Week 3 Surprises From Each Team

By AJ Olona and Shawn Stewart

Arizona Cardinals - QB Kyler Murray

After looking like an early MVP candidate in 2020, Kyler Murray quickly came crashing down against a mediocre defense. In Week 3, the Arizona Cardinals lost to the winless Detroit Lions and Kyler Murray was one of the main reasons why. While losses are not typically credited to one player alone, Murray struggled big time in this game. Kyler Murray threw three picks in the game and struggled to get things going early. The Arizona quarterback was not able to get much going on the ground either, only carrying the ball for 29 yards. The Cardinals were one of the most exciting teams in the NFC heading into this week and lost against a team that they should have beaten. The Cardinals are in an extremely tight race in the NFC West. Going forward, the Cardinals cannot afford to lose games to teams like the Lions and Kyler Murray must play better.

Atlanta Falcons - 4th Quarter Meltdown

At some point, someone is going to have to be accountable for the constant failure that the Falcons are having in the 4th quarter. They are starting to be known as the team that constantly blows 4th quarter leads. So far in 2020, the Falcons have started 0-3 and the last two games are ones that they should have won. It started with the onside kick fiasco against the Dallas Cowboys and then carried over to Week 3 against the Chicago Bears. The Falcons cannot blow another lead this year in the 4th quarter. If that happens again, Dan Quinn may be the person to answer for those shortcomings.

Baltimore Ravens - QB Lamar Jackson

The biggest disappointment for the Raven’s coming out of Week 3 has to be quarterback Lamar Jackson. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson recorded the lowest total passing yards of his illustrious NFL career. He completed just 15 of 28 passes on the day and failed to reach 100 passing yards, only throwing for 97 yards and 1 touchdown. The Ravens as a team were only able to compile a total of 228 yards against the stingy Chiefs defense. Jackson was pressured all night and the Chiefs made him look very uncomfortable in the pocket. In Week 3, it was a far cry from the 2019 version of the Lamar Jackson that won MVP.

Buffalo Bills - QB Josh Allen

Josh Allen is making such a strong push for MVP early on in 2020. In Week 3, Allen passed for over 300 yards and threw for 4 touchdowns, and added another one on the ground. This marked 3 straight games that Allen has thrown for over 300 passing yards. Allen now has a total of 10 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns in 3 games. So far in 3 games, Allen has already matched his passing touchdown total from his rookie year. Allen is now on pace to throw for 5,536 yards and 53 touchdown passes. Obviously, that won’t happen but it gives a good look into how well he is playing early on in this season. The last time the Bills started 3-0 was 2008 and 1992, and as many of you know, the Bills made it to the Super Bowl in that year. Just a little history for you!

Carolina Panthers - RB Mike Davis

The Panthers were put in a difficult position when they lost Christian McCaffery for a few weeks. There was never going to be a situation in which the Panthers were able to recreate McCaffery’s production on the field. However, Mike Davis gave it his best shot against the Los Angeles Chargers. While Mike Davis was only able to reach 46 yards on 13 carries, he was also able to chip in 8 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Again, no one is ever going to recreate the impact that Christian McCaffery has on the Panthers offense but Davis did give it a fair shot. If he can get a little more going on the ground, the Panthers will be able to stay afloat until Christian McCaffrey comes back from injury.

Cincinnati Bengals - The Offensive Line

Early on in the season, Joe Burrow has already taken a beating behind the Bengals offensive line. Just in Week 3 alone, Burrow was sacked 8 times by the Eagles defense. On top of that, the quarterback was hit 18 times throughout the game. Through 3 weeks, the number 1 overall pick out of LSU has been sacked a league-high 14 times. No one expected the Bengals offensive line to be great but to watch them each week is frustrating. Joe Burrow has shown a lot of talent in his young career so far but he will not last behind this line. We have seen what taking a beating like that does to a quarterback in the long run when Andrew Luck retired before the 2019 season. If the Bengals don’t make some necessary changes soon, Joe Burrow will not be able to be as successful as he should be.

Chicago Bears - QB Nick Foles

Last week, Mitchell Trubisky was on this very same list in a good way. Things change quickly in the NFL as Mitchell Trubisky was benched in Week 3 in favor of Nick Foles. Foles came into the game and threw 3 touchdowns and brought the Bears back to win over the Atlanta Falcons in the 4th quarter. Foles has already been named the starter going into the Bears week 4 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. We all assumed that at some point in the season Nick Foles was going to step in under center. After helping the Bears start 2-0, many believed that Trubisky had done enough to remain the starter. That was obviously not true as we got to see Nick Foles much sooner than we thought. After a great performance, we will have to see how he holds up against the number 1 ranked passing defense in the NFL this upcoming week.

