Best:
Cleveland Browns
Not much explanation needed here. It's been 634 days between wins but the Cleveland Browns finally got a win. For the first time since December of 2016 the Browns pulled out a 21-17 win over the Jets. Baker Mayfield threw for over 200 yards, taking over for Tyrod Taylor, who was injured. Mayfield was nearly flawless in the victory, helping the Browns erase a 14-0 deficit. Sure there were some stupid penalties taken by the Jets, but the Browns did what a good team should do, and that was take advantage of mistakes made by the Jets. Hue Jackson has named Mayfield the starter for week four, which is something that has been coming since the end of the first drive. Cleveland finally got a win and it was a huge sigh of relief for Browns fans everywhere. They have a win under their belts and things are starting to look up a little in Cleveland.
Worst:
New England Patriots
Things in Patriots land don't look too good at the moment. New England sits in last place in the AFC East following their 26-10 loss to the Lions, which by the way was the first career coaching win for former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. So now, not only are the Patriots on a two game losing streak, but its the first time since December of 2002 that they've lost two straight games by double digits. New England's offense tried to spread the ball around but connected on just four of ten passes for 43 yards. The Pats managed just 12 first downs in this contest, which is the fewest in the Brady-Belichick era. Lets not jump the gun right now. It looks gloomy for the Patriots at 1-2. But its a long season, with 13 more games to go. New England should be able to right the ship, but boy did they look sloppy against the Lions.
Best:
Khalil Mack, Linebacker Chicago Bears
Chicago pulled out a win by the skin of their teeth on Sunday. The Bears walked away with a 16-14 win over Arizona and Khalil Mack was a huge reason for that. They were down 14-0 at one point and managed to fight their way back to 14-13 win over the Cardinals. On a Sam Bradford run in the fourth quarter, Mack tracked him down and hit him, forcing a fumble. The Bears, who trailed 14-13, took possession and went on a long drive for a field goal and the lead. By the time all was said and done, the Bears find themselves alone atop the division. This is a big reason why the Bears went out and got a guy the talent level of Mack/ On that one play, he proved to the Cards, and the rest of the league once again, why he's one of the best defensive players in all of football
Worst:
Clay Matthews, Linebacker Green Bay Packers
Clay is regarded to be one of the best linebackers in all of football. During the first nine years of his career, Clay had been flagged for four roughing the passer penalties. He's now been flagged for that three times in the first three weeks of the season. The last two calls have been outrages. First was the call on Kirk Cousins of Minnesota last week, then their was the hit on Alex Smith of Washington this week. It looked like a normal sack against Smith this week, which for some stupid reason was flagged. The league is calling it for Matthews falling on Smith with all his body weight, which the league is trying to cut down on. I feel bad for Matthews here because the league is trying to in a way baby the Quarterbacks. Its trying to get linebackers to change their game and a few have gotten hurt because of the NFL's rulings in this regard. Its stupid and I feel bad for Clay Matthews basically being the guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Best:
Carolina Panthers Run Game
Carolina showed up on Sunday and beat up on the Bengals to the tune of a 31-21 win. Now it's often talked about how the league is a quarterback driven league. This game, however, proved that an effective running game can be vital to a team success in this league. Christian McCaffery lead all running backs with 184 yards on the ground, on 28 carries. Cam Newton was also a factor in that run game effectiveness, rushing for two scores of his own. Carolina knows that the offensive line isn't that great, but they've managed to scheme their way around it and used that perfectly to beat the Bengals.
Worst:
Minnesota Vikings Offense
This was supposed to be a rout. Buffalo was a bad team, or supposed to be a bad team. Going into the Vikings-Bills game Sunday, Minnesota was a 17 point favorite. Somebody forgot to tell the Bills that. Buffalo walked away with a 27-6 victory. Minnesota had no offensive flow going at all, as Kirk Cousins was pressured most of the day and turned the football over three times. Hell Jared Allen, the Buffalo Quarterback, had more rushing years then the entire Vikings offense. This may have been a case of getting a little ahead of themselves. Week four is a Thursday Night matchup for the Vikings against the Rams, which could be an early potential playoff preview. It won't stay that way, however, if the Vikings keep playing the way they did against the Bills. Stay focused on the task at hand and don't ever get too far ahead of yourselves.
Best:
Calvin Ridley, Wide Receiver Atlanta Falcons
The rookie wide receiver out of Alabama is expected to play a big role for the Falcons in becoming a third weapon in that offense. He scored his first NFL touchdown last week. This week, in Atlanta's 43-37 overtime loss to the Saints, he proved to be a force for this Falcons club. I know it was in a losing effort, but look at the numbers for Ridley. Seven catches for 143 yards (second most in the NFL this week behind Jordy Nelson of Oakland) and three touchdown catches. Those three scores, all of which came in the first half, managed to match what Julio Jones did all of last year. He was reeking havoc for the Saints defense, who had to take their shut down corner off Julio to Ridley, which is a sign of respect for the rookie.
Worst:
Dak Prescott, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
Heading into this game, Seattle had looked horrible on defense. They were allowing over 500 yards through the air. This week, in their 24-13 win over Dallas, the defense looked like the Legion of Boom once again. Dak Prescott was sacked five times for 31 yards, and he finished with just 168 yards passing, going 19 of 34 throwing, connecting with one touchdown and two interceptions. Through the first three games, Dak has a total of 498 passing yards. Let's put it this way, I think Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bucs is averaging that through the first three games. Dak has been pretty terrible through the first three games. He’s struggling like crazy to connect with his receivers outside the hash marks. The Dallas offense is barely alive right now. If not for Ezekiel Elliott, things would be even worse.
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