NFL Week 3 Winners and Losers: Unheralded Quarterbacks Making Their Mark

Sam Darnold, Justin Fields and Geno Smith are making the case for a new approach to the QB position. Plus, the Jets finally get what they wanted from Aaron Rodgers while the Dolphins may already be done.

Darnold has started this season by throwing multiple touchdowns in three straight games for the first time in his career. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Soon NFL fans will start a petition for the league to investigate how the Kansas City Chiefs continue to come out on the right end of controversial finishes. 

I’m sure someone on Reddit has already received thousands of signatures after the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, aided by a defensive pass interference call that kept their game-winning drive alive, and a DPI no-call helped keep the Atlanta Falcons out of the end zone on their final possession Sunday night.  

It sure looked like there should have been a flag with how Chiefs safety Bryan Cook defended Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts in the end zone before the ball arrived. But the Chiefs getting favorable calls is nothing new. 

Maybe Sam Darnold, Geno Smith or Justin Fields can be the quarterback who knocks off the Chiefs when it matters most. Let’s not forget that the great Tom Brady lost Super Bowls to Nick Foles and Eli Manning. 

Darnold, Smith and Fields, obviously, aren’t on the level of Patrick Mahomes, but those three quarterbacks have their respective teams at 3–0, the same record as the back-to-back reigning champions. 

Perhaps there might be a new trend in the NFL with teams taking a chance on former first-round picks in need of another opportunity—at a reasonable rate, of course. Here are our winners and losers from Week 3. 

Winners

Unheralded quarterbacks: Darnold, Fields, Smith

The above trio is a combined 9–0 as the starting quarterbacks for the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, respectively. 

This might not sway teams to stop overpaying for quarterbacks, but they should definitely look into why those aforementioned signal-callers are off to impressive starts this season, because there are common patterns. 

All three aren’t with the team that drafted them after not meeting the high expectations placed on them as top draft picks. Darnold was the No. 3 pick for the New York Jets in 2018 and Fields went No. 11 to the Chicago Bears in ’21. Smith wasn’t a first-round pick, but he was viewed as a top prospect before landing with the Jets in the second round of the ’13 draft. (Maybe the formula is signing former QBs drafted by the Jets. Zach Wilson's comeback story is loading as we speak.)

They’re viewed as talented quarterbacks based on their draft status, but the surroundings are why they’re currently undefeated. Darnold has the luxury of playing with short fields often because of how dominant the Vikings have been through three games. But Darnold is doing his part by placing the ball in the right places for his pass catchers to make plays, including stud wideout Justin Jefferson. 

I’ll again make fun of myself for my poor offseason projection of the Vikings. I didn’t expect this version of Darnold after showing minimal flashes with the Jets and Carolina Panthers. He struggled with protecting the football and reacting quickly to coverages. So far with the Vikings, he’s playing confidently and punishing teams for turning the ball over. Eventually, we’ll find out how Darnold performs while playing from behind late in games, but he’s shown enough to take the Vikings seriously this season. 

Smith and Fields are also benefiting from standout defenses and talented skill players. I’m not too surprised about Fields’s early positive results because his highs in Chicago were enough for his teammates, including DJ Moore, to vouch for him publicly when the team landed this year’s top pick, which was used to select Caleb Williams. But Fields’s problem was always consistency, especially with his accuracy. Perhaps what he displayed in an impressive performance against the Los Angeles Chargers is an indicator that he’s capable of doing that on a weekly basis with better surroundings in Pittsburgh.

We’ve seen the Smith story in Seattle for a few years now. There were many positives from the playoff season in 2022 before it fell apart last year. But we don’t know much about Mike Macdonald’s team because they’ve had an easy schedule, with wins over the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and the Tua-less Miami Dolphins. 

Teams will truly examine these three quarterbacks (Darnold and Fields have base salaries of less than $3 million for this season) and their surroundings if they win some games in the postseason.

Vic Fangio and his Eagles’ defense 

Some Dolphins players didn’t hesitate to criticize Vic Fangio and his defensive scheme after a disappointing 2023 season. Jevon Holland and Jalen Ramsey were two of many Miami defenders who seemed eager to not be playing for Fangio this season.

