Winless teams facing 1–1 teams dominated the headlines during an eventful Sunday in the NFL.
The Los Angeles Rams (vs. 49ers), Indianapolis Colts (vs. Bears), Carolina Panthers (vs. Raiders), New York Giants (vs. Browns) and Baltimore Ravens (vs. Cowboys) all picked up their first wins of the season after defeating teams that entered Sunday with 1–1 records.
Mid-tier signal-callers also made plenty of noise, because once again, quarterbacks making well below $40 million per year dominated Sunday, including Justin Fields and Sam Darnold guiding the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings to 3–0 starts, respectively.
Andy Dalton, who replaced Bryce Young, quickly revived the Panthers’ offense while leading them to an impressive win against the Las Vegas Raiders. Daniel Jones has a contract with an average salary of $40 million per year, but luckily for him, he had rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers to make life easier for him during an upset win against the Cleveland Browns.
Malik Willis improved to 2–0 as the Green Bay Packers’ starter in defeating his former team, the Tennessee Titans. Also, rookie Bo Nix recorded the first victory of his career, guiding the Denver Broncos to a surprising victory vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But we’ll start with a star quarterback who’s well compensated in Los Angeles.
Rams aren’t dead yet after stunning comeback vs. 49ers
In a matchup with many star players sidelined, the NFC West rivals delivered the most entertaining game Sunday. Matthew Stafford guided his banged-up Rams to a stunning come-from-behind 27–24 victory against the short-handed San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams trailed by 10 points with under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, but erased the deficit thanks to Stafford’s heroics, despite not having wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Stafford (16-of-25, 221 yards, one TD) effectively utilized running back Kyren Williams (89 rushing yards, three total touchdowns) and Tutu Atwell (four catches, 93 yards), the 2021 second-round pick who had gotten lost in the rotation.
But Sean McVay’s crew wouldn’t have defeated Kyle Shanahan’s team without a missed 55-yard field-goal attempt from 49ers kicker Jake Moody, which ignited the furious rally in the final three minutes. The Rams quickly moved upfield once Stafford found Atwell for a 50-yard reception before Williams scored on a four-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game 24–24 with 1:51 left in regulation. From there, the Rams’ defense got a key stop to pave the way for a 38-yard punt return from Xavier Smith and Joshua Karty’s ensuing game-winning 37-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.
This game should have been about Brock Purdy (22-of-30, 292 yards, three touchdowns) and Jauan Jennings (11 catches, 175 yards, three touchdowns) finding a way to win on the road without Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. But the duo cooled off at the worst time, with the 49ers only scoring three points in the final quarter.
Los Angeles (1–2) still has issues with defending the deep ball, but found a way to keep its season alive and avoid the dreaded 0–3 start. San Francisco (1–2) now has a two-game losing streak after starting the season with an impressive victory over the New York Jets. The schedule gets easier for the 49ers with the New England Patriots coming to their house next week, but this star-studded roster hasn’t been as good as prior seasons.
Eagles defense cools off Saints offense
After a dreadful start to the season, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense stepped up against the New Orleans Saints’ red-hot offense, and sealed the 15–12 victory with a Reed Blankenship interception on Derek Carr.
The Eagles (2–1) needed the dominant defensive performance on a day that Jalen Hurts played without A.J. Brown, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury, and DeVonta Smith, who left early in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. Hurts (29-of-38, 311 yards, one interception) made the defensive effort count after leaning on tight end Dallas Goedert (10 catches, 170 yards) and running back Saquon Barkley (17 carries, 147 yards, two touchdowns) to produce a game-winning touchdown drive in the final two minutes of regulation.
Hurts found Goedert near the left sideline on third-and-16 for a 61-yard gain to set up Barkley’s four-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion (first Octopus of the season!), giving the Eagles a three-point advantage with 1:01 left in the game. Barkley, who also had a 61-yard touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter, made many forget about his costly drop six days earlier in the Monday night loss vs. the Falcons.
Some were quick to panic about the Eagles’ sluggish Week 2 performance, partly because the defense struggled to defend the run and apply pressure during the first two games of the season. But first-year Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio delivered a vintage game plan to limit Carr’s downfield shots to wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Carr panicked after being pressured by Brandon Graham on a late second-and-4, heaving a downfield pass intended for Shaheed that turned into the game-ending interception.
Carr (14-of-25, 142 yards, one touchdown, one interception) only averaged 5.7 yards per pass attempt and was often forced to check down to Alvin Kamara or hand him the ball most of the game. New Orleans let this one get away, but this loss shouldn’t diminish what the team accomplished in the first two weeks. Not many defenses will be as good as Philadelphia was in containing all of Carr’s weapons Sunday. These two teams might meet again in January after providing a potential playoff preview during a physical Week 3 matchup that took off in the final quarter.
