Sunday takeaways: Week 3

By: Josh Frey-Sam

It’s hard being a fan, ain’t it?

Truth be told, I was never worried, watching my Green Bay Packers dominate the Cleveland Browns for 55 minutes in their own stadium before a sudden collapse on Sunday.

Even when Jordan Love threw a costly interception deep in Packers territory, which led to the Browns’ game-tying touchdown, or Brandon McManus’ go-ahead field goal attempt was blocked on the ensuing drive — I never blinked.

It really wasn’t until Andre Szymt’s walk-off boot went through the uprights that I believed the Packers would lose that game.

I guess that’s a byproduct of my being a fan of a successful organization, one where I watched Aaron Rodgers lead some incredible comebacks for 15 years.

Either way, once it sank in, that one stung. It’s tough to watch your team lose a game they should’ve won.

Five minutes later, I was fine. I reminded myself that it’s Week 3.

Disappointing? Very. Something to dwell on? Absolutely not.

Maybe that’s a sentiment that bears reminding some fans after a day that saw two other teams lose on last-second field goals and another fall after having their game-winning attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown.

Yes, it all stings. But we have a long way to go.

Let’s get into my rundown of takeaways from Week 3:

Cincinnati 10, Minnesota 48

This game did not come down to a field goal. Nothing — and I mean NOTHING — went right for the Bengals in this game. As someone who bet Vikes -3.0, I’m not shocked Cincy lost, but I didn’t expect it to look that bad. Carson Wentz should provide the Vikes with stability in the interim, and Jake Browning should settle in eventually, but it needs to happen quickly.

Pittsburgh 21, New England 14

Nothing is going to come easy for the Steelers this season. These are the kind of games they’ll be in and have to win all year. As for the Patriots, get ready, TreVeyon Henderson owners — I think Week 4 is going to be your coming-out party.

Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 20

Daniel Jones won’t get any MVP votes this season, but man, he is playing some efficient football. The Colts have tougher games ahead, so I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but this schedule is shaping up nicely for them to occupy the No. 3 seed and host a playoff game.

Houston 10, Jacksonville 17

Yeah, the Jags are 2-1, but I was expecting more from Trevor Lawrence. Perhaps he’s still adjusting to Liam Coen’s offence, and we’ll see a much-improved QB come November, but so far it hasn’t been good.

Atlanta 0, Carolina 30

How many of you were booted from your survivor pools? Horrible game from the Falcons’ offence, but I’m not worried about Michael Penix Jr.. Reminder — Sunday was his seventh career game. On the other side, this didn’t move the needle for me on the Panthers.

Los Angeles Rams 26, Philadelphia 33

The Eagles reminded people that they can win by throwing the football, too. Three of their last four drives ended with a Jalen Hurts touchdown pass. More notably, I’d bet a decent amount of money that the Rams will be working on their field goal protection this week after their last two possessions ended in blocks.

New York Jets 27, Tampa Bay 29

The Bucs are going to need Emeka Egbuka to rest that groin because he’s in for a huge workload going forward. Mike Evans injured his hamstring and I would guess ends up on the IR, while Chris Godwin is just ramping up in practice. Sterling Sheppard and Cade Otton become huge waiver wire targets this week.

Las Vegas 24, Washington 41

Impressive showing from the Commanders, who dominated with Marcus Mariota at the helm. Washington’s front-four continues to be one of the best surprises of the season, while the Raiders’ offensive line remains a disaster. Geno Smith has been sacked 12 times in three games, and Ashton Jeanty owners are on bridge watch.

Green Bay 10, Cleveland 13

A valuable learning opportunity for this Packers team, which threw a win away on its first road trip of the season.

Denver 20, Los Angeles 23

You’re seeing why good coaching matters. The Chargers used to be a team that would lose this kind of game. Denver is a club that is still learning to win these ones. I’m telling you, Bo Nix is close.Also, Omarion Hampton — it’s your time.

New Orleans 13, Seattle 44

Nothing surprising here. I will say that I think Spencer Rattler is far from the Saints’ biggest issue right now. He’s actually playing half-decent, which is terrifying for Saints fans because I’m not sure you’ll get better from him. This is going to be a long season in NOLA.

Arizona 15, San Francisco 16

Yes, Marvin Harrison Jr. had a terrible drop, but I swear the Cardinals forget they drafted this guy 4th overall. Three catches for 44 yards should be his halftime stat line, not for the entire game. I don’t even have him in fantasy; I just can’t stand to watch him in this offence. The Cards are the least fun team to watch in the NFL, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Dallas 14, Chicago 31

A coming-out party for Ben Johnson as a head coach. Some really good things from Caleb Williams in this game. Man, the Cowboys’ secondary stinks. One of the worst units in football right now.

Kansas City 22, New York Giants 9

It’s funny, I left this game with a weird feeling that we’re going to see a Tyreek Hill-Patrick Mahomes reunion this season. I think it makes a ton of sense. Until that happens, Tyquan Thornton should be rostered in every league — he’s emerged as the most explosive weapon in KC’s offence.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh