It's not often you see the Kansas City Chiefs fully implode, but that's exactly what happened on Sunday during the team's shocking 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. There was an offensive implosion, a defensive implosion and even a special teams implosion that might have actually been the worst one of all.
Offensively, the Colts defense seemed to frustrate Patrick Mahomes, who threw for just 84 yards in the first half. As Mahomes headed to the locker room at halftime, his frustrations seemed to boil over. The Chiefs quarterback got into a spat with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who decided to let the clock run out at the end of the half instead of trying to get into field goal range even though the Chiefs only needed about 25 yards to have a shot at a kick.
Despite the offense's rough day, the Chiefs still had a chance to get this game into overtime, but those chances went out the window when Mahomes threw an interception on Kansas City's final offensive play of the game.
The only thing uglier than Kansas City's offensive play in this game was their special teams play. In what can only be described as a disaster, the special teams unit basically cost Kansas City the game. The horrid special teams play started in the first quarter when Skyler Moore muffed a punt that gave the Colts possession at Kansas City's 4-yard line.
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The Colts would score a touchdown three plays after the muffed punt to take an early 7-0 lead. As if that wasn't bad enough, kicker Matt Ammendola missed both an extra point AND a field goal, which was obviously costly in a game where the Chiefs only lost by three points. The missed field goal came from just 34 yards away.
The Chiefs field goal team was also involved in one of the more bizarre calls of the day. With Kansas City facing a fourth-and-11, the Chiefs lined up for a 42-yard field goal, but Ammendola never got to attempt the kick because Andy Reid CALLED FOR A FAKE and things did not end well.
Between the fake field goal, the missed field goal and the missed extra point, that's seven points the Chiefs left on the field. The Chiefs defense also made a costly mistake and we'll talk about that below in our weekly grades.
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Alright, let's get to the grades for every game from Week 3. If you're looking for a deeper dive on the Browns' 29-17 win over the Steelers that was played on Thursday, be sure to click here.
Indianapolis 20-17 over Kansas City
| D | |
| The Chiefs offense had a bad game, special teams was an absolute disaster, and then there was Kansas City's defense. For the better part of three quarters, the Chiefs actually played well on the defensive side of the ball, but during the final minutes of the fourth quarter, they simply couldn't get off the field during a Colts game-winning scoring drive that lasted more than eight minutes while covering 76 yards over 16 plays. The Chiefs appeared to stop the Colts after sacking Matt Ryan on third down, but Chris Jones got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave Indy a first down. It was just that kind of day for the Chiefs where nothing was going right and even when it looked like things were going to go right, they still went wrong. | |
| B+ | |
| The Colts weren't perfect on Sunday, but they gladly took advantage of every mistake the Chiefs made in this game. Indy's first touchdown came on a 4-yard drive following a muffed punt by Kansas City. Indy's second touchdown came after after a missed field goal, and Indy's final touchdown came on a drive that only stayed alive because the Chiefs got flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty (If the penalty didn't happen, the Colts would have been facing a fourth-and-14 from their own 31 with five minutes left and trailing 17-13). Matt Ryan fumbled twice and got sacked five times, but he bounced back from all that to lead a game-winning TD drive. That drive ended with Ryan's second TD pass to Jelani Woods. It wasn't a pretty win, but the Colts will gladly take it, because when you're 0-1-1, you don't care how sexy your wins look. | |
Chiefs-Colts grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Cincinnati 27-12 over N.Y. Jets
| A- | |
| After an 0-2 start, Joe Burrow and the Bengals finally look like they're back on track. Burrow threw for 275 yards and three touchdown and the most impressive part of those scoring passes is that they all came on third down. As good as Burrow was, the Bengals defense was better. The unit sacked Joe Flacco four times while also forcing four turnovers with three of those coming in the second half. Trey Hendrickson, who single-handedly destroyed the Jets offensive line, did most of that damage by forcing two fumbles and recording two sacks. The win means that the Bengals will head into their Thursday night showdown with the Dolphins just one game out of first place in the AFC North. | |
| D | |
| The Jets offense got off to a hot start with two scoring drives in the first quarter, but then it completely sputtered after that. The offensive line couldn't protect Joe Flacco, who got sacked four times. Due to the pressure, Flacco ended up making several ugly mistakes, including an interception and a lost fumble that led to a total of 10 points for the Bengals. Robert Saleh tried to show some faith in his offense by going for it on fourth down a total of three times, but all three gambles ended up backfiring with the Jets failing to convert on all three occasions. | |
Bengals-Jets grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Tennessee 24-22 over Las Vegas
| C | |
