This story has been updated with new information.
32 things we learned from Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season:
QB1: I’ve been saying this for a month now, but does anyone still believe in the Russell Wilson truth after Justin Fields put himself in the driver’s seat and in pole position as the Pittsburgh Steelers went 3-0 for the fourth time under head coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers made the playoffs following other 3-0 starts under Tomlin, including an appearance in Super Bowl XLVI to close out the 2010 season.
2. By the way, Fields wears the number 1, but his touchdown totals (one passing, one rushing) in Sunday’s win over the unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers are also noteworthy, considering Pittsburgh was tied for the fewest touchdowns in the league this season. Fields is still adjusting to OC Arthur Smith’s offense and hasn’t been spectacular yet. But he’s playing well enough. He’s using his legs, his weapon, more carefully than he did in Chicago. He’s also limiting his mistakes, and that formula is a near-perfect match for the Steelers’ swarming defense and accurate K Chris Boswell.
3. By the way, Wilson’s number is Pittsburgh, but it also means that Pittsburgh is his third NFL destination. Would it make sense for the Steelers to trade Wilson, who is playing at the veteran minimum salary ($1.2 million) once he recovers from a lingering calf injury, and for the Broncos to pay him $39 million in exchange for not being in Denver? Sure, Fields could get hurt and Wilson would be a good alternative. But veteran QB Kyle Allen is also on this roster, and it’s clear that Fields is the only player who is set to become a free agent in 2025 who may have a long-term future in the Steel City. Why not get something for Russell when teams like the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders really need him?
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4. Going back to the Steelers defense, they became the first team in 15 years to allow 10 or fewer points in each of their first three games to start a season.
5. Who is newly promoted quarterback Andy Dalton (319 yards, three passing touchdowns) back in contention for the NFC South after beating the Raiders in Las Vegas and playing one of the best games of his 14-year career? The Carolina Panthers looked like the worst team in the league for two weeks with former No. 1 pick Bryce Young at the helm, and he orchestrated just one touchdown drive, but suddenly they’re one game out of first place after two of the NFL’s early surprises, the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, stumbled. You never know what’s going to happen in this league.
6. The number of teams that have made the playoffs after starting 0-3 since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Looking at the Tennessee Titans, the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars had better be careful ahead of the season’s first “Monday Night Football” doubleheader.
6a. Six teams with 0-2 records won on Sunday.
6b. Four teams are 3-0: the Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs, with the Buffalo Bills potentially joining them on Monday.
7. The Green Bay Packers defense intercepted Titans quarterback Will Revis twice in Sunday’s 30-14 win, tying their 2023 total for interceptions.
8. The number of times Revis was sacked on Sunday. That means he’s been sacked 15 times in three starts and is on pace to be sacked a record 85 times for the season.
Revis, who started the day with a league-worst five fumbled passes, also recorded a turnover tally after losing the ball three times against the Pack. Green Bay got a 35-yard interception six from cornerback Jaire Alexander on a mayonnaise-loving pass.
9. Let’s also give a shout-out to Green Bay QB2 Malik Willis, who played classy on his way to exacting revenge against the Titans this week. The Titans drafted him two years ago but seemed to have given up on him long before trading Willis to the Packers last month. On Sunday, he caught his second NFL touchdown pass and a career-high 202 yards in Nashville, then ran for 73 yards and another score in place of injured starter Jordan Love to secure his second win. Isn’t Willis the kind of player who could have thrived in Music City by now?
10. But rest assured, Mr. Revis, even if he gets sacked 85 times … Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson is actually going to be sacked 91 times after being sacked eight times behind a patchwork line in an ugly home loss to the previously winless New York Giants on Sunday.
11. As of Sunday, Denver was the only team (other than Carolina and Pittsburgh) to reach the end zone once, but rookie quarterback Bo Nix scored his first points in a turnover-free NFL game and led the Broncos to a stunning upset of the previously unbeaten Buccaneers in Tampa.
12. But the biggest shock of the day may have been when quarterback Sam Darnold tied his career high with four touchdown passes as the Vikings soundly beat the Houston Texans, 34-7, in the other matchup between two 2-0 teams.
