We have made it three weeks into the NFL season — and unfortunately, we have run into a case of COVID-19 breakouts during the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings game — but we won’t let that affect (no pun intended) this week’s three takeaways from Week 3.
While we wait to see how the league officially deals with Tennessee moving forward, we were treated again to some fantastic matchups — and our first tie of the season between the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles.
How long with the Houston Texans continue to struggle this season as they continue to search for their first win of the season? Despite a laundry list of injuries, the San Francisco 49ers bounce back with a win over the lowly New York Giants.
New England also bounced back nicely from their loss to the Seattle Seahawks a week ago with a dominant performance out of Cam Newton. It’s rare to see a Bill Belichick team losing back-to-back games, and the Las Vegas Raiders found out the hard way after being shutdown.
Speaking of Seattle, are they going to get some defense out of their defense? MVP front-runner, Russell Wilson, has done everything to keep his team undefeated. But how many times can that defense play with fire before getting burned?
Without further ado, let’s take a look at three takeaways from the week that was.
Three Takeaways From Week 3
No One Circles The Wagons
Before the 2020 season began, many thought that the Buffalo Bills would be the team to beat in the AFC East after a bit of transitional power occurred over in New England. And, so far, that proclamation looks good.
Josh Allen continues to improve under center and with the addition of Stefon Diggs to compliment John Brown and Cole Beasley, Buffalo’s offense has been much improved. However, a testament to their maturation was their comeback win against the Los Angeles Rams after surrendering a 28-3 lead.
But, unlike the Atlanta Falcons, Allen orchestrated a comeback drive to shock the undefeated Rams to improve to 3-0 and continue to take that step towards being a team no one wants to play on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers Continues to Dominate
The Green Bay Packers narrative from a season ago that they were a game away from the Super Bowl and a player here or there to help them get over the hump in 2020 continues. We know what happened at the draft and we know what happened during the off-season.
But we didn’t account for was Aaron Rodgers (887 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, zero interceptions) going on an absolute tear against defenses this season. He’s been near the top in quarterback efficiency, according to PFF, and the narrative of not having a first-round receiver to throw to has been put to bed.
Rodgers on Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints, for the third-straight week, did whatever he wanted against a New Orleans defense that was caught guessing — and fell victim to Rodgers’ trademark hard-counts. No Davante Adams? No problem as this Green Bay offense put up 37 points after two-straight weeks of 40+.
Can Anyone Stop Patrick Mahomes?
Simply put, Patrick Mahomes and company look virtually unstoppable right now. The reigning Super Bowl champs went into Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens and had their way against a team that’s figured to be there in the end — and that’s putting it lightly.
Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson is going to lead the AFC for the next decade as one of the better rivalries in football, but for it to truly be a rivalry — Baltimore needs to win these games. Mahomes — whether it was against the blitz or zone-coverage — continuously put the ball in the hands of his receivers who kept finding the end zone with ease.
We’ve seen Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs look great since he became the starter — and let’s credit their defense that also held Jackson to under 100 passing yards — but they’re quickly entering “not fair:” territory. They’ll have a strong test against a good New England defense next week, but Mahomes continues to torch everyone he’s faced.
Three Takeaways: Honorable Mention
What’s happening in Minnesota? This was a team hailed by many experts to compete in 2020 and make another strong postseason push while possibly winning the NFC North along the way. But you lose Diggs, you lose Everson Griffin, you bring in Yannick Ngakoue, and you’re still looking at an 0-3 record. Kirk Cousins rebounding after a pretty horrific outing last week helps, but if this team — already 0-3 — drops to 0-4 next week, that can already be a wrap on a once-promising season.