| The Raiders could have won this game if their defense didn't completely implode in the first half. During the first two quarters of the game, the Raiders simply had no answers for a Titans offense that scored on four of its five first-half possessions. Offensively, the Raiders made way too many mistakes to win. Not only did Derek Carr throw an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter, but on the possession before that, the Raiders came away with zero points despite the fact that they were gifted possession at Tennessee's 31-yard line after a Ryan Tannehill interception. The Raiders are now 0-3 for the third time in 10 years. In franchise history, they've never finished the season with a winning record after starting 0-3. | |
| B | |
| After struggling through the first two weeks of the season, the Titans offense finally appears to have figured out how to score points. Ryan Tannehill completed eight of his first nine passes for 125 yards on a day where the Titans started the game with three straight TD drives of 75 yards or more. After jumping out to an early 21-10 lead, the Titans then hung on for dear life. The defense wasn't perfect, but it did come up with several big plays including a Kevin Byard interception in the end zone with under five minutes left to play to help save the win. The Titans also shut down the Raiders on a two-point conversion with 1:14 left to play that would have tied the game. With the win, the Titans avoided their first 0-3 start since 2009. | |
Raiders-Titans grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Chicago 23-20 over Houston
| B- | |
| Love Smith had a chance to get revenge on his old team, but those chances were thrown out the window by Davis Mills and a Texans offense that made two extremely costly mistakes in this game. The first mistake came when Mills threw an interception on a second-and-goal play in the first quarter that kept Houston off the board. The second mistake was also an interception, and this time, it set up the Bears for the win. With the scored tied at 20, Roquan Smith picked off Mills with 1:05 left to play to set up Chicago's game-winning field goal. | |
| B | |
| Going into this game, the Bears had thrown the fewest passes of any team in the NFL and apparently there's a good reason for that: Whenever they throw the ball, bad things seem to happen. Justin Fields threw two interceptions and got sacked five times, but the Bears were able to overcome that thanks to Khalil Herbert, who rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. The Bears weren't great on defense, but they did come up with several huge plays, including an Eddie Jackson interception off a tipped ball in the end zone that kept Houston from scoring points in the first quarter (The Bears are now 11-0 in any game where Jackson picks off a pass). | |
Texans-Bears grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Carolina 22-14 over New Orleans
| D | |
| For the third straight, the Saints offense appeared to forget what time the game started. In three games this season, the Saints have been outscored in the first half 29-10 and that includes a showing against the Panthers where they scored exactly zero points. Not only did the Saints struggle offensively with three turnovers, but the normally reliable Wil Lutz also missed two field goals. | |
| A- | |
| If the Panthers proved one thing on Sunday, it's that you can still win NFL games the old-fashioned way: With defense and a strong run game. The Panthers defense actually put the first points on the board in the game when Marquis Haynes returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter. That was one of three turnovers that the Panthers forced on a day where they also held New Orleans scoreless for the first three quarters. Christian McCaffrey also looked like the C-Mac of old with 107 yards on 28 carries. The Panthers passing game wasn't great, but Baker Mayfield did come up with one huge play when he hit Laviska Shenault Jr. for a 67-yard TD in the fourth quarter that iced the game. | |
Saints-Panthers grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Miami 21-19 over Buffalo
| C | |
| Buffalo's defense played relatively well, especially given the fact that they were without safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. But their lack of depth in the secondary reared its ugly head on Miami's two big completions from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle on Miami's game-winning drive. Buffalo's defense did not receive much help from an offense that was just 2 of 4 in the red zone. The Bills are now 0-7 in one-score games dating to the start of last season. | |
| A | |
| The Mike McDaniel era could not be starting off any better for the Dolphins. McDaniel's team is now 3-0 after topping the Bills, the team many are picking to come out of the AFC five months from now. The Dolphins defense came up with several big second-half stops while holding Buffalo's offense to just three points during the game's final 30 minutes. On offense, Tua Tagovailoa continued to strengthen his rapport with Jaylen Waddle, whose 45-yard catch on a third-and-22 play set up Chase Edmonds' game-winning score. | |
Bills-Dolphins grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Baltimore 37-26 over New England
| A- | |
| Lamar Jackson is playing like a man who wants to be paid at the top of the market. He had four touchdowns through the air and one on the ground to go along with 107 rushing yards in the win over New England. Each time the Patriots clawed their way back into the game, Jackson was able to snuff them out and help Baltimore move to 2-1. Early on, Jackson and Mark Andrews took advantage of the Patriots being without star safety Kyle Dugger and connected on a couple of first-half touchdowns. Devin Duvernay also impressed with a back-of-the-end zone touchdown that was part of a 17-0 run in the second half. On the defensive side of the ball, they were to capitalize on a number of questionable throws by Mac Jones and pick him off three times. The pass rush also pushed him off his spot on a handful of occasions and forced him to scramble, while also taking him down for a sack three times. | |
| C- | |
