Steelers become first team in 36 years to hit 3-0 with this scoring quirk, plus 13 more wild stats from Week 3

If you want to have your mind blown, just check out these 14 crazy stats from Week 3

By John Breech

Sep 23, 2024 at 11:11 am ET • 4 min read

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The third full Sunday of the 2024 NFL season is officially in the books, and somehow the Pittsburgh Steelers are still undefeated.

The Steelers are 3-0 even though they've had one big issue this year: They're having trouble scoring touchdowns.

Pittsburgh has only scored three touchdowns this year and getting to 3-0 with that kind of scoring output is almost unheard of. As a matter of fact, it's been 36 years since we've seen any team pull that off. The last team to start 3-0 with three or fewer touchdowns was the 1988 Buffalo Bills. The Steelers would probably be thrilled to replicate Buffalo's season and that's mainly because the Bills ended up making it all the way to the AFC Championship game that season.

So that else happened in Week 3?

Let's check out 13 more of the wildest stats from Week 3 (via CBS Sports research unless noted):

Rams do the impossible. During his time with the 49ers, Kyle Shanahan had NEVER blown a second-half lead of 14 points, well, before Sunday that is. Going into Week 3, Shanahan was 50-0 in that situation -- he had WON 50 GAMES IN A ROW -- but he's now 50-1 after the Rams came back from a 21-7 deficit to win. The win also ended a streak of 101 straight losses by the Rams in that situation.
Andy Dalton pulls off a feat that no QB had accomplished this year. In this first start with the Panthers, Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, making him the FIRST QB in the NFL this year to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in the same game.
Sam Darnold makes history in Minnesota. Darnold threw four TD passes in Minnesota's 34-7 win over the Texans, making him the first QB in Vikings history to win the first three games of the season AND throw multiple TD passes in each of those games.
Purple People eaters are back in Minnesota. With five sacks against the Texans, the Vikings defense now has at least five sacks in every game this season, making Minnesota just the third team since 1990 to record five sacks in each of its first three games of the season. The Vikings join the 2000 Buccaneers and the 2001 Saints.
The Steel Curtain is back. The Steelers have given up 10 points or less in each of their first three games, making them just the fifth team since 2000 to pull off that feat. The Steelers joined the 2009 Broncos, 2005 Colts, 2004 Seahawks and 2001 Packers.
Derrick Henry marching toward history. The Ravens running back finished with 151 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys, marking the 12th time in his career that he's rushed for at least 150 yards with multiple touchdowns. That's the second-most in NFL history and trails only Jim Brown, who did it three times.
Dolphins all alone. There are 32 teams in the NFL and the Dolphins are the only team that hasn't held the lead for a single second this season. The Dolphins did win in Week 1, but that came on a field goal that went through the uprights with zero seconds remaining.
Malik Willis is magic for the Packers. With his performance against the Titans, Malik Willis pulled off something that Jordan Love has never accomplished: He threw for at least 200 yards with at least 50 rushing yards along with a rushing TD and a passing TD. Before Sunday, the last time a Packers QB pulled that off was Aaron Rodgers in 2010. Willis also became just the fifth QB to record a passer rating of 120 or higher in his first two career starts, joining Brad Johnson (1999 with Washington), Jeff George (1994 with Atlanta), Jim Plunkett (1980 with the Raiders) and John Hadl (1973 with the L.A. Rams).
Malik Nabers makes more history. The Giants receiver made history last week and he's back at it again this week. Nabers has caught 23 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns this season, which makes him the first player in NFL history with at least 20 receptions and three touchdown catches in his first three career games. Nabers also became the youngest player in NFL history to catch two TD passes in a single game.
Undrafted hero. Adam Thielen caught the 60th TD pass of his career, which is impressive when you consider that he entered the NFL as an udrafted free agent. Thielen is just the third undrafted player since 1966 to catch at least 60 TD passes, joining Antonio Gates (116) and Rod Smith (68).
NFC teams can't beat Lamar Jackson. With the Ravens beating the Cowboys on Sunday, Jackson is now 21-1 in his career against NFC teams, which is the best winning percentage by any QB in NFL history against the NFC with a minimum of five starts. Jackson has won nine straight games against the NFC, which is the longest active streak for a QB against the opposing conference (Joe Burrow could tie that streak on Monday if the Bengals beat the Commanders).
Mahomes stands alone. The Chiefs QB picked up his 77th career win, which is the new NFL record for most wins by a QB through his first 100 starts. Mahomes had been tied with Tom Brady and Roger Staubach at 76, but now, he has the record to himself and he could add at least one more win to the record since he'll be making his 100th start in Week 4.
Brandon Aubrey almost makes history. The Cowboys kicker drilled a 65-YARD field goal against the Ravens, which is the second-longest kick in NFL history. He came one yard short of tying Justin Tucker's record of 66 (You can see Aubrey's monster kick here).