2010 is really shaping up to be a season of surprises. Like the undefeated Chicago Bears and the winless San Francisco 49ers. Week 3 featured a little bit of everything, so with that in mind, let's take a look back at what took place.
Honourable mention goes out to Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson after both Pro Bowlers had big games and led their respective teams to victory. However, days after Andy Reid officially named him the starting quarterback of the Eagles, Michael Vick went out and dominated the Jaguars. Vick threw touchdowns as the Eagles won their second straight game. Vick also ran for a touchdown and ended up with a quarterback rating of 119.2. Andy Reid might have had a point when he said that Vick is the "hottest quarterback in the NFL."
Sean Payton and the Saints would love to offer up Garrett Hartley for this week's award. But really, how can it be anyone but Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski? Janikowski missed three field goals, including the potential game-winner from 32 yards out as the Raiders lost a heart-breaker to the Cardinals in Arizona.
Rookie Watch: Three weeks into the season and two rookies have begun to emerge as impact players worth keeping an eye on in the future; Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster. Although he's listed as a tight end, Hernandez has the speed of a receiver. It's obvious that the more Tom Brady plays with the kid, the more he likes him. After three weeks Hernandez, a fourth-round pick out of Florida, leads the Patriots in receiving yardage, ahead of both Randy Moss and Wes Welker. For the Chiefs, Dexter McCluster, a second-round pick from Ole Miss, has been the jack of all trades so far this year. Although he's small by NFL standards, McCluster has exceptional speed and quickness and has already scored a touchdown off of a punt return and another as a receiver.
Watch out, because the Dirty Birds are getting the band back together. You cannot overstate the importance of the Falcons' overtime win over the Saints. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has added some good pieces in the off-season, especially cornerback Dunta Robinson. Coach Mike Smith seems to really have a good handle on the team and everyone plays hard for him. The biggest thing the Falcons have going for them is a healthy Matt Ryan. After an injury-plagued sophomore season, Ryan has bounced back in 2010 and after three weeks he has five touchdown passes to only one interception. Coming off of that emotional win over the Saints, now Ryan and the Falcons are getting ready to host the winless 49ers at the Georgia Dome.
What were they thinking? I would love to know why Packers coach Mike McCarthy still felt the need to kick the ball to Devin Hester in their Monday night loss to the Bears? But this week the award goes out to an entire team, the New York Giants. One week after Brandon Jacobs snapped and tossed his helmet into the stands, the Giants took six personal-foul penalties as they got their butts kicked by the Titans. Offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie took two personal fouls before Tom Coughlin had enough and pulled him from the game.
The Rex Ryan Watch: Just another week in the life of the Jets. Braylon Edwards gets arrested for drunk driving, and then the Jets go out and beat the Dolphins in Miami. After being benched to begin the game for his misdeed, Edwards ended up scoring a 67-yard touchdown. Mark Sanchez had another big game for the Jets, throwing three more touchdowns and more importantly, zero interceptions. Rex saved his best post-game comments for former Dolphin Jason Taylor. Taylor had a sack and two tackles and then afterwards got a Gatorade shower from his head coach. Said Ryan after the game: "The guy is in great shape, he's just a tough guy a true professional and just a joy to have in our locker room."
The Race for the No. 1 draft pick: I really think the Carolina Panthers are beginning to show signs that are ready to stake their claim as the worst among the winless pack of teams in the NFL. The Browns played a heck of a game against the Ravens and showed some real signs of life. With Ryan Fitzpatrick as their new starting quarterback, the Bills hung 30 points on the Patriots. Yes, the Browns and the Bills both lost, but the Panthers lost and are looking like a team that will be lucky to win one or two games this year.
The Ronnie Lott award (hardest hit): As always, there were many strong candidates. But this week's award goes out to Jets linebacker David Harris. Unlike a lot of his teammates, Harris doesn't get a lot of press in New York. That's too bad because he's an outstanding linebacker. After taking a swing pass from Chad Henne, poor Ronnie Brown was caught out in no man's land when Harris crushed him with a nasty open0field tackle.
The Big Injury of the week: There were two injuries of note in Week 3. First, Lions rookie running back Jahvid Best suffered a toe injury in their loss to the Vikings. Then the Rams best player, running back Steven Jackson, suffered a groin injury in St. Louis' win over the Redskins. As of right now, the Lions still aren't sure how long Best will be out of action. The Rams got lucky because the MRI said he had a strained groin, and not a tear.
The Unsung hero award: Chiefs running back Thomas Jones ran for 95 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs decisive win over the 49ers. More than just mere numbers, Jones brings an intangible that is a big reason the Chiefs are off to a 3-0 start. Here's an incredible thought. It wasn't until his sixth season in the NFL that Jones had a 1,000-yard season. Now, Jones is only 566 yards away from 10,000 in his career. Here's another little gem. According to the Chiefs media relations department, only LaDainian Tomlinson has run for more yards since the 2005 season (6,729 yards) than Jones (6,500 yards).
Funniest moment: Hands down the funniest moment of Week 3 took place in the Cowboys-Texans game when referee Carl Cheffers tried to hand out a number of penalties to both teams.
The Hot Cheerleader of the week award: I am not much of an Arizona Cardinals fan, but I have all the respect in the world for their cheerleaders.
What to watch for next week: Michael Vick and the Eagles hosting Donovan McNabb and the Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Not to be outdone is an equally important match-up in the AFC North with the undefeated Steelers hosting their division rivals the Ravens at Heinz Field. It really is amazing to think that with Charlie Batch at quarterback, the Steelers could keep their undefeated streak alive. But give Batch credit as he picked up his first win as a starter in over four years as the Steelers pounded the Bucs. The Ravens and the Steelers have a long history of bad blood between each other and it should make for a very physical game.