13. Texans DE Danielle Hunter was limited to two tackles in his first matchup against his former team. Hunter recorded 87.5 sacks over eight years in Minnesota before signing a two-year, $49 million contract with Houston in the offseason.
14. Vikings OLB Jonathan Greenard had three sacks in his first game against his former team. Greenard played four years with Houston, recording 23 sacks, including a career-best 12.5 last season, before signing a four-year, $76 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason.
15. The Vikings recorded five total sacks Sunday, becoming the first team in the last 23 seasons to record at least that many sacks in each of their first three games.
16. What kind of career would running back Saquon Barkley have had if he hadn’t struggled for six years with the Giants? He threw for 351 yards in his third game with the Philadelphia Eagles, 34 more than his three-game best with Big Blue. Of his four touchdowns, two came Sunday against the unbeaten Saints, double his three-game best with New York.
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17. The Saints scored 12 points on Sunday after scoring 91 points in their first two games.
18. The Saints hadn’t allowed a rushing pass of more than eight yards in their first two games, but they did allow Philadelphia to rush for 20 or more yards three times, including a 65-yard touchdown run by Barkley, who made good on his decision drop six days earlier in Week 2 against Atlanta.
19. The Dolphins took the NFL’s longest domestic flight, more than 2,700 miles, to get beat by the Seahawks in Seattle. At least the Dolphins won’t have to swim back to Miami.
20. Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald is the first coach to start his career with three straight wins since Miami’s Mike McDaniel in 2022. McDonald is just the fifth coach since 2000 to start his career with a 3-0 record while approaching age 40.
21. What’s even better for Seattle? The Seahawks are two games ahead of the other teams in a tumultuous NFC West division, whose struggling San Francisco 49ers were beaten in a devastating manner by the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon.
22. The number of times Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has faced NFC teams. After surviving the Dallas Cowboys 28-25 to earn Baltimore’s first win of the season, he’s now 21-1 in those matchups. If the Ravens make it to the Super Bowl…
23. The 2024 NFL Draft saw six quarterbacks selected among the first 12 picks for the first time in league history. But it took until Sunday for one of them, No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, to throw a regular-season touchdown pass, though the Chicago Bears (1-2) still lost.
24. Still, Williams made history. His 1-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Rome Odunze became the first time a quarterback and wide receiver selected in the top 10 on the same team scored in their rookie seasons. (It remains to be seen which Hall of Famer that ball will end up in.)
25. But let’s put the rookie quarterbacks on the back burner for now. Darnold may be dominating injured Minnesota quarterback JJ McCarthy like Wally Pipp (to the extent that a guy who never took a snap in the regular season can be dominating like Pipp). But some thought the best players in the 2024 draft were receivers, and that might become clear when it comes time to vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year. As expected, Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and Giants WR Malik Neighbors have stood out early and seem to be the front-runners for the award. But Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. and Raiders TE Brock Bowers have also lived up to the hype so far. They’re much better than the guys who throw the ball.
26. Harrison and Neighbors have already caught three touchdown passes each. On Sunday, Neighbors became the youngest wide receiver in league history (21 years, 56 days) to have two scoring catches in a single game.
27. It seems like it’s just a matter of time before Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey records the longest field goal in NFL history after he made the second-longest field goal in league history with a 65-yard field goal on Sunday. He also made a 51-yard chip shot.
28. Perhaps more concerning for America’s Team is that Aubrey is their best offensive weapon right now.
29. Of more concern for the Cowboys, they have lost their last three games at AT&T Stadium after winning 16 straight games.
30. Uniform tip of the week: Looks like the team once known as the Orange Crush should embrace its history. The Broncos finally got to wear their new orange jerseys on Sunday (unfortunately on a road trip to Tampa) and picked up their first win of the year.
31. Premature MVP vote goes to… Darnold. It’s not necessarily a surprise that his career is resurrecting in Minnesota under head coach Kevin O’Connell. But overcoming a knee injury on Sunday to post a 3-0 record and eight touchdown passes? If you expected that, we don’t believe you.
32. It’s always nice to see more women make NFL history, as happened in Las Vegas on Sunday.
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