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Another week of NFL action brought more great games. Some were surprising upsets, while others exceeded expectations. From Week Three of NFL action, TWSN NFL analysts Marissa Myers, Logan Fulmer, Andrew Little, Matt Levine, and Isaac Nelson give the top five games of the week.
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins
What I saw as the game of the week, had the 2-0 Buffalo Bills traveling to Miami to take on the 2-0 Dolphins. There was a real home field advantage at this game, as along with the fans, a heat index of over 100 was hit. This didn’t stop the Bills from scoring on their opening drive, however, which has become consistent. It came with a short Josh Allen pass to Devin Singletary. The Dolphins soon came back though with a rushing touchdown out of Chase Edmonds. In the second quarter, each team had a passing touchdown which kept the score tied going into the half. The only points coming out of the third quarter was a Tyler Bass field goal to put the Bills on top. The fourth quarter was full of craziness, though. The quarter started with a missed field goal from the Bills, and the Dolphins responded with another Edmonds rushing touchdown to put them on top. In the final two minutes of the game, Josh Allen and the Bills found themselves at the two-yard line with fourth and goal. The pass was short to Isaiah McKenzie and in turn resulted in a turnover on downs by the goal line. The Dolphins went three and out afterwards and actually lost a yard, pinning their punter in the end zone as they were up four. The punter Thomas Morstead for the Dolphins hit the punt off the buttocks of another Dolphins player, which made the ball stay in the end zone and go out of bounds for a safety. This meant the Bills only needed a field goal and Josh Allen had the ball. With a dramatic finish, the Bills got the ball inside field goal range with no timeouts. But the time chimed away, and the game ended before the clock could be stopped, putting the Dolphins at 3-0 and a top the division. (Isaac)
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Commanders
Would the Philadelphia Eagles be able to keep up their dominant streak, or would Carson Wentz get revenge on his former team? That was a major storyline leading up to the game, and the Eagles were the ones to answer the call. An Eagles pass rush that had a few slow weeks to start the season finally got going against the Commanders. In the first half alone, the Eagles sacked Wentz six times and ended up sacking him nine times in total. The defense was on their game, and so was the Eagles’ offense. Hurts continued to elevate his game, ending up with 22 completions on 35 attempts for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Through the first two weeks, it had been the A.J.Brown show, but in this game, Washington had no answers for the DeVonta Smith show. Of the 328 yards Hurts threw for, Smith made up 169 of them. It was a complete game from the Eagles as they put on a great performance. (Marissa)
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers
Divisional games can always get a little wild, and that trend continued in Carolina. The wildness started right off the rip as the Saints looked to find their rhythm on their second drive until Alvin Kamara was stripped, and the ball was scooped up by Marquis Haynes Sr. and returned 44 yards for a touchdown. That was the start of the dominant first half by the Panthers, as they would kick two more field goals and take a 13-0 lead going into halftime. Everyone seemed to come out of the locker room extremely flat as no points were scored in the third quarter, but things got interesting in the fourth. The Saints started things off with a Mark Ingram touchdown, making it a six point game. Baker Mayfield needed to put together a drive, and he did just that as he connected with Laviska Shenault for a 67-yard touchdown. The final score ended up being 22-14 with the Panthers getting their first win of the season thanks to a great defensive performance that consisted of one sack, one forced fumble recovered for a touchdown, and two interceptions. (Logan)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Los Angeles Chargers
DUUUVAL! What a performance from the Jacksonville Jaguars, going on the road to beat the Los Angeles Chargers. It was an impressive showing from Jacksonville throughout, as they made the Chargers’ life tough all game long. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence looked great, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns against this tough defense. The offense for the Jaguars looks explosive and like they can compete against the best of the NFL. On defense, they held the Chargers in check. Quarterback Justin Herbert looked out of sorts all game, and maybe it was due to him playing through an injury, but the Jaguars defense came to play. It was an all-around beat down for a team traveling across the country. Props to Jacksonville, they look to be building on the excitement surrounding this team behind new head coach Doug Pederson. (Matt)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts entered Week Three as heavy underdogs at home against the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs after an embarrassing 24-0 loss in Jacksonville. The Matt Ryan experiment did not start the way the Colts had hoped, and the game felt like a must win to “save” their season from spiraling down. Kansas City walked into a trap game with a home underdog. The play calling from Andy Reid was uncharacteristically bland. Backup kicker Matt Ammendola struggled with a missed extra point and a missed field goal from close range. Indianapolis’ defense stepped up without Shaquille Leonard and contained Patrick Mahomes. Matt Ryan played a clean four quarters of football and found 6’7 rookie tight end Jelani Woods for two touchdowns. The Colts win serves as a huge shift in momentum for their season, and draws questions for Kansas City. Were they just victims to a trap game, or are the struggles deeper? Mahomes and Eric Bienemy had a public conflict going into halftime, and the status of the Chiefs’ offense will be something to monitor in the coming weeks. (Andrew)