with a 27-point loss. The Texans better hope this loss was a hiccup and not a sign of things to come for the rest of the season. A+ Vikings This was a defensive masterpiece by Brian Flores. The Vikings defensive coordinator came up with a game plan that absolutely confused C.J. Stroud. The Texans QB looked lost for most nearly all four quarters on a day where he threw two interceptions. He also got sacked four times, with three of those coming from former teammate Jonathan Greenard. Thanks to Flores, the Vikings are giving up just 10 points per game this season. The defense was so good that it overshadowed an efficient performance from Sam Darnold, who threw four touchdown passes on just 17 completions. Aaron Jones (102 rushing yards) also helped carry the offense. With the defense playing so well and Darnold looking rejuvenated, the Vikings look like one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC.
Philadelphia 15-12 over New Orleans
B+ Eagles After getting embarrassed to end things on Monday night, the Eagles defense bounced back with one of the most impressive performances by any team this season. The Eagles held the high-powered Saints offense to just 219 yards while also coming up with two huge plays in the fourth quarter. One came on a fourth-down stop early in the quarter and the other one was a Reed Blankenship pick that iced the win. Offensively, the Eagles were carried by Saquon Barkely, who ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Dallas Goedert also had a monster game with 10 catches for 170 yards. It’s a good thing the Eagles won, because the victory will take some serious heat off of both Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts. Sirianni made some questionable decisions and Hurts had two red zone turnovers, but winning solves everything in the NFL, so their mistakes won’t haunt them going forward. C Saints It took three weeks, but the Saints offense finally came crashing back to earth. Derek Carr struggled against the Eagles’ constant pressure, completing just 14 of 27 passes for 142 yards. The Saints defense forced two turnovers and the special teams even blocked a punt, but the offense wasn’t able to capitalize on any of that. Although the defense forced two turnovers, it also got steamrolled by an Eagles offense that piled up 460 yards. The Saints got bullied in this game and it’s now worth wondering if this is the Saints we’re going to see moving forward.
Pittsburgh 20-10 over L.A. Chargers
C Chargers It’s hard to grade the Chargers for this game, because Justin Herbert left with an injury in the third quarter, and at that point, things were all tied up. Once Herbert left, the Chargers fell completely apart on both offense and defense. Herbert or no Herbert, though, the Chargers offense absolutely sputtered during a second half where it totaled NEGATIVE YARDAGE. The -5 yards ended up being the third-lowest total by any team in the second half of a game over the past 20 years. If Herbert has to miss any time, the Chargers are going to be in trouble. B+ Steelers Justin Fields is definitely doing his best to permanently earn the Steelers’ starting QB. Fields was on fire against the Chargers as he completed his first 10 passes on a day where he ended up completing 25 of 32 attempts for 245 yards and a touchdown (He also had a rushing touchdown). Of course, the Steelers have been winning games with their defense this year and this win was no different. The defense beat up on both Justin Herbert and Taylor Heinicke, who were sacked a combined five times. The Steelers also shut down a Chargers rushing attack that had the second-most rushing yards in the NFL heading into Week 3. If the Steelers keep playing like this, they might make it to their Week 9 bye without a loss.
Denver 26-7 over Tampa Bay
A+ Broncos Bo Nix finally picked up his first NFL win and he definitely earned it. The rookie QB came up with big play after big play on a day where he totaled 263 yards and a rushing touchdown. Nix completed 25 passes to nine different receivers. Of course, this win also happened because the Broncos defense terrorized Baker Mayfield. Dondrea Tillman had two of Denver’s seven sacks. If the Broncos proved one thing on Sunday, it’s that they’re good enough to play with anyone. F Buccaneers With the Buccaneers sitting at 2-0 and Denver sitting at 0-2, it feels like the Bucs overlooked their opponent here, because they got punched early and never really responded. Baker Mayfield never really looked comfortable and that’s because the Broncos defense spent most of the day camped out in Tampa Bay’s backfield (Mayfield was sacked seven times). As bad as the Bucs were on offense, their defense was worse. This was just a disastrous day all around for a team that fell asleep at the wheel.
N.Y. Giants 21-15 over Cleveland
B+ Giants It appears the Giants might have hit a home run with the selection of Malik Nabers in the 2024 NFL Draft. The rookie receiver has been nearly unstoppable this season and that run continued in Cleveland on a day where he caught eight passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns. As good as Nabers was, this win wouldn’t have happened without a huge day from a Giants defense that sacked Deshaun Watson eight times. The Browns had the ball three different times in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead and on all three possessions, the Giants came up with a huge stop (They forced a fumble and stopped the Browns twice on fourth down). This team could very easily be 2-1 and they just might be better than we think.
D Browns The Browns committed a comedy of errors in this game, but there’s a good chance that no one in Cleveland is actually laughing. They had a missed field goal, a brutal fumble in the fourth quarter on a handoff from Deshaun Watson to Jerome Ford and the offensive line got completely overwhelmed by a Giants defense that sacked Watson eight times. Another problem for the Browns is that Watson still hasn’t shown that he can be a franchise QB for this team and you have to wonder how many chances they’re going to give him to prove that.
Jets 24-3 over Patriots (Thursday)