Takeaways From Week 3 in the NFL

Week 3 is in the books and there were interesting results to assess. Who would have thought the Chiefs would be last place in the AFC West and Carolina would be 3-0? Still too early to know anything for sure but there are some teams that are questioning themselves and others who are riding high. Let’s update the divisions.

NFC LEAST: Combined Record 4-8

STOCK UP: Dallas The Cowboys are undoubtedly the class of this division after three games. They clobbered the Eagles 41-21 on Monday night and should easily win this division, but Dallas has a way of making things interesting so I’m staying cautious.

STOCK DOWN: The Giants are 0-3 and are really struggling after losing another close one in Atlanta. Washington ran into a buzzsaw in Buffalo and got thumped 43-21 and Philadelphia got trashed in Dallas. An interesting debate would be which team is the worst among these three.

NFC NORTH: Combined Record 4-8

STOCK UP: Green Bay had a huge come-from-behind win on Sunday night against the 49ers and they are making everyone forget their poor showing in the opener. Aaron Rodgers is still interested in playing. After two heartbreaking losses, Minnesota won a big one against the Seahawks for their first win of the season.

THUMBS UP FOR A GREAT EFFORT: Detroit gave a tremendous effort against Baltimore and lost on a NFL record-breaking kick of 66 yards that should have never happened. The play clock clearly ran out and a 5 yard penalty should have been assessed to the Ravens which would have made it a 71 yard attempt and it would have been no good. Just bad luck

STOCK DOWN: Chicago had 1 yard passing in their loss to the Browns. Welcome to the NFL, Justin Fields.

NFC SOUTH: Combined Record 8-4

STOCK UP: The Carolina Panthers took to the road for the first time as they thumped the Texans in Houston. They will be taking a 3-0 record back to Texas to play the Cowboys. A win there and they will gain everyone’s attention. New Orleans bounced back and won a tough game on the road against the Patriots to go to 2-1.

STUCK IN NEUTRAL: Tampa Bay lost to the Rams which isn’t a bad loss. However, they are struggling on defense and LA thrashed them. They were unable to match the intensity of the Rams. Too early to panic, but there are concerns.

MUCH NEEDED WIN: The Falcons needed a win to keep from starting 0-3 and they got it against the New York Giants.

NFC WEST: Combined Record 9-3

STOCK UP: Arizona kept winning to stay undefeated as they beat Jacksonville. The Rams clobbered defending Super Bowl Champion, Tampa Bay 34-24 to establish themselves as a team to be reckoned with. The Cardinals and LA play each other this week in LA.

TOUGH LOSS: The 49ers lost on the last play of the game when Mason Crosby booted a 51-yard field goal to win it for the Packers.

STOCK DOWN: Seattle lost to Minnesota and have fallen to 1-2 and have to travel to San Francisco next week in danger of falling to 1-3.

AFC EAST: Combined Record 4-8

STOCK UP: Buffalo is establishing itself as clearly the best team in the division after their 43-21 win over Washington. They should get another win against Houston this week.

TOUGH LOSS: Miami went to Las Vegas with their 2nd string quarterback and lost in overtime to the undefeated Raiders.

STOCK DOWN: The New York Jets are continuing to struggle with a rookie quarterback and have to remain patient.

AFC NORTH: Combined Record 7-5

STOCK UP: Cleveland got to 2-1 with a 26-6 win over the offensively challenged Chicago Bears. Cincinnati got a rare win (for them) in Pittsburgh and defeated the Steelers. They also are 2-1.

SHOULD HAVE LOST: Baltimore got extremely lucky winning in Detroit on a record-breaking field goal by Justin Tucker.

STOCK DOWN: The Steelers were awful for the 2nd week in a row as they lost to the Bengals. Is is finally over for Big Ben?

AFC SOUTH: Combined Record 3-9

STOCK UP: Tennessee took care of Indianapolis and have won two in a row since their opening no-show against Arizona. As of now, they may clinch this division by Halloween.

STOCK DOWN: Jacksonville and the Colts both lost and fell to 0-3. Houston got beat up on Thursday night by the Panthers. This division is BAD.

AFC WEST: Combined Record 9-3

STOCK UP: The Raiders and Broncos both won and ran their record to 3-0. They both have tough games this week as Vegas travels to LA to play the Chargers and Baltimore invades Denver. Speaking of the Chargers, they went into Kansas City and outlasted the Chiefs.

STOCK DOWN: Kansas City has started the season at 1-2 and are struggling on defense. It is stupid to panic, but the Chiefs are looking to right the ship.