We spend all offseason waiting for football to come back and somehow we're already three weeks into the NFL season. I'd appreciate it if things could slow down a little. Although, if you're a fan of the Dolphins, Titans or Chargers, you probably think the season can't go by fast enough.
Week 3 gave us plenty to talk about, and I have some thoughts. Here’s my biggest takeaway from each of Sunday’s games.
Takeaway: It was a good week for Buffalo to come out flat.
Buffalo's offense came out of the gate with a 36-point output against a stout Houston defense in Week 1 and then followed it up by dropping 41 on Detroit in Week 2. But the unit struggled mightily on Sunday, turning the ball over three times on its first four possessions. After managing to get the game tied at 10 going into halftime, the Bills turned it over on their first two possessions of the second half. Lucky for them, they were playing the awful winless Chargers, who couldn't even beat a team that turned the ball over five times. Buffalo can't play like that against good teams.
Takeaway: Sorry, Deshaun Watson, I wasn't really familiar with your game.
Insert Shaq meme here. Yeah, so, I buried Watson after a horrendous performance in Week 1 (following a terrible preseason). But he played pretty well against the Bucs in a Week 2 win and did enough to lead the Browns to a shocking 2-1 record. Watson's numbers don't look great (16-30, 144 yards, 2 TD), but he kept making big throws when the team needed them and added some important runs to keep the chains moving. Watson isn't great, obviously, but he's at least playing like a serviceable NFL quarterback and that's more than I expected from him after Week 1.
Takeaway: The Jets really aren't that bad.
Speaking of teams for which I didn't have high expectations, the Jets have been much better than I expected. Yes, they're 1-2. But they should have beaten the Packers in Week 2 and they were tied with the Lions with under three minutes left. Now, great teams win those games. The Jets aren't great. But given that the bar was set at, like, below average, Jets fans have a reason to at least have some hope for the first time in years.
Takeaway: The AFC South is bad again.
You know, for a minute it looked like the AFC South might be good again instead of being relegated to that Saturday afternoon Wild Card slot (the one that goes to the least interesting first-round playoff matchup). But here we are with the Colts and Texans both not looking particularly good. C.J. Stroud has never regained his rookie season form and Daniel Jones turned the ball over three times. Plus, these teams just aren't even fun to watch (the Jaguars really aren't, either, and don't get me started on the Titans). Just put the winner of this division at 4:30 on Wild Card Saturday now and be done with it.
Takeaway: Drake Maye looks like a one-hit wonder.
I'm trying not to overreact but Maye keeps making it harder and harder. He's made some of the worst throws of any quarterback so far this season, and that's saying something. The Patriots offense has generated just two touchdowns in three games and Maye has thrown six interceptions and has lost a fumble. With a game in Buffalo next week, it could start getting late early for the reigning AFC champions.
Takeaway: The Dolphins showed some fight?
I don't know, what do you want me to say? The Chiefs beat the Dolphins, as literally everyone expected. Miami hung around for a while and was only down four heading to the fourth quarter. But Kansas City still won by two touchdowns. Dolphins fans have only one date on their minds: April 29, 2027 (the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft).
Takeaway: Two bad offenses playing in bad weather is a recipe for a bad game.
I have four TVs in my living room and thanks to multiview, I can essentially watch every NFL game simultaneously. I do my best to keep my eyes moving so I can watch as much of each one as possible. But I'm not going to pretend I spent much time watching Jameis Winston and Cam Ward battle on a wet field to see who could get to double-digit points first. It was the Giants, by the way, and they won. Woo-hoo.
Takeaway: I tried to warn you.
I wrote in my NFL picks column this week that the Bengals were due for a letdown and the Steelers were likely to show up at home and finally play a solid offensive game. There was no chance I was going to let this perfect "I told you so" moment pass. That being said, this doesn't change my opinion: The Bengals are still good, the Steelers still aren't very good. It was one game and I'm not reading too much into it.
Takeaway: Turnovers matter a lot, folks.
No, I don't think the Commanders are better than the Seahawks. No, I don't think the Commanders are better with Marcus Mariota at quarterback instead of Jayden Daniels. But I do think that winning the turnover battle is massively important (unless you're the Chargers) and Washington had 3 takeaways to Seattle's 0. That's why the Seahawks lost despite outgaining the Commanders 437 to 258.
Takeaway: What a weird game this was.
The 49ers appeared to be on their way to an easy victory after taking a 23-6 lead four minutes into the second half. But give credit to the Cardinals, who just never quit. At the same time, San Francisco never trailed and every time Arizona got within one score, the 49ers would score a touchdown (except the final time, but the game was over at that point). The bigger concern is that San Francisco saw three key players leave the game with injuries: Mike Evans, Trent Williams and Dre Greenlaw.
Takeaway: Kevin O'Connell is a magician.
The Vikings are 3-0 because O'Connell is legitimately a top-five coach in the NFL (maybe top three). It almost doesn't even matter who the quarterback is because KOC will scheme his way into victories. More importantly, though, the Bucs screwed me over this week and I'm not going to miss an opportunity to whine about that. I'm officially over Tampa Bay.
Takeaway: Welcome back, Brock Bowers.
Bowers angered fantasy football managers (including myself) by undergoing knee surgery just before the start of the season (without any major indication there was a problem prior to most fantasy drafts), but he reminded everyone that he's not really human. Not only did he return from meniscus surgery in less than 20 days, but he immediately went out and caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Don't look now, but the Raiders are 3-0 with a showdown against the Chiefs coming in Week 4.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Takeaway: Ball don't lie.
The referees nearly gifted the Dallas Cowboys a win with an awful pass interference call that set the Cowboys up on the Ravens 2-yard line trailing by 3 points with 23 seconds left in the game. Dallas ultimately didn't score a touchdown, kicked a field goal to tie, then inexplicably allowed the Ravens to easily pick up 27 yards in 6 seconds to give Tyler Loop the opportunity to boot a game-winning 56-yard field goal, which he did. The team that should have won did win, and that doesn't always happen in the NFL so we should be grateful for that.
Takeaway: Sean Payton remains the most overrated and luckiest coach in the NFL.
If you've read my NFL columns before, you probably saw this one coming. If you're new, welcome! I'm Dan and I think Sean Payton is the NFL's most overrated head coach.
Once again, Payton benefited from something outside his control, this time a terrible pass interference call on what should have been a game-winning interception by the Rams. Instead, Denver kept the ball and scored a game-winning touchdown a few plays later. Payton is a good coach that the media treats like an elite coach because he's nice to them. But that reputation glosses over his up-and-down record, the Bountygate scandal that no one seems to talk about anymore and just how much he benefited from landing Drew Brees (only because the Dolphins medical staff screwed up royally).
Oh, and Payton handpicked Bo Nix, who isn't very good. Denver won despite Nix completing just 50% of his passes for under 200 yards with an interception.