Cleveland Browns - The Rushing Attack

The rushing attack for the Browns has to be the best in the entire league. The combination of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt is going to carry this team for the entire year because it is honestly too hard to have a lot of faith in Baker Mayfield. Chubb and Hunt combined for 35 carries with a total of 154 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Browns are clearly moving towards a rushing offense, despite the weapons they have in the passing games.

Dallas Cowboys - WR Cedrick Wilson

When the Dallas Cowboys drafted wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the first round of this year’s draft, many thought it was overkill. The Cowboys were already returning two 1,000 yard receivers from 2019 including Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper, the latter of which just signed a $100 million deal in the offseason. However, many were surprised to see that Cedrick Wilson was able to rack up so many receiving yards in Week 3. Cedrick Wilson was able to pull in 5 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns, both of which were more than Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. It appears as though the Cowboys have another receiving threat outside of their top 3 that they can go to any given week. With Wilson stepping up, the Cowboys now have 4 legitimate receiving threats any given week.

Denver Broncos - QB Brett Rypien

Jeff Driskel fared well enough in relief of Drew Lock to be given the starting job heading into Week 3. However, Driskel had a very short leash in Week 3. After completing only 17 passes for 176 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 pick. Driskel was sacked 5 times on the day and was eventually replaced by second-year quarterback Brett Rypien. After throwing a pick early on, Rypien was able to settle down and get into a grove. Rypien only threw for 53 yards on the day and was not able to find an endzone. However, he was able to show enough poise and control of the offense to be given the starting position heading into Week 3. Considering he was only added to the active roster 2 days before, he played surprisingly well. We will see if he can keep it up against a poor Jets defense.

Detroit Lions - WR Kenny Golladay

Kenny Golladay was able to make his 2020 debut in Week 3 and looked like he didn’t skip a beat. Through two weeks, the Lions were struggling heavily to find a groove in the passing game. Danny Amendola performed admirably in Week 1 and rookie Qunitez Cephus had two solid weeks in a row. However, the Lions did not have that true number 1 receiver that can take over a game. While Golladay only had 6 receptions for 57 yards, it was a good showing for the Lions passing offense to have their number 1 receiver back.

Green Bay Packers - WR Allen Lazard

With Devante Adams missing Week 3, the Green Bay Packers were able to push the ball down the field whiteout skipping a beat. In the game, Allen Lazard was able to step up as Aaron Rodgers’ go-to guy. On the day, Lazard had 6 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown on 8 targets. With so much talk during the offseason about how bad the Packers were in the receiving game outside of Devante Adams, it is surprising to see players step up for the Packers. Through the season, Lazard has been able to constantly step in and with Adams out, he showed that he could potentially be the team’s number one option.

Houston Texans - WR Kenny Stills

The Houston Texans do not have a true number one receiver on their team. They really should have thought about that when they decided to trade DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for next to nothing. So far in 2020, we have seen the Texans take a “receiver by committee” approach. In Week 3, it was Randall Cobb’s turn to be the guy as he was able to reach 95 receiving yards on the day. Surprisingly, the one receiver on the team who is not getting in on the action is Kenny Stills. In Week 3, Stills only had 3 catches that went for 35 yards. That brings his season total up to 51 yards on 5 catches. That is underwhelming for a guy that had over 40 catches and 500 yards for the team just a year ago. It is becoming increasingly clear week by week that Kenny Stills does not have much of a place on this team.

Indianapolis Colts - CB Xavier Rhodes

So far in 2020, Xavier Rhodes has been very good. But in Week 3 against Sam Darnold and the Jets, Rhodes was simply lockdown. On the opening drive of the game, Rhodes was able to step in front of a pass from Sam Darnold and take it back 44 yards for a defensive touchdown. Later in the game, Rhodes was able to pick off Same Darnold for the second time of the day, this time in the back of the endzone, ending only the second decent drive of the day by the Jets. Rhodes and the Colts held Sam Darnold to less than 170 passing yards on the day. For his efforts, Rhodes was named the AFC defensive player of the week.

Kansas City Chiefs - The Defense

The Chiefs have not been known for their defense but was the difference in the game against the Ravens. The defense of the Chiefs was able to keep Jackson in the pocket and racked up 4 sacks on the former NFL MVP. The Ravens have had one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL the last two seasons but looked extremely flat in Week 3. Through the first three weeks of the season, the Chiefs defense has been very good. But for them to hold the reigning league MVP to less than 100 passing yards is insane. If the Chiefs defense can keep this up, it will only make things easier for Patrick Mahomes. And that should absolutely terrify the rest of the NFL.

