32 Things We Learned Week 3 in the NFL

Are the Bengals the 2nd-best team in the AFC? (Credit Moe Epsilon)

Andy Reid beat his former team on the road. The Packers couldn’t hold a 30-14 lead at Cincinnati. The NY Giants got their doors blown off by a team they’ve historically owned. The Indianapolis Colts beat up the 49ers in San Francisco. And Cleveland hung 31 points on the Vikings with a third-string QB less than a week after trading their 3rd overall draft pick from 2012.

Yes, it was a very weird Week 3 in the National Football League. While some things remained the same (the Patriots and Broncos kept winning, the Jaguars and Redskins kept losing), a lot of things changed: the Falcons couldn’t close out the Dolphins, the Cowboys actually blew out a team they were supposed to beat, the Titans moved above .500, and the NY Jets overcame their own mistakes and penalties to win a divisional game at home.

A lot of things got turned on their heads this weekend. Jay Cutler ran over a Steelers defender in the “tough guy” moment of the weekend. Cam Newton looked like a team player and fine citizen of Carolina, while Eli Manning came off like a pouty-faced child. The Saints played great defense, while the 49ers imploded in the second half for the 2nd straight week. As the late, great johnny Carson would say, that’s some weird, wild stuff.

So what else did we learn in Week 3 of the 2013 NFL season? Let’s review.

8 NFL teams that we learned are very good

1. The Cincinnati Bengals might be the 2nd best team in the AFC.

2. The Kansas City Chiefs will make the playoffs.

3. The Miami Dolphins will also make the playoffs.

4. The Chicago Bears’ Marc Trestman is already Coach of the Year.

5. New Orleans can beat you in all three phases of the game. That’s scary.

6. The Indianapolis Colts have a real shot at the AFC South title.

7. If you have to play Seattle in Seattle, just forfeit.

8. And yes, the Denver Broncos still have a shot at 16-0.

8 NFL teams that we learned are worse than we thought

9. So we’ll address the elephant in the room…are the Packers not that great?

10. Even the Steelers’ best effort couldn’t get a win at home.

11. The Vikings let Brian Hoyer drop 31 points on them?

12. Tampa Bay wasn’t going to win in Foxboro… but 3 points?

13. Apparently 2012 was a fluke for the Redskins.

14. The New York Giants aren’t going to win 8 games.

15. The Sam Bradford regime is on its last legs in St. Louis.

16. Say whatever you want about the Jaguars, really. They can’t stop you.

4 mediocre NFL teams that will fight you for 60 minutes

17. The Oakland Raiders: crappy, but scrappy.

18. The Arizona Cardinals: average, but aggressive.

19. The Tennessee Titans: a dark-horse playoff contender?

20. The New York Jets: the swagger is apparently back.

4 good NFL teams that will fold under pressure

21. The Atlanta Falcons: not beating the good teams.

22. The Houston Texans: also (still) not beating good teams.

23. The San Diego Chargers: still choking like it’s 2007.

24. The Philadelphia Eagles: can’t even get up to beat their old coach.

8 things we learned about NFL teams in general

25. Tom Brady can win with anybody (and the Patriots’ D is pretty darn good).

26. Maybe the 49ers kept the wrong quarterback… just maybe.

27. If the Panthers’ front four can rush like this, they’re not dead in the NFC just yet.

28. The Dallas Cowboys are clearly better than the rest of the NFC East.

29. Apparently the Browns aren’t content to tank this season. Who knew?

30. The Bills couldn’t overcome 20 penalties committed by the Jets. (TWENTY.)

31. Nobody won more impressively this weekend than the Ravens without Ray Rice.

32. Matt Stafford has 1,020 passing yards in 3 games. At this pace, he’s within range of breaking Drew Brees’ single-season passing record of 5,476 yards (2011).

Related articles

• Colts Make Statement in 27-7 Win Over 49ers (naptownsfinest.com)
• This week in The NFL (calebsalsman.wordpress.com)
• NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Top teams stay the same, 3-0 teams climbing (thephinsider.com)
• NFL power rankings Week 4: Chiefs, Bengals rising; Giants, Rams falling (revengeofthebirds.com)