It seemed one of the best defensive coordinators of the past decade had lost his touch, especially because of the poor start Fangio had as the defensive play-caller of the Philadelphia Eagles. That all changed Sunday when Fangio delivered a vintage Cover 2 game plan (Mel Kiper’s worst nightmare) to shut down the hottest offense in the NFL.    

Derek Carr struggled to connect with his downfield weapons Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed as the New Orleans Saints fell to Fangio’s Eagles, 15–12. The Saints opened the season scoring points on their first 15 possessions, including six consecutive touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Then they ran into the Eagles (2–1), who forced the Saints into six consecutive scoreless drives. They went from scoring 91 points combined in the first two games to only 12 in Week 2. 

Turns out, Fangio still has it. Also, the Dolphins are allowing 24 points per game this season, one more than they did last year.

Anti-social media Lamar Jackson 

An annoyed Lamar Jackson wasn’t happy with Baltimore Ravens teammate Marlon Humphrey hosting an Instagram Live hours after their team nearly blew a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys. 

There was cause for celebration because it was the Ravens’ first victory of the season, but good on Jackson to remind Humphrey about the high standard they have set in Baltimore. The two-time MVP wasn’t going to be all smiles on Instagram after the Ravens survived a furious late rally from the Cowboys to avoid the dreaded 0–3 start. 

“You shouldn’t even be doing a live right now,” Jackson said. 

Jackson being a buzzkill might help the Ravens overcome their sluggish start. The defense hasn’t been as good last season, and the offense hasn’t received much contributions outside of Jackson and Derrick Henry, who had his best game as a member of the Ravens, recording 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys. 

There’s plenty of time for the Ravens to correct mistakes, especially with Jackson reminding teammates of what they need to fix. 

The Broncos finally looked like a team shaped in the mold of Sean Payton on Sunday. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Sean Payton’s rebuild plans in Denver

After two games, it appeared as if Sean Payton wasn’t going to build off his first season with the Denver Broncos. 

The Broncos had a dreadful offense in the losses against the Seahawks and Steelers, with rookie first-round quarterback Bo Nix not showing much signs of improvement. But Payton’s vision came together in a 26–7 road upset to hand the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their first loss of the season. 

Nix had a sharp performance by spreading the ball around to keep drives alive. The Broncos (1–2) scored on three of their first four drives to build a 17–0 advantage against a stout defense led by Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles. 

After reshuffling the roster, Payton finally received positive results from his offense. It also helped that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has had his unit on the same page—Denver held the Baker Mayfield–led Bucs to 223 total yards and only allowed 13 points to the Steelers in Week 2. 

The best coaches tend to turn bad teams into winning teams within two seasons. It’s tough to see the Broncos ending the season with a winning record, but Payton has them in the right direction after a dominant road victory not many saw coming. 

The Jets and their fan base 

Finally, the Jets (2–1) learned what it’s like to be led by a star quarterback.

It took longer than expected, but Rodgers turned back the clock Thursday during a sensational performance against the Patriots. Also, Jets fans aren’t accustomed to seeing their favorite team trounce its biggest rival. 

This season might be different in New York because of how much help Rodgers had last week. The rhythm and timing passing attack wouldn’t have worked without running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen moving the chains. Perhaps the best part for Jets fans is that Rodgers did that without getting much contributions from star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, leading many to believe this offense can be better in the near future. 

If the Jets continue to keep Rodgers upright, this might finally be the year they end their 13-year postseason drought. 

Losers 

Raiders’ outlook under Antonio Pierce

The Las Vegas Raiders (1–2) have a way of losing games they have no business losing. 

In 2022, the Raiders lost to Jeff Saturday, who had no prior NFL coaching experience, during his head coaching debut with the Indianapolis Colts. Indy went on to lose seven consecutive games after beating the Raiders. Also in ’22, the Raiders fell to Mayfield two days after he was waived by the Panthers and claimed by the Los Angeles Rams. 

Perhaps Las Vegas’s Week 3 home loss to the Panthers isn’t as embarrassing because they faced Andy Dalton, not Bryce Young. But the Panthers had many problems outside the rocky quarterback play, evident by losing their first two games by a combined 60 points. Instead of building off a surprising Week 2 win over the Ravens, Antonio Pierce’s team stared at a 33–7 deficit in the fourth quarter against possibly the worst team in the league. 

