The story of the week was blocked field goals, especially in the final minutes of the early slate. Most of the favorites won this week, but there were a ton of great games with few big upsets that have definitely shook things up.
TNF – Buffalo Bills (3-0) -11.5 beat Miami Dolphins (0-3): 31-21
A bit of a back and forth game with Buffalo pulling away at the end. The Dolphins played their best game of the season with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Ollie Gordon scoring TDs, but it wasn’t enough. Josh Allen and James Cook led the Bills to victory, with Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, and Jackson Hawes adding TDs. Terrel Bernard also picked off Tua in the win.
Cleveland Browns (1-2) +7.5 beat Green Bay Packers (2-1): 13-10
Upset of the week, the Browns defense stifled the Packers at every turn, but the Packers defense did a lot of that too. Quinshon Judkins got 18 of the Browns 19 rushing attempts and the sole Browns TD. The Browns also blocked a FG attempt that would’ve given Green Bay the lead late. Matthew Golden led the way for the Packers with Josh Jacobs getting just 30 yards on 16 attempts.
Indianapolis Colts (3-0) -5.5 beat Tennessee Titans (0-3): 41-20
Another big game from Daniel Jones and the Colts, but it was Johnathan Taylor who stole the show. Chigoziem Okonkwo and Elic Ayomanor led the way for Tennessee with Cam Ward showing some flashes.
Minnesota Vikings (2-1) -3.5 beat Cincinnati Bengals (2-1): 48-10
One of the top fantasy scorers this week, the Vikings defense. Isaiah Rodgers had the game of his life, with 2 pick-sixes and a forced fumble. As a whole the Vikings defense forced 5 fumbles, recovering 3. On the offensive side Wentz was adequate and Jordan Mason filled the Aaron Jones void nicely. The Bengals offense struggled with turnovers clearly, but also struggled with yards in general. Chase Brown rushed for just 3 yards on 10 carries and Browning never got going either.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) -1.5 beat New England Patriots (1-2): 21-14
The Patriots lose 4 fumbles and throw a pick, with many of the turnovers coming in the red zone, squandering a very winnable game against the Steelers. TreVeyon Henderson was the lone patriot rusher to not fumble the ball and should get a higher snap share moving forward. The Steelers did just enough with Calvin Austin, DK Metcalf, and Kenneth Gainwell scoring their 3 TDs.
Philadelphia Eagles (3-0) -3.5 beat Los Angeles Rams (2-1): 33-26
Another crazy win, this time a huge comeback from the super bowl champs, who had a pitiful first half before switching focus to the passing game and taking the lead. The icing on the cake came as time expired where Jordan Davis blocked the Rams game winning field goal attempt and returned it for a TD. Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown broke out in the passing game after the Rams run defense required the shift. On the Rams side, Puka Nacua led the way but did not score a TD.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-0) -6.5 beat New York Jets (0-3): 29-27
What a crazy ending to this one, the Jets have a big 4th quarter to make it a 1 possession game. The Buccaneers line up for a FG to increase the lead from 6 to 9, but when Will McDonald jumps over the line, blocks the kick, and returns it for a TD to take the lead. Unfortunately for New York, Tampa had time to drive down the field and retake the lead with a FG as time expired. Egbuka had a big game, but Tampa was often unable to pound in TDs, relying on Chase McLaughlin for most of their scoring. On the Jets side Tyrod Taylor performed valiantly, relying heavily on Garrett Wilson.
Washington Commanders (2-1) -2.5 beat Las Vegas Raiders (1-2): 41-24
Mariota brought Washington back into the win column, benefitting heavily from a McNichols breakaway TD and Jaylin Lane Punt Return TD. The Raiders offense mostly felt flat, but Tre Tucker is likely the offensive player of the week with 8 receptions for 145 yards and 3 TDs.