| Credit to New England for battling back a couple of times in this game, but they completely fell apart in the second half with four total turnovers. Mac Jones and DeVante Parker were able to connect on a couple of chunk plays, but the quarterback still looks a bit uncomfortable within the offense and threw multiple head-scratching interceptions. He also left this game with a lower leg injury that's worth monitoring. Defensively, Bill Belichick's crew had no answer for Lamar Jackson as the Ravens quarterback continues to gash teams with his arm and his legs. | |
Patriots-Ravens grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Minnesota 28-24 over Detroit
| B- | |
| You know you made a bad decision when you're already second-guessing yourself after the game and that's exactly what happened with Dan Campbell. With the Lions clinging to a 24-21 lead late in the fourth quarter, Campbell decided to have Austin Seibert attempt a 54-yard field goal on fourth-and-6. The kick ended up missing, which set up the Vikings with great field position on their eventual game-winning TD drive. The Lions defense then surrendered the game-winning TD just two plays later. The late meltdown overshadowed a mostly impressive performance from a Lions team that jumped out to leads of 14-0 and 24-14. | |
| B- | |
| Five days after melting down on Monday night, Kirk Cousins was back in his Sunday afternoon comfort zone. A big reason the Vikings won this game is because Cousins caught fire in the fourth quarter, going 9 of 12 for 125 yards and two touchdowns. The final TD came on a 28-yard pass to K.J. Osborn with just 45 seconds left. The performance by Cousins bailed out a Vikings team that made several big mistakes including two missed field goals and a lost fumble in the third quarter. | |
Lions-Vikings grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Philadelphia 24-8 over Washington
| A | |
| What else should the Eagles get after such a dominant performance on the defensive side of the ball? The Eagles sacked Carson Wentz nine times in the victory, the most by any team in a game this season -- while also hitting Wentz 17 times. At one point Jalen Hurts had more 30-yard completions than Wentz had actual completions! Philadelphia didn't allow a point until late in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. DeVonta Smith had eight catches for 169 yards and a touchdown while A.J. Brown had four catches for 75 yards and a score as Philadelphia used a dominant first half to roll past their second straight opponent. The Eagles are 3-0 -- and they are good. | |
| D | |
| Thought the Commanders offense would put up a better performance than this. Carson Wentz looked lost against the Eagles secondary as he held on to the ball too long and fumbled twice, never really getting into a groove until the game got out of hand. Washington's offensive line was dominated all afternoon against the Eagles' four-man rush, as Philadelphia had its way with center Chase Roullier out. The defense wasn't much better, allowing big plays across the board and DeVonta Smith taking over the game with catch after catch. The coverage issues are a real problem in Washington, and don't appear to improve until teams go conservative on offense. | |
Eagles-Commanders grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
L.A. Rams 20-12 over Arizona
| A | |
| Los Angeles' defense did not allow a touchdown and it also held Arizona to an 0-for-2 showing in the red zone. The Rams were especially tough against the run, as they held the Cardinals to just 70 yards on 21 carries. The Rams offense enjoyed a solid performance from Matthew Stafford, who was sacked just once while going 18 of 25 for 249 yards. With Cooper Kupp drawing most of the attention, Stafford had success getting the ball to Ben Skowronek and Tyler Higbee, who combined to catch eight passes for 127 yards. His fumble, notwithstanding, Akers made several key runs and finished the game with 61 yards on 12 carries. | |
| C | |
| Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense failed to score a touchdown while settling for four Matt Prater field goals. Although Murray threw for 314 yards (on a whopping 58 attempts), he had several throws he surely wishes he had back from Sunday, including his incomplete pass to Marquise Brown on fourth-and-4 from the Rams' 26-yard line with 11:35 left and the Cardinals trailing 20-9. Arizona needs more production from their running game, as the Cardinals finished with just 70 yards on 21 carries. | |
Cardinals-Rams grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Green Bay 14-12 over Tampa Bay
| C | |
| The Packers looked like they were on the verge of blowing out the Buccaneers. Aaron Rodgers led two long touchdown drives to start the game, but those ended up being the only points they scored all game. The Green Bay offense completely disappeared in the second half, but it got the win, and that's what matters. You have to credit the Packers defense for dominating the matchup for the majority of the afternoon -- although they did allow what almost was the game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter. You also have to be excited for rookie wideout Romeo Doubs, who caught all eight of his targets for 73 yards and one touchdown. He seems like someone the NFL world should keep an eye on moving forward. | |
| C- | |
| The Buccaneers entered Sunday averaging fewer points per game than the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets and New York Giants, and this Week 3 outcome won't exactly help them in that category. It's true that Tom Brady was down his top three wide receivers due to injury, but going 2 of 11 on third down just won't cut it. We are one-sixth of the way through the regular season and it feels like we have no idea what the ceiling or floor of this team could be. | |
Packers-Buccaneers grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Atlanta 27-23 over Seattle
| A- | |
