After the Cowboys’ win over the Giants on Monday Night Football, week 3 concluded with just two teams remaining undefeated.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins picked up significant (if contrasting) wins in week 3, shooting them up the Power Rankings, and disrupting the status quo of the top three for the first time this season. Here are the biggest movers and shakers.
Eagles soar, Dolphins riding the wave
Eagles’ Head Coach Nick Sirianni has built a team that is good on both sides of the ball, but devastating on offense in particular. Jalen Hurts has come out of his shell in 2022, and rising quickly as an early MVP contender. He went 22/35 for 340 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 134.7 during their 24-8 win over division rivals Washington.
.@Eagles 🤝 𝟯-𝟬 🤝 @MiamiDolphins
The two remaining undefeated teams in the #NFL have Top 5 offenses for:
🔺 TDs scored
🔺 QB passer rating
🔺 Passing yards
🔺 Yards per play
🔺 Yards per drive
🔺 3rd-down conversion %
🔺 4th-down conversion %#FinsUp #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/lB6QHJHMOd— The Playbook (@genius_playbook) September 28, 2022
Speaking of impactful Head Coaches, how about Mike McDaniels and this super-charged Dolphins offense? Tua is distributing the football in ways reminiscent of his Alabama form. The banged-up Buffalo secondary, missing four starters as they lined up in Florida, found out just how difficult it is to defend both Waddle and Hill. Waddle had 4 receptions for 102 yards, as Miami ground out a 21-19 win.
The Bills will feel hard-done by, particularly as Josh Allen uncharacteristically came short on a lay-up with two minutes to go in the red-zone. Their overreliance on him (their highest passer and rusher), as well as their injury issues, means they drop to 5th in the rankings.
Lamar setting new standards
The Baltimore Ravens rise up three places to 6th in our Power Rankings.
Lamar Jackson has made an early sprint as frontrunner for MVP. On his own, he has 10 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. He has a 100% scoring involvement rate. He’s scored more touchdowns than 30 other teams in the NFL. It is simply staggering what he has done in these first three games.
🔥 Lamar Jackson for the #Ravens, after Week 3:
◾️ 1st – passer rating (119)
◾️ 1st – passing TDs (10)
◾️ 2nd – av. completed air yards (7.7)
◾️ 2nd – longest completion (58.5)
◾️ 3rd – time to throw (3.02)Getting his MVP case in early. ⚡️#RavensFlock https://t.co/pZQHwpzO91
— The Playbook (@genius_playbook) September 26, 2022
Rodgers betters Brady in not-so classic
Tampa stay high because of how they’re playing without the ball. Despite the defeat, they remain 4th in our rankings. On the defensive site of the ball, they rank 1st in fewest points allowed (27), 2nd in 1st downs allowed and 4th in yards per play allowed (4.5). If they’re playing this well without Brady having the reps with a new O-Line and firing on all cylinders, then we’re justified to keep them in the top 5.
Trevor Lawrence shines in Jacksonville win
The sophomore quarterback has impressed in his first three games of this 2022 season, throwing his hat in the talented ring of AFC quarterbacks. His Jaguars defeated the LA Chargers 38-10 in a blowout that almost nobody would’ve called before the season began.
Lawrence went 28/39 on passing, for 240 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. He showed all the hallmarks of a competent and diligent QB, and the coaching of Doug Pederson has clearly given him a reason to feel confident again. His partnership with Christian Kirk is also something to watch out for as this season goes on. The Jags rise up four places.
Go off @Trevorlawrencee. His 3rd TD pass of the game! 🙌 #DUUUVAL
📺: #JAXvsLAC on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/DpipbWDRkA pic.twitter.com/z2X44o0qQB— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022
The Chargers, on the other hand, slip outside the top 10. The rib cartilage injury to Justin Herbert, who took a pain-killing injection to take to the field, is a worrying sight for Chargers fans.
Raiders move to 0-3, in a rut
The Las Vegas Raiders lost out 22-24 to the Tennessee Titans, who picked up their first win of the season. They had more first downs, more yards, more passing yards, fewer penalties and held the Titans to nothing in the second half. They appear to have no luck in their favor at the moment, and that is a challenging hole to emerge from.
If you go back to 1980, just 6 teams have made it through to the playoffs with an 0-3 start (of 176 teams who have done so). Raiders fans might want to factor in the expanded season to extend their odds a little, but the fact remains: it’s not looking good. They move to 25th.
