NFL Week 3 overreactions: Time for Falcons to go back to Kirk Cousins? Bengals should move on from Zac Taylor?

What a wild 1 p.m. slate in the NFL. Sunday was the first day in NFL history with multiple interception return touchdowns and blocked field goals returned for a touchdown, as well as a punt return touchdown. This was also the first day in NFL history with multiple blocked field goals returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, capped by Jordan Davis‘ game-sealing play in the Eagles‘ win over the Rams. 

Plenty of reserve quarterbacks played in Week 3. Some played well and some didn’t. Some quarterbacks were even benched. There were some crazy finishes as well, turning what looked to be a boring NFL Sunday into an exciting one. Such is life in the NFL.

There were plenty of overreactions to go around after another slate of games. Which are actually overreactions or which hold some truth? 

Chiefs offense will cost them a playoff spot

Overreaction or reality: Reality

If the Chiefs do happen to miss the playoffs — and it’s hard to believe they will — their offense is actually going to be the reason why. Kansas City’s offense was a tough watch in Sunday’s win over New York, as the Chiefs racked up just 306 yards and 22 points against a Giants defense that couldn’t stop the Cowboys the week prior. 

The Chiefs averaged just 4.6 yards p[er play and 5.2 yards per pass attempt. This is the same franchise that employs Patrick Mahomes at quarterback by the way. Yes Rashee Rice is suspended and Xavier Worthy is injured, but the offense has the fewest points per game (20.0), yards per game (315.7) and yards per play (5.2) through three games in the Mahomes era (since 2018). 

This offense just isn’t good enough to get this team to the expectations the Chiefs are used to. Kansas City is a good team, but the offense has to be better going forward. If these offensive struggles continue, there will be no playoffs for the Chiefs (which appears unbelievable). The Chiefs are too good to miss the playoffs. 

Brian Daboll won’t last the season as Giants coach

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

If the Giants wanted to move on from Daboll, the franchise would have done so by now. Think about this for a second, the Giants are 9-28 since Daboll’s first season in New York — and went 9-7-1 in that first season! New York should have moved on from Daboll after last season but didn’t. 

Daboll’s saving grace for his coaching career with the Giants is Jaxson Dart, who it may be time to turn to after Russell Wilson looked horrible in two of his three outings this season. Wilson isn’t the long-term solution in New York anyway, and now he’s throwing multiple interceptions in games (first time he’s done that since 2023). 

The Giants can’t get anything going on offense, and Malik Nabers is a nonfactor. The answer would be to go to Dart, but Daboll may hold up on that to salvage his coaching career. This is why Daboll lasts the season, because the Giants gave him that opportunity to. 

Justin Herbert is the front-runner for NFL MVP

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

Perhaps Herbert isn’t the MVP yet, but the Chargers quarterback is in the conversation. Herbert didn’t turn in an MVP stat line in the Chargers’ comeback win over the Broncos, but he played like one on the final two drives.

With the Chargers trailing, 20-13, in the fourth quarter, Herbert went 8 of 8 for 93 yards and a touchdown on the final two drives — leading the Chargers to 10 unanswered points to get to 3-0. Herbert was just 28 of 47 for 300 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but 12 of 15 for 123 yards with a touchdown (123.1 rating) in the fourth quarter. 

Sunday wasn’t Herbert’s best day, but he led the Chargers to a comeback win. He completed 66.7% of his passes this season with six touchdowns to an interception and a 105.5 passer rating, getting the job done when the Chargers needed him to.

Caleb Williams will be the first Bears QB to have 30 TD passes in a season

Overreaction or reality: Reality

What an afternoon for Williams, as he threw four touchdown passes in the Bears’ rout of the Cowboys. This is a performance the Bears saw coming, as Williams finally looked comfortable in Ben Johnson’s offense. Yes, the Cowboys’ defense isn’t good and players are banged up in the secondary, but there are the types of games Williams has to have if he wants to reach his potential as an NFL quarterback. 

