Brawls. Quarterbacks catching touchdowns. Overtime victories in Super Bowl rematches. Week three is officially in the books. Let's dive into the winners and losers.
Winners
Denver Broncos
The Broncos sort of won in a small way. Yes, they lost (again) 26-20 to the Seattle Seahawks, but this wasn't the same type of blow-out loss that occurred in the Super Bowl game. Peyton Manning engineered a brilliant 80-yard touchdown drive in the final minute of the game without any timeouts. The famous Seattle defense looked mortal for brief periods of time in Sunday's game. Unfortunately for Denver, the Seahawks drove down the field on the first possession of overtime for a game-winning touchdown. There may not be any moral victories in the NFL, but at least Manning and the offense know they can hang with these guys this time around.
Kirk Cousins
The Washington Redskins may have lost 37-34 in a winnable game against the Philadelphia Eagles, but backup quarterback Kirk Cousins continues to impress this season. Cousins completed 30 of 48 passes for 427 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Not only is Cousins filling in for an injured Robert Griffin III, some would say he is outperforming him. Cousins continues to raise his stock in RGIII's absence, making the quarterback controversy in D.C. all the more real.
Losers
San Francisco 49ers
Is San Francisco worse than we thought, or are the Arizona Cardinals better? Maybe it's a little bit of both that led to a 23-14 Arizona win. The 49ers (1-2) gave running back Frank Gore only six rushing attempts on Sunday, allowing Colin Kaepernick to throw 37 times. The team has abandoned the run early in both of its losses this season, while the defense has allowed backup Cardinals QB Drew Stanton and a hobbled Chicago Bears offense to beat them in consecutive weeks. Is Jim Harbaugh's seat getting a little toasty? Expect a recommitment to the running game against the Eagles this week in an attempt to right the ship.
San Diego Backfield
The Chargers, a week after losing running back Ryan Matthews for an extended time with an MCL knee injury, lost Danny Woodhead for the season after he suffered a broken fibula. That leaves Donald Brown and undrafted rookie Branden Oliver as the lone ball carriers for San Diego. This is a big blow for a team with playoff aspirations. How will this affect their offense? Can Donald Brown handle the load? The Chargers are facing some big questions as they head into their week four match up against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