Hopefully Pierce sticks to his vow of making business decisions on some of the players who checked out early last week, because his team made him look bad with the effort they showed in Las Vegas.  

C.J. Stroud and the Texans may have been tabbed as Super Bowl contenders a little too quickly. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Texans’ stagnant offense 

The hype on the Houston Texans (2–1) took a hit after the Vikings might have exposed some issues facing C.J. Stroud and his offense. 

Clearly, the Texans weren’t good against a stifling Vikings’ defense, which put plenty of pressure on Stroud. But this might be more than just one bad game against defensive guru Brian Flores. The Texans also appeared sluggish in their 19–13 victory over the Bears in Week 2.

The vertical game hasn’t been there for Stroud partly because they have failed to get Tank Dell involved in games. The second-year wideout has been quiet due to Stroud prioritizing Nico Collins and newcomer Stefon Diggs. Houston’s best performance occurred in Week 1 vs. the Colts because they had a balanced attack with Joe Mixon, who was ruled out against the Vikings because of an ankle injury he sustained vs. the Bears. 

It’s no coincidence that the Texans haven’t generated points without Mixon, but Stroud should find a way to connect with Dell to get this offense back on track after back-to-back sluggish outings. 

49ers’ Super Bowl window 

It’s way too early to panic about the San Francisco 49ers (1–2), but this two-game losing streak is a reminder that it’s not easy to get back to the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons. 

It took San Francisco three seasons to return to the big game and fall to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second time in February. The 2019 squad and last year’s group had different starting quarterbacks, with Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy, but there were many familiar faces in the two Super Bowl losses, including George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Deebo Samuel. 

Perhaps this might be the last season this core group gets a chance at winning a Super Bowl together. They’ll likely be fine after losing to the Vikings and Rams in consecutive weeks, but plenty needs to go right for teams to win it all. 

The 49ers have been hit hard by injuries—they were without Kittle, Samuel and Christian McCaffrey vs. the Rams. And the defense has struggled during the two-game losing streak.

Maybe it’s a stretch to say now or never after the 49ers re-signed Brandon Aiyuk and likely will lock down Purdy in the offseason. But time is running out for the other veterans, such as McCaffrey and Trent Williams, to hoist a Lombardi Trophy with the 49ers. 

Will Levis continues to hurt Titans 

The Tennessee Titans (0–3) might have benched Will Levis by now if they had better quarterback options. 

They don’t have an Andy Dalton to turn to, but they did have Malik Willis before trading him to the Green Bay Packers last month. Willis and his new team cruised to a 30–14 victory vs. the Titans last week. 

Levis wasn’t the sole reason for the dreadful team performance against the Packers, but he again turned the ball over with two interceptions and one lost fumble. He now has eight total turnovers, including two pick-sixes, through three games this season, and already has five interceptions after tossing just four picks in nine games last year. New coach Brian Callahan won’t be able to run his offense until Levis learns to secure the football. Dave Canales, another offensive-minded coach, got to show off his scheme after he benched Young for Dalton. The Titans’ current backup is Mason Rudolph, who did have a few impressive starts for the Steelers last season.

With the way Levis has played, the Titans might have regrets about being big spenders this offseason because it looks like they’ll be in the market for another one in the spring.  

Dolphins lost without Tua 

I’m trying my hardest not to fork a team after only three games, but the Dolphins (1–2) looked done with how poorly they played in the loss against the Seahawks during their first game without Tua Tagovailoa.

The doubts about Tagovailoa being able to lead the Dolphins to playoff wins are fair, but let’s not overlook how important he is for this team just to be in the mix late in the regular season. Miami’s season might be over if Tagovailoa is shut down for the year after being placed on injured reserve with another concussion.  

Regardless of what happens with Tagovailoa, he’s not coming back for at least another three games. It will be up to coach Mike McDaniel to get more from Skylar Thompson—if he plays with injured ribs—in the coming weeks. Luckily for the Dolphins, they get the Titans, Patriots and Colts for the next three games.