Week 3 of the NFL season started Thursday night with a San Francisco 49ers victory over the New York Giants.
On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins posted a 50-point blowout, the Green Bay Packers came back from down 17-0 in the fourth quarter to win, the Buffalo Bills’ defense crushed the Washington Commanders, and the Indianapolis Colts kicked a late field goal to force overtime and then booted another to beat the Baltimore Ravens.
Later, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs rolled over the Chicago Bears with Taylor Swift in attendance, the Steelers held off a Raiders rally and the Dallas Cowboys lost to… the Arizona Cardinals?
On Monday night, the Philadelphia Eagles kept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at arm’s length and the Cincinnati Bengals held off the Los Angeles Rams in a defensive struggle.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and picking out who — or what — is rising and falling for every team. Let’s get to it.
Can the Bengals win with a hobbled Joe Burrow? Yes. If Burrow can operate at this level, he gives the Bengals a chance to win. But what’s more important is the defense must be incredibly effective in order to help Burrow while he recovers from his calf injury. Against the Rams, the Bengals didn’t allow a third-down conversion until garbage time and held Los Angeles to field goals on two early red zone drives.
Stock up after the win: Bengals’ pass rush. Cincinnati brought the heat as Bengals defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard combined for three sacks, 13 QB pressures and nine QB hits, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Stock down after the win: Tee Higgins. Higgins had just two catches on eight targets for 21 yards and said in a social media post that he needs to be better next week. — Ben Baby
Can the Rams’ offense right the ship before WR Cooper Kupp returns? The Rams have at least one more game before Kupp (hamstring) is eligible to return from his IR stint. The offense stalled Monday night in Cincinnati, going 1-for-4 in the red zone. Both Rams head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford talked about the missed opportunities the team had against the Bengals, including consistently failing to execute on third down. If the Rams can turn it around against the Colts, they’ll likely do it by relying on receivers Puka Nacua (5 receptions, 72 yards) and Tutu Atwell (4 receptions, 50 yards).
Stock up after the loss: The Rams’ defense. Defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon had the Rams’ first takeaway of the season, intercepting a pass from Burrow in the fourth quarter, and they held the Bengals to one touchdown, which came on Cincinnati’s only trip to the red zone.
Stock down after the loss: Third-down offense. The Rams went 1-11 on third down, with their lone conversion coming on their final offensive play of the game. Several of those third-down attempts were third-and-longs after LA got behind the sticks due to a sack or a penalty.
Who’s going to slow down RB D’Andre Swift? The only ones to do it so far have been the Eagles, who gave him just two touches in the opener against the Patriots. Since then? He rushed for a career-high 175 yards versus the Vikings in Week 2 and followed that up by averaging 8.1 yards per carry in a 130-yard rushing effort against the Bucs. Behind this offensive line, Swift has a chance to lead the league in rushing if he stays healthy.
Stock up after the win: The defense. It entered Monday’s game vulnerable against the pass but put the clamps on quarterback Baker Mayfield, forcing him into his first interception of the season and limiting him to 146 yards on 15-of-25 passing.
Stock down after the win: The passing game. Credit quarterback Jalen Hurts for playing through flu-like symptoms, but he threw a pair of interceptions, and consistency has been lacking through three games. — Tim McManus
Buccaneers
Will the offense be able to get it going? The Bucs have to be better with a top-10 defense in the New Orleans Saints up next. Wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Cade Otton had costly drops, running back Rachaad White fumbled the ball after being hit from behind by Jalen Carter and Mayfield threw his first interception of the season. This game could have actually been much worse considering the Bucs were outgained 472 yards to 174.
Stock up after the loss: Evans. With three touchdowns in three games, are the Bucs sure they want to let him test free agency in the offseason?
Stock down after the loss: The run game. The deficiencies were even more obvious against the Eagles’ defense. White and Sean Tucker rushed for a combined 41 yards, and White got clobbered in the backfield, resulting in a safety. — Jenna Laine
Next game: at Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
