NFL Week 3 breakdown: Rams get statement win vs. defending champs

Monday, September 27

Aaron Donald celebrates during the Rams' victory over the Buccaneers.

The Rams had a statement win against the defending champs. Aaron Rodgers once again provided some late-game magic.

Week 3 is almost in the books, and there are still five undefeated teams, while there are five teams still looking for their first wins.

One of those unbeaten teams – the Los Angeles Rams – had a statement win over the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One of those winless teams – the Detroit Lions – lost in dramatic fashion to the Baltimore Ravens when kicker Justin Tucker booted an NFL-record 66-yard field goal to win it.

On yet another Sunday night thriller, Aaron Rodgers led a winning drive in the final seconds as the Green Bay Packers earned a narrow road win over the San Francisco 49ers.

And, there's still one more big game to go in Week 3, as the Dallas Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles.

•	PHOTOS: Best of Week 3

Aaron Rodgers celebrates after Mason Crosby kicked the winning field goal against the 49ers.

Cary Edmondson, USA TODAY Sports

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NFL Week 3's biggest moments

•	The Ravens escaped Detroit with a win, thanks to Justin Tucker's record-setting 66-yard field goal.
•	The Jaguars had a kick-6 against the Cardinals, as Jamal Agnew returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown.
•	Jamal Agnew's kick-6 wasn't the only wild special teams play in the Cardinals' win over the Jaguars on Sunday.
•	Bears TE Jimmy Graham retweeted a stat about Chicago's historically bad offensive performance against the Browns.
•	Rob Gronkowski left Sunday's game against the Rams after taking a big hit (he later returned to action).
•	Tom Brady was in no mood to look ahead to next week's game against his former team after Sunday's loss to the Rams.
•	Lions head coach Dan Campbell already is awaiting that call from the league office apologizing for a missed call in Sunday's loss to the Ravens.
•	Lions fans booed the team owner during a halftime Hall of Fame ring ceremony for Calvin Johnson.
•	Cowboys LT La'el Collins has received a five-game suspension for trying to bribe an NFL drug-test collector.

Jamal Agnew runs back missed field goal back for a 109-yard touchdown against the Cardinals.

Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA TODAY Sports

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NFL Week 3 analysis

•	Winners and losers: Justin Herbert guided the Chargers to a big road win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Rookie QBs had a rough Week 3.
•	Don't crown the Rams just yet: The Rams earned plenty of attention for their win over the defending champions. But there's still plenty of work to be done, Jarrett Bell writes.
•	Chiefs have cause for concern: After consecutive uncharacteristic defeats, Patrick Mahomes and Co. suddenly look vulnerable, Mike Jones writes.
•	Don't blame Justin Fields: The Bears' front office, coaches have failed to do the right things with previous QBs, Nancy Armour writes.

NFL Week 3 rundown

•	Packers 30, 49ers 28: Aaron Rodgers and Mason Crosby provided the late-game magic in another Sunday night thriller.
•	Vikings 30, Seahawks 17: It might be hard to believe, but this was the Vikings' first win over the Seahawks in 12 years.
•	Rams 34, Buccaneers 24: The Rams sent a message with their convincing win over Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champs.
•	Raiders 31, Dolphins 28 (OT): The Raiders had to work overtime to defeat the Jacoby Brissett-led Dolphins and improve to 3-0.
•	Broncos 26, Jets 0: Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson had another rough outing, getting sacked five times and intercepted twice, as the Broncos eased to victory.
•	Ravens 19, Lions 17: It took a record-setting field goal by Justin Tucker to lift the Ravens past the Lions.
•	Bengals 24, Steelers 10: Perhaps this lopsided win for Cincinnati signals a changing of the guard in the AFC North.
•	Falcons 17, Giants 14: After three games and a lot of ugly football, Arthur Smith finally has his first win as an NFL head coach.
•	Saints 28, Patriots 13: The Patriots are not looking good ahead of their matchup against Tom Brady.
•	Titans 25, Colts 16: A hobbled Carson Wentz just wasn't himself as the Colts – a playoff team last season – fell to 0-3.
•	Bills 43, Football Team 21: Josh Allen had a spectacular game as Buffalo routed Washington.
•	Browns 26, Bears 6: This game was not as close as the final score might indicate.
•	Cardinals 31, Jaguars 19: The Cardinals used to a pick-6 to overcome a kick-6 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
•	Chargers 30, Chiefs 24: After this setback, the five-time defending AFC West champions are sitting alone in the division cellar.
•	Panthers 24, Texans 9 (Thursday): The Sam Darnold career revival continues.

Josh Allen slips away from Washington's Daron Payne.

Jamie Germano, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Eyes on the (fantasy) prize

A hamstring injury to Christian McCaffrey will almost guarantee his backup, rookie running back Chuba Hubbard, will be the most popular player on the fantasy waiver wire this week – in leagues where he's available. Hubbard didn't see much action in the Panthers' first two games, but he got the bulk of the touches in Week 3 after McCaffrey exited with an injury that's expected to keep him out for several weeks. Hubbard looked solid in rushing 11 times for 52 yards on Thursday night. He also caught three passes for 27 more yards.

The Raiders' Peyton Barber ran for 111 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, but his role is up in the air with starter Josh Jacobs looking to return next week after missing two games with an ankle injury. Nevertheless, Barber seems to have moved ahead of Kenyan Drake on the depth chart, with a 23-8 advantage in carries vs. Miami.

Among wide receivers, veteran Emmanuel Sanders had his first big game as a member of the Bills – catching five passes for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns. There should be plenty of targets to go around each week in Buffalo.

The Patriots' Kendrick Bourne had a breakout game with his new team, with six receptions for 96 yards and a score. But rookie QB Mac Jones needs to show more consistency before any of his receivers can be trusted as fantasy starters.

And finally, fantasy's top-scoring tight end in Week 3 – just like everyone predicted – was the Vikings' Tyler Conklin. He caught seven of his eight targets from Kirk Cousins for 70 yards and a touchdown. He should continue to be productive in the role Irv Smith was supposed to have before his season-ending injury.

Tyler Conklin had a huge game in the Vikings' win over the Seahawks.

Brad Rempel, USA TODAY Sports

Coming this week

Monday: Week 3 wraps up when the Dallas Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles at "Jerry World" (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2). This will be Dak Prescott's first home game since his gruesome ankle injury last October.

Tuesday: USA TODAY Sports offers its power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 3.

Thursday: Week 4 kicks off with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars (8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network) in a showdown of the last two No. 1 overall draft picks, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. Before the game, make sure to check out our expert picks for every Week 3 game.