2024 NFL Week 3 Outrights
by Dan Angell | by Tyler Doty
NFL Week 3
Week 3 is a pivotal one in the NFL, because it’s basically the end of the proving ground for a team’s playoff hopes. Since the NFL expanded the season past 14 games in 1978, only six teams have ever made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. It’s not much better for teams that start 0-2, as only 32 teams have recovered from that number to reach the playoffs.
But for that handful of teams, this week really does feel like a do-or-die situation. It’s crazy to be talking about the end of the road already for the Baltimore Ravens or the Indianapolis Colts. On the other hand, the New York Giants already feel like dead men walking, and the Carolina Panthers somehow look even worse. Showing no sense that the Panthers even understand the problem or how to fix it, Carolina opted to bench Bryce Young for Andy Dalton, which almost never works out when trying to develop a young quarterback.
Here’s a look at some of the top matchups for Week 3.
Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals
Could the Cardinals actually be for real? Arizona came in having lost nine straight home games to Los Angeles, but straight up shellacked the Rams behind Marvin Harrison Jr. Kyler Murray had a huge day throwing the football, and the Cardinals completely shut down the Rams’ running game.
The first part of that has to make the Lions nervous, because Detroit did not have a good day against Matthew Stafford in Week 1. The Lions were better against Baker Mayfield in Week 2, but there’s a big gap between those two passing attacks. Detroit either has to score enough to keep up with Arizona, which is possible, or the Lions have to get better on the defensive side of the ball.
This one feels more like it’s going to be a shootout. The Cardinals’ defense has improved, but the Lions should have too many weapons for Arizona to choke them off the way it did the Rams. Expect a lot of points here.
Miami Dolphins at Seattle Seahawks
Geographically, this is the longest trip in the NFL, as the Dolphins will go from corner to corner of the country to get to the Emerald City. They’ll also do it with a new quarterback, as Skylar Thompson will take over following Tua Tagovailoa’s horrific concussion. Thompson wasn’t very effective when he came into the game, and he’s likely to be even less effective against Seattle’s outstanding pass defense.
That said, you can run on the Seahawks, which is why people believe that the Dolphins have a chance despite the obvious disadvantage. Miami got good production out of De’Von Achane against Buffalo, as he was the lone bright spot on the offense. Seattle can’t go all-out to stop him unless it wants to gamble that Thompson just can’t hit either Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle, so Achane should still get a few chances.
The Seahawks also have a bad habit of playing with their food. Out of their past seven wins, none have come by more than six points. Seattle lets teams hang around and hopes that it doesn’t burn them. The problem with that is that at some point, it does.
Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings
Most people expected the Texans to get off to a strong start. DeMeco Ryans clearly knows what he’s doing running the Texans, C.J. Stroud has proven to be the best quarterback in his draft class to this point and Houston has used its history of being poor to build out some talent all over the field. And now it’s come together, and the Texans look like a genuine AFC contender.
Nobody expected Minnesota to be in this position after the Vikings lost J.J. McCarthy for the season. But Sam Darnold, freed from football purgatory in Charlotte, has gotten off to a strong start in Minnesota. It turns out that having good options to spread the football and a quarterback who knows enough to get them the ball does wonders for any team’s chances.
As long as Justin Jefferson is fully ready to go, Minnesota is going to have the most talented player on the field. And that situation creates scoring opportunities that lead to wins.
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints
Two games were enough for Eagles fans to be ready to move on from coach Nick Sirianni. Granted, nobody is complaining about Sirianni if Saquon Barkley catches the pass from Jalen Hurts and gains the first down, as the game would have ended right there.
But that said, Sirianni had no business losing to Atlanta, and now his seat is warming quickly as the Eagles head to Louisiana. The Saints have looked scary good in their first two games, which suggest that their first win over Carolina might have had more to do with them than the Panthers being a disaster. New Orleans topped 400 yards of offense against Dallas and moved the ball effectively through both the run and pass. Alvin Kamara was particularly effective, gashing the Cowboys for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
That could be disastrous for an Eagle defense that just got shredded on the ground by the Falcons. Atlanta averaged 5.4 yards per carry, which is a staggering number in the NFL. If the Eagles can’t shore up the run defense and make Kamara work a little harder for his yards, they’ve got no chance of slowing down the Saints.
