TOP TWO TEAMS
Top teams, best performances, predictions: The NFL after Week 3
The two best teams in the NFL are both out west; The two worst have rookie quarterbacks. And how do the Vikings rank compared to the rest of the league?
September 28, 2021 at 5:09PM
1. Rams (3-0)
You know you're rollin' when Tom Brady and the Bucs can't keep pace with you.
2. Raiders (3-0)
According to Next Gen stats, Vegas is the first team to start 3-0 by beating three teams that won at least 10 games the year before.
BOTTOM TWO TEAMS
31. Jaguars (0-3)
With seven interceptions and a 17-game schedule, Trevor Lawrence is on pace to throw 40 picks, 12 more than Peyton Manning's rookie record set in 1998.
32. Jets (0-3)
Ditto for Zach Wilson.
WHERE ARE THE VIKINGS?
No. 18! The roaring comeback to beat Seattle vaulted the Vikings eight spots. They're ahead of the five 0-3 teams and nine of the other 1-2 teams. Sorry, but we'll give the Chiefs the title of Best 1-2 Team in Football.
BEST WIN
Rams 34, Buccaneers 24
Next Gen says Matthew Stafford now has six touchdown passes on vertical go routes. It also says his predecessor, Jared Goff, had only six of those all last season. The ex-Lion appears to be the missing MVP piece in L.A.
WORST LOSS
Steelers 10, Bengals 24
Ben Roethlisberger targeted running back Najee Harris 19 times, including a fourth-and-10 checkdown for negative yardage. Pittsburgh has scored 43 points in three games. And, oh yeah, they also pressured Cincy QB Joe Burrow one time. One.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Justin Tucker. Whatever the Ravens future Hall of Fame kicker has going on between his ears, he should bottle and sell it. In the Season of the Last-Second Field Goal, his NFL-record 66-yarder hit the crossbar and crawled in to beat the Lions in Detroit.
BEST CALL
Brandon Staley. The Chargers' rookie head coach knew a field goal with 48 seconds left wouldn't be enough against Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. So he passed up a 48-yard attempt to go for it on fourth-and-4. After a false start, he still went for it on fourth-and-9. The Chargers converted, scored a touchdown and held off Mahomes, who was forced to play for a touchdown with 32 seconds left and one timeout.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase, the fifth overall draft pick, is the youngest player in NFL history to reach four receiving touchdowns in his first three games. He beat another 21-year-old named Randy Moss, who had three TD grabs in his first three games as a Viking back in 1998.
STREAKING
Denver is 3-0 for the first time since 2016. Teddy Bridgewater, appearing to be the steal of the offseason, is 3-0 through three games for the first time in his career. Of course, the Denver detractors will argue the Broncos have only beaten the Giants, Jaguars and Jets, whose combined record is 0-9. Next up: Baltimore (2-1) at home.
WEEK 4 GAME OF THE WEEK
Buccaneers (2-1) at Patriots (1-2). With all due respect to the 3-0 Cardinals playing the 3-0 Rams, all eyes will be on Brady vs. Belichick in the G.O.A.T.'s return to Foxboro.
LESLIE! LESLIE! LESLIE!
Bills defensive coordinator and former Vikings coach Leslie Frazier pitched a shutout from the final 46 seconds of Week 1 through the first 19:18 of Week 3. In those 80 minutes, 4 seconds, the Bills outscored their opposition 59-0.
WEEK 4 LOCK
Titans (minus-7½) over Jets in Jersey. Season Lock record: 2-0.
WEEK 4 UPSET SPECIAL
Lions plus-4 at Bears. Season Upset Special record: 3-0.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
