Week 3 of the NFL season is nearly in the books. We are treated to a very highly anticipated matchup of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens taking on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football and what could also be a preview of the AFC Championship game.
As for Sunday, there was a lot to witness. The Falcons, as only they could, blew another lead of at least 16 points in the 4th quarter, the Bills nearly blew a Falcon-type lead of 28-3 to the Rams but were able to hang on, and Russell Wilson continues to cook up defenses.
So let's take a look at the winners and losers of Week 3:
WINNERS
- Josh Allen- Yes, the Bills blew a 28-3 lead but unlike the Falcons, Buffalo was actually able to leave their game with a victory. Josh Allen had his 3rd 300+ yards passing game of the season. Allen, who helped the Bills build the 28-3, also led to the Rams comeback, but then was the reason at the end of the game the Bills came out on top. He has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game this season after not doing so the first two years of his career. He is also second in the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes. The Bills sit alone atop the AFC East at 3-0 and it's mainly because the play of the third-year QB from Wyoming.
- Russell Wilson- What else can be said about this guy? All he does is win. Through three games, Russell Wilson has 14 touchdowns and is completing nearly 77% of his passes and this isn't a quarterback who likes to take the short throws. He has the best deep ball in the NFL and it was on display against the Cowboys on Sunday. He hit Tyler Lockett on a beautiful 43-yard TD pass and then hit D.K. Metcalf on a 63-yard pass but unfortunately for Wilson, Metcalf slowed up and had the ball knocked out of his hands for a touchback instead of a touchdown. Still Wilson had 5 touchdowns on the day and his second 300+ yard performance of the season. By the way, he does all this despite a tremendous amount of pressure as he's already been sacked nine times, including four on Sunday. If this man isn't the MVP this season, something is terribly, terribly wrong.
- New England Patriots- This team doesn't appear to have missed a beat despite moving on from Tom Brady. They very well could be 3-0 right now had Cam Newton not been stopped at the 1. There is a bit of concern for the Patriots defense as they have been uncharacteristically bad at times, including last year's defense player of the year in Stephon Gillmore. Still, they went over 200 yards rushing for the second time in three weeks and are getting everyone involved on the offensive side of the ball. Rex Burkhead had three total touchdowns and went over 100 yards from scrimmage, Sony Michel had over 100 yards rushing, and six Patriots players caught passes on 17 completions. While the Bills appear to be the favorite to win the AFC East, they won't be doing it easily as this Patriots team isn't going anywhere.
LOSERS
- Atlanta Falcons- How Dan Quinn has a job right now is beyond me. They blew 29-10 lead and then a 39-24 4th quarter lead last week against the Cowboys and then they blow a 26-10 4th quarter lead to the Bears this week. The Falcons are 0-3 on the season despite the offensive firepower and strong starts to games. I don't know what's going on in Atlanta but they just do not know how to close out games. Maybe their next coach can fix that.
- NFC East- This division is just absolutely terrible. The Philadelphia Eagles have looked awful. Carson Wentz is completing less than 60% of his passes and has six interceptions compared to just three touchdowns. They had their chances to beat the Bengals and blew every opportunity. They now sit at 0-2-1. The Dallas Cowboys continue to commit stupid penalties in the secondary which caused drives to extend for the Seahawks, Zeke was bottled up all game long, and people can point to Dak's numbers all they want, the reality is this team sits at 1-2 and his turnovers aren't helping. Washington, after their Week 1 victory over Philly, has lost two straight and they haven't really been competitive in either game. The only real bright spots have been Terry McLaurin and Chase Young. As for the Giants, they are last in the NFL in rushing and have as many rushing fumbles as rushing touchdowns. The sad reality in the Big Apple they very easily could go winless this season. Their best opportunities for a win would be the two games against Washington but even they are significantly better than the Giants. The combined record for the NFC (L)East is 2-9-1.
- Arizona Cardinals- This was a loss that this team could not afford. Yes it's early in the season given the division that the Cards play in, keeping pace with the Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams is a must. The Lions had no business intercepting three of Kyler Murray's passes and now move on to a feisty Panthers team before taking on the Jets, and then the Cowboys and Seahawks. The schedule is difficult for Arizona and losses to the teams that they are supposed to beat obviously does not help. We'll see if this is a one-off kind of game for Kyler and Cards or if the expectations are too great for the team out in the desert.
PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES