Week 3 of the NFL season featured the Vikings beating up on Cam Newton, the revival of Aaron Rodgers, the official arrival of the Philadelphia Eagles as a contender, a six-pick disaster from Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Cardinals turning in a terrible performance after having to travel cross-country for an early start.
Here is a closer look at the best and worst that took place on Sunday during Week 3 of the 2016 NFL season.
Best
Minnesota Vikings defense
After analysts and fans alike criticized Aaron Rodgers for his poor showing in Week 2, the Vikings defense gave reigning MVP quarterback Cam Newton the kind of beating many will still be talking about for another week. Mike Zimmer’s fast, swarming group sacked Newton eight times (including one for a safety) and intercepted three of the 2015 MVP’s passes.
The Panthers scored 10 points in the first quarter and then didn’t score again, as the Vikings rattled off 22 straight points to take down the defending NFC champions in their own house. Everson Griffen led the way with three sacks of Newton, but six different Vikings tallied at least one. Despite running 72 plays from scrimmage, the Panthers—who led the league in scoring last season—managed only 306 total yards.
The Vikings have now made MVP quarterbacks look like rookies in back-to-back weeks. Zimmer’s resilient club is starting to feel a lot like the 2015 Broncos.
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
There was nothing wrong with Rodgers in the first half of Green Bay’s win over the Lions. The center of criticism for most of the week, Rodgers responded with four touchdown passes during the first 30 minutes, including a pair of scores to Jordy Nelson.
The Packers put up points on their first five possessions to build a 31-3 lead, and Rodgers’ late scramble helped seal Green Bay’s 34-27 win. He finished with a passer rating over 100.0 (129.3) for the first time since October 2015, snapping a 14-game drought. It wasn’t always perfect, especially against a banged-up Detroit defense, and Rodgers and the Packers cooled off significantly in the second half. But No. 12 finally looked much more like a two-time MVP on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
QB Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos
Trevor Siemian is a game manager? Not on Sunday he wasn’t. The Broncos’ first-year starter threw for a career-high 312 yards and four touchdowns, as Denver came from behind to beat the Bengals in Cincinnati. Siemian connected with Emmanuel Sanders on a pair of first-half touchdowns, hit John Phillips for the go-ahead score with under seven minutes left and then put the dagger in the Bengals with a 55-yard strike to Demaryius Thomas.
The Broncos’ confidence in Siemian has never waned, but no one saw his Week 3 passing explosion coming, especially against a talented Bengals secondary. His four touchdown passes were the most by a Broncos quarterback since Peyton Manning in November 2014.
Terrelle Pryor, Cleveland Browns
The Browns lost like only Cleveland can (by missing a game-winning field goal, only to lose in overtime), but don’t blame Pryor. Down to a rookie at quarterback and facing a double-digit spread on the road in Miami, the Browns leaned on Pryor—who delivered 200 total yards passing, rushing and receiving.
He completed three passes for 25 yards, rushed four times for 21 yards and a score and caught eight passes for 144 yards, including a 40-yard catch to set up Cleveland’s game-tying field goal. There might not be another player in the NFL right now capable of producing a game as diverse as Pryor’s on Sunday. It’s just a shame the Browns couldn’t convert his special performance into a win.
WR Marvin Jones, Detroit Lions
Missing Calvin Johnson suddenly doesn’t look as bad when Jones is putting up Megatron-like numbers. The Lions’ free-agent pickup produced the NFL’s first 200-yard receiving game of the 2016 season on Sunday, catching six passes for 205 yards and two scores as the Lions nearly came back from a 28-point deficit against the Packers.
He had touchdown receptions of 73 and 35 yards, while also sprinkling in catches gaining 38, 23, 17 and 19 yards. Through three games in Detroit, Jones now has 408 receiving yards—putting him on pace for 2,176 over 16 games. Of course, Megatron holds the NFL record at 1,964.
Philadelphia Eagles
The uncertainty that followed the Eagles’ wins over the Browns and Bears to start the season all but evaporated on Sunday, when Philadelphia throttled the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field to claim supremacy over the state of Pennsylvania.
The 31-point victory over a Super Bowl contender featured 302 passing yards and two touchdowns from rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, and four sacks and two takeaways of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Eagles are now 3-0, with an impressively smooth quarterback and a defense that has allowed only 27 points in three games. It’s probably time to start taking the NFC East leaders seriously.
Worst
New York Jets offense
Remember New York’s thrashing of the Bills in Week 2? It feels like ages ago. The sloppy, turnover-prone Jets reemerged in Kansas City, where Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed six interceptions and New York finished with almost three times as many turnovers (eight) as points scored (three).
Two of Fitzpatrick’s interceptions were in the red zone, and his fifth pick was returned for a touchdown. New York also had a fumble returned for a touchdown in the first half. The Jets’ epic meltdown represented just the fourth time since 2000 that a team had eight turnovers in a game, while Fitzpatrick became the first quarterback since Peyton Manning in 2007 to throw six picks in a single game.
Arizona Cardinals
There’s nothing easy about a West Coast team flying to the East coast and playing the early Sunday game, especially with the home team in this scenario (the Buffalo Bills) coming off an extended break after playing on the following Thursday night.
Still, there’s no excuse for Arizona’s five turnovers, which included four Carson Palmer interceptions and a fumbled field goal attempt returned for a touchdown. Bruce Arians’ club was sleep-walking from start to finish. The previously winless Bills led 17-0 in the first half and 30-7 early in the second half, and eventually held on for a 33-18 win. The Cardinals were one of the final four teams in the playoffs last year, but have now started a Super-Bowl-or-bust season at 1-2.
QB Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
There are a lot of reasons why the Jaguars are 0-3, but Bortles has to be considered one of the biggest disappointments. The third-year quarterback threw three more interceptions during Jacksonville’s 19-17 loss to the Ravens, putting him on pace for 32 this season.
His first pick led to three Baltimore points, his second took away a scoring opportunity and his third ended the game in the final minute. Bortles also took a huge sack late in the fourth quarter, which set up a long field goal attempt that was blocked. The Jaguars have young, exciting talent, but they aren’t good enough to overcome all the mistakes being made by their quarterback.
Houston Texans
Playing in New England on a short week is one of the toughest tasks in football, but the Texans used their primetime opportunity against a rookie quarterback to provide a pathetic all-around performance. Houston lost two fumbles on kickoff returns, leading to two Patriots touchdowns.
The Texans offense didn’t cross midfield until deep into the third quarter and made zero trips inside the red zone. On the other side of the ball, Houston’s defense gave up 185 yards rushing and two touchdown runs to LeGarrette Blount, despite the Patriots starting a rookie quarterback on only a few days of preparation. The end result was a 27-0 loss that looked every bit as bad as it sounds.
