Five teams remain undefeated as the Bucs lose unbeaten record
Five teams remain unbeaten in the NFL after the reigning Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 34-24 to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Kansas City Chiefs lost 24-30 at home to the Los Angeles Chargers to fall below .500 for the first time since 2015.
The Chiefs have dropped to last place in the AFC West division.
MVP race
Derek Carr, of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Matthew Stafford from the Los Angeles Rams, both continued their excellent starts to the season to bolster their cases for league MVP.
Carr led the Las Vegas Raiders to a 31-28 overtime win against the Miami Dolphins, helping them win their third successive game of the season.
It is the first time since 2002 that they have started with three consecutive wins and the first time in NFL history that a team has started with three successive wins against teams with at least 10 wins the season before.
Derek Carr leads the NFL for passing yards; he has made 1,203 so far this season.
Stafford has made a superb start to his new life with the LA Rams after his move from the Detroit Lions.
His 129.8 passer rating is second best in the league, and he leads the league in plays of 40 or more yards (6).
While their teams both have one loss, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott have been impressive through the first three games to remain in the discussion.
Looking to win back-to-back MVPs, Aaron Rodgers has bounced back from his week one performance with two strong matches in a row.
Against the 49ers last Sunday, he made a vital game winning drive with 37 seconds on the clock remaining to set up a field goal and help his side win 30-28.
Dak Prescott looks better than ever coming off his horrific ankle injury last season. Prescott leads the league in completion percentage at 77.5% with six touchdowns (TD) and two interceptions (INT).
The undefeated
With five teams without a loss this season, each week gets fans closer to understanding who the contenders and pretenders are.
The Raiders 3-0 record so far this season comes against strong performers from last season, while the Denver Broncos 3-0 start is against teams with a combined record of 0-9 who all had losing records from last year (Giants, Jaguars, Jets).
The Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played each other on Sunday, so one team were set to lose their unbeaten tag.
Stafford and rejuvenated wide receiver Desean Jackson combined with devastating effect to help the Rams defeat Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
The Carolina Panthers thrashed the Houston Texans, while the Arizona Cardinals saw off the Jacksonville Jaguars to also remain unbeaten.
Trailing in the second half, the Cardinals needed to come from behind to beat the Jaguars, who equaled the record for the longest return touchdown in NFL history.
The Panthers lost Christian McCaffrey and Jaycee Horn to injuries during their game on Thursday night, but were able to get the win, partly thanks to Sam Darnold’s two touchdowns.
Best moment of week three
There were a lot of exciting plays from week three, but the one that stands out the most came from the Baltimore Ravens against the Detroit Lions.
Detroit were looking for their first win of the season (and first for new head coach Dan Campbell) against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
With the Lions up 17-16, the Ravens set up a field goal attempt for Justin Tucker with seconds remaining.
66 yards away, it didn’t look likely that the kicker would convert but his monstrous kick hit the crossbar of the goal post and bounced over and through the goal to give his side the win and set an NFL record for the longest made field goal.