Los Angeles Chargers - WR Mike Williams

With Justin Herbert stepping in as the Chargers starter, he has been able to spread the ball around with success. However, Mike Williams has not really been apart of that success. Through two games of Mike Williams starting, receiver Keenan Allen has been targeted 29 times and is constantly getting separation compared to 13 targets for Mike Williams. In Week 3, Mike Williams only had 4 catches on 9 targets. Through three weeks Williams barley has 100 yards and has failed to reach the endzone. It is very disappointing for a player that was able to amass over 1,000 receiving yards just a year ago.

Los Angeles Rams - RB Darrell Henderson

When Malcolm Brown was the Rams leading running back in Week 1, many people were surprised. Then in Week 2, the Rams featured Darrell Henderson more with 12 carries. Because of this, many people across the league believed that the Rams were going to have a hot hand approach at running back for the rest of the season. However, it was Darrell Henderson who was able to be the lead back once again in Week 3. After back to back weeks of being the Rams leading rusher, it appears as though Henderson will be the guy going forward for the Rams. In the last two weeks, he has 195 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jacksonville Jaguars - RB James Robinson

Rookie James Robinson makes his third straight appearance on this list as he continues to put up decent numbers week in and week out for a Jaguars running game that saw Leonard Fournette pack up and leave for Tampa Bay. The surprise with Robinson comes more so out of how consistently he is putting up great rushing and receiving numbers for the Jaguars offense. James Robinson is an undrafted free agent out of Illinois State University. On Thursday night had 11 carries for 46 yards as well as 83 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on the night. He was the entire Jaguars offense and looks like he will continue to play a huge role going forward.

Las Vegas Raiders - QB Derek Carr

Derek Carr has been hit or miss so far in 2020. In the season opener, he was barely able to pull out a win against the Carolina Panthers before getting a surprise victory over the New Orleans Saints. However, Carr followed up that surprising win with a dud against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. In that game, Derek Carr had 2 fumbles which possibly cost his team the game. Carr needs to learn to protect the ball better to give his team a chance to win going forward. The Raiders have shown so far this season that they are going to go as far as Derek Carr will take them. For them to be successful in 2020, Carr cannot disappoint like this again.

Miami Dolphins - QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan Fitzpatrick had a solid game on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was nearly perfect, completing 18 of 20 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns while also getting one on the ground.  Now even though Fitzpatrick did not pass for a lot of yards, he was able to keep the Jaguars offense off the field for a majority of the night. In a season where we will undoubtedly see rookie Tua Tagovailoa at some point, it is fun to see Fitzpatrick play as well as he did. If he can keep it up, he will be able to hold off the rookie quarterback from Alabama for a few more weeks.

Minnesota Vikings - WR Justin Jefferson

The Minnesota Vikings were finally able to get production from their first-round pick out of LSU. After only having 5 catches through the first two weeks, Justin Jefferson was able to take the game over against the Tennessee Titans. On the day, Jefferson had 7 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown, including a long of 71 yards. Jefferson was one of the most explosive receivers coming out of this year’s draft. After losing Stefon Diggs, many were wondering who was going to step up. Jefferson showed that he could be the guy opposite of Adam Thielen. We will see if he can keep it up consistently.

New England Patriots - RB Rex Burkhead

The surprise for the Patriots has to be Rex Burkhead, who had 3 total touchdowns in the game, which is a new career-high. With James White out dealing with the tragic passing of his father in a car accident and his mother in critical condition, the Patriots decided to dedicate the game to White, especially the running backs, and they did not disappoint. The Patriots rushed for 252 yards on Sunday in honor of White and his family.

New Orleans Saints - DE Cameron Jordan

The New Orleans Saints as a whole have been disappointing in 2020. The defense has not lived up to expectations and that was no exception in Week 3. Cameron Jordan has seemingly dropped off of a cliff this season for the Saints. In Week 3, Aaron Rodgers had all the time in the world to throw to whoever he wanted. Jordan was not able to apply any pressure on Rodgers and was only able to record 1 solo tackle on the day. Jordan has been known as one of the premier pass rushers over the last decade or so but has yet to get to the quarterback at all this season. Cameron Jordan needs to step it up and find his groove or else the Saints will continue to flounder.

New York Giants - CB James Bradberry

James Bradberry has been one of the only few bright spots on the New York Giants in 2020. The free-agent signing out of Carolina has been a lockdown corner for most of the season so far. Bradberry has allowed only 8 catches on 19 targets so far throughout the season. While the Giants defense allowed Nick Mullens to throw for over 300 yards, Bradberry was able to hold his own. The rest of the Giants defense is so bad that it brings down Bradberry by association but we cannot overlook how good he has been so far this season.