Carolina Panthers (0-3) +4.5 beat Atlanta Falcons (1-2): 30-0
All around shutout victory for the Panthers with Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade intercepting Michael Penix and Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald hit 6 of 6 total kicks. The Falcons turned to Kirk Cousins late, but to no avail.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) -1.5 beat Houston Texans (0-3): 17-10
Both teams struggled in this one, but Brian Thomas Jr. made a big play for Jacksonville, allowing Travis Etienne to score the TD a few plays later. The Texans drove down field but Josh Hines-Allen got a hand on C.J. Stroud’s throw and it was intercepted by Antonio Johnson securing the win.
Los Angeles Chargers (3-0) -2.5 beat Denver Broncos (1-2): 23-20
While the Chargers offense looked be the stronger unit for most of the game, it took a late comeback for LA to tie the game back up and eventually win it off a 43 yarder from Cameron Dicker. Quentin Johnston had some amazing catches and is really looking like a different player this season. Hampton performed admirably after veteran Najee Harris went down with what looked to be a season ending achilles injury. Denver’s offense was almost entirely Courtland Sutton and J.K. Dobbins with RJ Harvey getting only 2 rushes for 2 yards, but adding 14 more yards through the air. The Chargers now sit at 3-0 with 3 divisional wins.
Seattle Seahawks (2-1) -7.5 beat New Orleans Saints (0-3): 44-13
It’s weird to say for a game that ended with a 31 point deficit, but this game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Seattle dominated this game from the get go and the result was never in doubt. Darnold relied heavily on JSN once again but it was Tory Horton who stole the show with 2 TDs, one as a receiver and one as a punt returner. Chris Olave led the Saints with just 57 yards from scrimmage and Tyler Shough made his regular season debut late but went 0/2.
San Francisco 49ers (3-0) -1.5 beat Arizona Cardinals (2-1): 16-15
The 49ers survive a late safety via holding call that gave the Cardinals a 2 point lead off the back of an Eddy Pineiro kick. Ricky Pearsall and McCaffrey accounted for most of the yards for the Mac Jones led offense. The Cardinals defense was the main reason the game stayed close as the Arizona offense struggled to get much of anything going. Both teams took a significant hit though, as Nick Bosa and James Conner both went down with what are believed to be season ending injuries for the both of them.
Chicago Bears (1-2) +1.5 beat Dallas Cowboys (1-2): 31-14
Caleb Williams threw 4 TDs to 4 different players in this one as the Bears looked like the team that was advertised this offseason. Luther Burden had his breakout game going for 101 yards. CeeDee Lamb left the game early without recording a reception and was ruled out, in his absence Jake Ferguson was the focal point of the offense, ending with 13 receptions.
SNF – Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) -6.5 beat New York Giants (0-3): 22-9
This game was much more winnable for the Giants than the final score line indicates. Kicker Graham Gano got hurt in pregame warmups, leading to the Giants entering the game with no kicker. As a result they went for it on 4th down 4 times, only being successful once, and had their lone extra point attempt blocked easily while running lefty punter Jamie Gillian at Kicker with special teamer Gunner Olszewski as their emergency holder. Later in the game they attempted a short field goal with the injured Gano who winced in pain despite making the kick. This last minute pre-game injury drastically altered the coaching decisions in this game and led to many unnecessary turnovers that they were unable to overcome. Cam Skattebo had a break out game, ending with almost as many yards as the rest of his team combined. For the Chiefs, Mahomes was able to connect with Tyquan Thornton on a few deep balls to propel the offense to a victory.
MNF – Detroit Lions (2-1) +4.5 beat Baltimore Ravens (1-2): 38-30
The Lions get a big win on Monday Night off the back of big games from David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. They converted a late 4th down with St. Brown and then scored via a Montgomery breakaway to take a 2 score lead that they were able to hold on to. The Ravens also played a pretty good game but the defense couldn’t keep up with the Lions when it mattered most. Mark Andrews had his biggest game of the year going 6/91/2.
