Three weeks into the NFL season, the teams have already experienced plenty of ups and downs, as well as surprising results.
New York football fans had a good week, as both the Jets and Giants picked up wins in Week 3 and Tom Brady was apparently tired of calling the Cowboys’ games three games into his career as a commentator.
Now that Week 3 is over, let’s take a look at some of the NFL’s biggest winners and losers.
Winner of Week 3
Former LSU Products
It was a good week for a former LSU Tiger, with Malik Nabers’ incredible performance against the Browns and Jayden Daniels’ subsequent two-touchdown performance for the Commanders on Monday Night Football.
Nabers finished Sunday’s game with two spectacular touchdown catches and 78 receiving yards, becoming the youngest wide receiver in NFL history to record two touchdowns in a single game.
His play was enough to even earn praise from former Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
Daniels actually finished the game with three touchdowns – one of them on the ground – and in the air he completed 21 of 23 pass attempts for 254 yards.
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner told ESPN after the game that his team “just played at a high level” in the win.
Tom Brady
The seven-time Super Bowl champion is slowly making progress in his commentary skills, and while commentating on the Cowboys’ game against the Ravens on Sunday, he seemed to be getting a little more into his stride.
Brady will be at work all season adjusting to his new role in football, and this week was another sign that he is moving in the right direction.
Week 3. Getty Images
Fans seemed to appreciate the human reaction from the former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback when he sounded like he wanted to throw away his headset after the Cowboys took a penalty with the score 28-6 in the third quarter.
At least Brady can be considered a winner this week for surviving to call another Cowboys game. And he will finally call another team when Fox sends Brady and Kevin Burkhardt to commentate on the Eagles’ game against the Buccaneers.
Andy Dalton
Despite all the controversy surrounding Dave Canales’ decision to bench Bryce Young, he looked like a genius after veteran backup Andy Dalton came in, threw for over 300 yards, and led the previously winless Panthers to a victory over the Raiders.
Admittedly, the bar was set pretty low for Dalton. He had to jump to make it look like Canales made the right decision.
Dalton completed 26 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback this season to complete more than 300 passes and score three touchdowns.
The 36-year-old quarterback thus secured his place in the starting lineup for at least another week.
Losers of Week 3
Attack of the Dolphins
Miami suffered a loss for the second week in a row, and things only got worse for them when reserve player Skylar Thompson suffered an injury midway through the game on Sunday.
Even before his injury, Thompson had only managed 107 passing yards and had not thrown a single touchdown, while the Dolphins were limited to just 65 yards on the ground.
The Dolphins finished the game with only 205 yards.
Travis Kelce
NBC cameras caught the Chiefs’ star tight end looking pitiful in Sunday’s win over the Falcons, and concerns about Kelce have only grown as he struggled to make much of an impression earlier this season.
Kelce was limited in Sunday night’s game, having just four catches for 30 yards.
He has only eight catches for 69 yards and no touchdowns this season.
With his problems come questions about everything else that concerns him, from his endeavors off the field to his relationship with Taylor Swift.
After another tough week, everything is being examined closely.
Bengal
Cincinnati lost to the Commanders in prime time and is now 0-3 after the first three weeks of the year.
Although the season is still young, the Bengals have already hurt their playoff chances. Since the 1970s, only six teams have managed to make the playoffs after losing their first three games of the season.
The defense struggled against Daniels and now heading into Week 4, it’s questionable whether the Bengals can beat the Panthers, who shocked the Raiders last week.