New York Jets - QB Sam Darnold

It is starting to become very clear that Sam Darnold simply might not be the guy in New York. Against a very solid Colts defense, Darnold struggled heavily. From the beginning of the game, it was very clear that Darnold was overwhelmed. He threw a pick-six on the opening drive of the game only to throw another one at the end of the 3rd quarter. Darnold threw his third pick of the game in the endzone on one of the only good drives that the Jets offense was able to manage. On top of that, Darnold gave up a safety for his team in the 4th quarter. Darnold finished the game with only 168 passing yards. Darnold is going to have to figure it out soon or else the Jets might decide to move on after the season.

Philadelphia Eagles - QB Carson Wentz

Why is Carson Wentz playing so poorly this season? The fifth-year quarterback has his team sitting at the bottom of the NFC East with a 0-2-1 record. He has thrown only 3 touchdowns so far in the season and leads the league in interceptions with 6. Wentz has not been able to get comfortable all season. After another poor game in Week 3 where he turned the ball over two more times, many are starting to wonder when the Eagles may look towards rookie Jalen Hurts going forward.

San Francisco 49ers - QB Nick Mullens

With the 49ers missing 9 starters on their team heading into Week 3, including their starting quarterback, many were curious to see how the 49ers would show up against the New York Jets. Nick Mullens stepped in once again for Jimmy Garoppolo and was able to lead the 49ers to a 36 - 9 victory over the Giants. Mullens was able to step in and lead the 49ers offense without skipping a beat. Mullens showed on Sunday that he has the potential to be a starter in the NFL. Without a running game behind him, Mullens was able to complete 25 passes for 343 yards and a touchdown. Mullens did not turn the ball over on the day and was constantly able to spread the ball around to 10 different players. If Mullens can keep up his play, the 49ers may possibly have a quarterback controversy on their hands.

Seattle Seahawks  - WR Tyler Lockett

Everyone knows how good Tyler Lockett is. Through this point in his career, he has firmly established himself as a top receiving threat in the NFL. With the Seahawks adding another top receiver in DK Metcalf, it is surprising to still see Lockett thriving the way that he has. In Week 3, Lockett had 100 receiving yards and 3 touchdown receptions on 9 catches. Anytime a skill player can find the endzone that often, it is a surprise to fans. Thanks to his efforts in Week 3, Lockett now leads the NFL in touchdown receptions with 4.

Pittsburgh Steelers - RB James Conner

Two weeks in a row and it finally looks like James Conner is back to Pro Bowl form. After a disappointing opener in which Conner was injured again, it looked like Benny Snell could take over as the leading running back for the Steelers offense. However, Conner was able to string together back to back 100-yard rushing games and has firmly established himself as the lead back in the system once again.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers  - WR Scott Miller

With all of the weapons that Tom Brady and the Buccaneers had heading into the season, did anyone expect Scott Miller to be the teams leading receiver at any point in the season? With Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, and Cameron Brate all seemingly having a more important role than Miller heading into the season, it was Scott Miller that was the teams leading receiver in the Week 3 game against the Broncos. Miller finished the game with more yards than any of the aforementioned options in the receiving game with 83 yards. Through three games, Miller is surprisingly the Bucs leading receiver.

Tennessee Titans  - RB Derrick Henry

Derrick Henry, who has been quiet the first few weeks of the season, had a huge game against a Vikings defense who is usually very good against the run. Henry carried the ball 26 times for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. Is Henry finally back on track? This was the first game in which Henry was able to find the endzone on the ground and the first time that he was able to average over 4 yards a carry. Kalif Raymond, the wide receiver from Holy Cross, also had a big game in Week 3. He had 3 catches on 3 targets for 118 yards, but the crazy stat of the game is, the Titans scored 31 points and Ryan Tannehill did not throw a single touchdown pass. Just like we all thought the season was going to go, the entire Titans offense finally ran through Derrick Henry once again.

Washington Football Team - QB Dwayne Haskins

We all knew that heading into the season that the Washington Football Team was going to be a mess. While the team has had a few bright spots through three games, Dwayne Haskins has not been one of them. In Week 3, Haskins turned the ball over 4 times in the loss to the Cleveland Browns. While the Football Team has done Haskins a very bad disservice by not putting enough weapons around him, he needs to play better. If this continues, he is not going to have the time to be able to develop into the solid starter that he has the potential to be.

Follow A.J. on twitter @age_lona and Shawn @ShawnSportsNut