Panthers look much better with Dalton in first win
Dalton didn’t waste time getting the Panthers’ offense back on track, throwing three touchdowns in a dominant 36–22 road victory vs. the Raiders.
Obviously, getting the once lifeless Panthers (1–2) to score 30-plus points was impressive, but it shouldn’t be lost that Dalton did that against one of the better defenses in the league. Dalton (26-of-37, 319 yards, no turnovers) got the scoring started quickly by connecting with running back Chuba Hubbard (114 rushing yards) on a six-yard touchdown pass for a 7–0 advantage. The veteran quarterback known as the “Red Rifle” also got the ball to wide receiver Diontae Johnson (eight catches, 122 yards, one touchdown) and Adam Thielen, who injured his hamstring while hauling in a 31-yard touchdown for a 21–7 lead.
Dalton’s standout performance could be the start of coach Dave Canales reviving the career of another veteran signal-caller in need of a fresh start after helping Baker Mayfield do the same in Tampa Bay. Carolina had hopes of Canales sparking Young, but the team quickly bailed on him after concerning performances to start the season. It’s rare when a team sides with the coach over a quarterback they heavily invested in, but the Panthers finally got something right because they needed a QB change for Canales to implement his offense—the Panthers generated 437 yards in Las Vegas. With trade rumors swirling, perhaps the Panthers will be more willing to entertain offers for Young, last year’s No. 1 pick, after Dalton’s sensational performance.
As for the Raiders, this embarrassing effort ranks up there with some of their worst losses in recent memory, including losing to Mayfield’s Rams and Jeff Saturday’s Colts. It wouldn’t be a surprise for the Raiders to name Aidan O’Connell the starting quarterback over Gardner Minshew ahead of next week’s clash against the Browns. O’Connell replaced Minshew late in the game and added a garbage-time touchdown.
Vikings are a serious threat after crushing Texans
The Vikings proved they’re for real by dismantling C.J. Stroud and the Texans, 34–7.
Stroud was the latest quarterback to be smothered by the Brian Flores–led Vikings defense. The second-year signal caller felt the pressure early and often, throwing a rare interception on Houston’s second play that helped Minnesota score the opening touchdown. Perhaps the biggest mistake Vikings opponents can do is give Sam Darnold and all of his weapons a short field. Darnold (17-of-28, 181 yards, four touchdowns, no turnovers) has consistently turned takeaways into points this season, including two touchdowns off turnovers Sunday.
Stroud had one of the worst performances of his young career, completing 20-of-31 passes for 215 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It didn’t help that Houston (2–1) didn’t have running back Joe Mixon, who was sidelined with an ankle injury, but that shouldn’t take away from the Vikings’ masterful defensive performance to prevent Stroud from gaining a rhythm with his standout wideouts. Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard had three sacks against his former team.
Flores might have the best defensive unit in the league, allowing him to play mind games vs. opposing quarterbacks who have to frequently guess whether a heavy blitz is coming. This has made life easier for Darnold, but he deserves plenty of credit for not making costly mistakes and getting Justin Jefferson (six catches, 81 yards, one touchdown) involved in games. Minnesota has also had a balanced attack with newcomer running back Aaron Jones, who recorded 102 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards for one touchdown.
It’s time to take the undefeated Vikings seriously after they beat the Texans and 49ers in back-to-back weeks.
Nabers looks like the real deal
Malik Nabers is well on his way to being a star wide receiver after helping the Giants upset the Browns in an impressive 21–15 road victory.
Daniel Jones could do no wrong whenever he threw in Nabers’s direction. The stud first-round rookie receiver displayed a variety of acrobatic catches, recording two touchdowns in the second quarter to give New York a 14-point advantage at halftime. Nabers, the No. 6 pick in this year’s draft, finished with eight catches for 78 yards. It was a rare clean performance from Jones, who went 24-of-34 for 236 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Not many saw this type of performance coming from the Giants (1–2), especially after losing the ball on the opening kickoff, leading to a quick seven-point lead for Cleveland (1–2). But New York’s defense had its best performance of the young season, recording eight sacks against Deshaun Watson, who had another rocky outing, finishing 21-of-37 for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and had two lost fumbles.
Cleveland having another sluggish offensive performance wasn’t surprising, but it’s fair to say this star-studded defense hasn’t lived up to expectations. Nabers constantly punished one of the best secondaries of last season, helping the Giants build a comfortable lead before sealing the victory thanks to Devin Singletary’s 43-yard run to kill the clock.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as What We Learned in NFL Week 3: Rams Stay Afloat, Panthers Start Fresh.