| After losing their first two games by a total of five points, the Falcons finally came away with a win on Sunday and they did it by riding the back of Cordarrelle Patterson. The suddenly unstoppable running back gashed up Seattle's defense with 141 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Somehow, the Falcons passing game was also impressive, even though Marcus Mariota only completed 13 passes in the entire game. The impressive part is that nine of those 13 went for 12 yards or more, including a 14-yard TD to Drake London in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner. | |
| B- | |
| If you can't stop the other team's offense, it's difficult to win in the NFL and the Seahawks had some trouble with Atlanta's offense in a game where the Falcons only punted once. The Seahawks defense gave up big play after big play on a day where it surrendered 9 yards per pass and 5.8 yards per rush. The defense did come up with a huge fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, but Geno Smith threw that opportunity away with a late interception, which basically summed up Seattle's day: The opportunities to win were there, the Seahawks just didn't take advantage of them. | |
Falcons-Seahawks grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Jacksonville 38-10 over L.A. Chargers
| A+ | |
| For the first time since 2019, the Jaguars won a road game and they did it in shocking fashion. The Jaguars went into Los Angeles and abused the Chargers for four straight quarters. Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, thoroughly outplayed Justin Herbert. The Chargers had no idea how to slow down the suddenly high-powered Jags offense. Besides Herbert's three touchdowns, the Jags also got 100 rushing yards and a touchdown from James Robinson. As impressive as the offense was, the defense was even better. The Jags made a statement in the first half by forcing two punts and two turnovers on the Chargers' first four offensive possessions and that set the tone for what ended up being a dominant day for Jacksonville. | |
| F | |
| The Chargers should just go ahead and burn the film from this game, then pick up the ashes and set those on fire, too. This game was an absolute disaster from start to finish. The Chargers defense got embarrassed by a Jaguars offense that was basically able to score at will. The only upside of being blown out is that Brandon Staley could have pulled Justin Herbert out of the game early, but HE DIDN'T DO THAT. Despite the fact that Herbert has an injured rib cage, Staley left his QB in to take a beating until the bitter end. | |
Jaguars-Chargers grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Denver 11-10 over San Francisco
| C- | |
| 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is probably going to be having nightmares about this game for the next five years. Although the 49ers defense played lights out, San Francisco lost because the offense kept making big mistakes. The biggest one of all came from Jimmy Garoppolo, who gave the Broncos two points in the third quarter when he safetied himself by stepping out of bounds in the end zone. Despite that gaffe, the 49ers still had a chance to win in the waning minutes, but they turned the ball over on both of their final two offensive possessions. Overall, the 49ers turned the ball over three times, which was bad enough, but they also couldn't convert on third down, going just 1 of 10 in the game. For the 49ers, this game was there for the taking, but they simply couldn't get the job done. | |
| C+ | |
| Russell Wilson and the Broncos offense better send a few thank you cards to their defensive counterparts this week because Denver's defense made this victory possible. The Broncos defense forced three turnovers and kept Denver in this game for the better part of four quarters while Wilson and the offense attempted to figure things out. Things finally clicked for Wilson in the fourth quarter during a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a game-winning TD run by Melvin Gordon. This game was as wild as a game with an 11-10 final score could possibly be. If the Broncos offense starts to mesh together, this is s team that could be dangerous down the road. | |
49ers-Broncos grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
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Dallas 23-16 over N.Y. Giants
| B+ | |
| If there's one unsung hero of the NFL season so far, it's probably Cooper Rush. The Cowboys won their second straight game since losing Dak Prescott, and Rush played a big part in that. The Cowboys backup QB threw for 210 yards and a TD. He also caught fire in the second half, completing 12 of 13 passes at one point. Of course, Rush also got plenty of help from a Cowboys rushing attack that totaled 178 yards. Defensively, the Cowboys simply overpowered an overmatched Giants offensive line. Demarcus Lawrence tallied three sacks on a night where the Cowboys totaled five. It was a solid all-around game for a Cowboys team that has been determined not to let its season fall apart while Prescott is out. Rush is now 3-0 as a starter in his career. | |
| B- | |
| The Giants' dream of an undefeated season is over. The Giants definitely had a chance to win this game, but they made too many mistakes and their defense absolutely disappeared in the second half. After keeping the Cowboys out of the end zone in the first half, the Giants surrendered two TD drives in the second half that both went for more than 75 yards, and those drives seemed to suck the life out of the Giants. The defense simply had no answers for a Cowboys rushing attack that averaged 6.4 yards per carry. As for the mistakes, there were plenty to go around. Between the dropped passes, blocked field goal, failed fourth down in the first half and the offensive line's inability to protect Daniel Jones (he got sacked five times), the Giants just made too many errors to win. | |
Cowboys-Giants grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)