Can he throw for 30 touchdowns this season? No Bears player has ever accomplished that feat in the franchise’s 100-plus-year history. Williams has seven touchdown passes through three games and is on pace for 40 on the season! It seems like a no-brainer he’ll reach 30 given how he’s still growing in Johnson’s offense. 

If Williams stays healthy, he’ll set some Bears’ single-season passing records.

Packers offense will keep them from winning a Super Bowl

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

This wasn’t a banner afternoon for the Packers offense: 10 points scored, 230 total yards, 3.8 yards per play and a loss to the Browns. Green Bay looked like the best team in football 10 days ago, yet had a major letdown against a team that struggled to score points all season. That’s not the look of a Super Bowl contender. 

Here’s the trick to all this: The Browns defense is really good. Cleveland is the first team to hold all three opponents to fewer than 250 yards this season and leads the NFL in yards per game allowed (204.3). The Browns are the fifth team in the past 25 years to allow fewer than 250 total yards AND fewer than 100 rush yards in each of its first three games. This defense shut down Joe Burrow earlier this season, too. 

The Packers offense just wasn’t good enough Sunday, and Jordan Love’s crucial interception at his own 25-yard line set the stage for the Browns’ comeback. This is just one game against a great defense, but the Packers offense has to be better if they want to compete with the elite teams in the conference. Sunday was a bad loss.

Carson Wentz should remain the starting QB for the Vikings

Overreaction or reality: Reality

Unfortunately for J.J. McCarthy, it wasn’t going to take much for Wentz to play better than him as the starting quarterback. McCarthy was awful for the first two games and is now sidelined with a right high ankle sprain. Wentz played well in his absence, going 14 of 23 for 178 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions (129.8 rating) in a dominant 48-10 victory. 

This is Wentz’s first game with multiple passing touchdowns and zero interceptions since Christmas Day in 2021, and this happened for a quarterback who wasn’t on the roster a month ago. On passes of 10-plus air yards, Wentz was 5 of 10 for 99 yards and an 85.0 passer rating, as the Vikings eased him into the offense. 

Wentz will get another shot to start next Sunday (in London against the Steelers), but he’s better than McCarthy right now and allows the Vikings to win games. The Vikings should ride Wentz as long as they can at this point, even though they’ll likely go back to McCarthy once he’s healthy. 

Bengals should move on from Zac Taylor after this season

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

Even though the Bengals were blown out in the first game Joe Burrow missed, this isn’t a reflection on Taylor. This is the result of an organization that built a bad offensive line, did not draft well, did not spend the money to improve on defense and became too reliant with Burrow on the field to win games. 

Jake Browning has five interceptions through two games he’s played, and he hasn’t even played two full games yet! The Bengals don’t look like they have the personnel to overcome the loss of Burrow for a significant period of time, and will likely miss the playoffs again.

If that happens, that could be a reflection on Taylor — even though he shouldn’t take the fall for poor front office management. The Bengals just aren’t good without Burrow, no matter who their coach is. Taylor will likely be on the hot seat if the season goes into a free fall, but right now Cincinnati is 2-1. 

The Bengals still control their own destiny. Their season isn’t off the rails yet. 

C.J. Stroud’s starting job should be under fire in Houston

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

The season already appears to be going off the rails for the Texans, who are off to an 0-3 start and sit in last place in the AFC South. Houston should be a better team than this, and Stroud should also be better, as he finished 25 of 38 for 204 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions (66.1 rating) in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars. 

The Texans have just 38 points through three games, as Stroud has two touchdowns to three interceptions for a 76.9 rating during this stretch. His interception with 27 seconds left in a 17-10 game was brutal for the offense, as pressure came from the outside and his pass was tipped as soon as he let the ball go — a microcosm of the flawed offensive line around him. 

This is why Stroud has thrown 15 interceptions since the start of 2024 and has an 85.6 passer rating with just 7.0 yards per attempt. The Texans’ offensive scheme is not helping their franchise quarterback; instead, it’s putting Stroud in situations where he has to be Superman to win games. 

Stroud is a good quarterback. The Texans have failed to help him succeed since his rookie year. 

Cover 32: C.J. Stroud’s 2 INTs help put nail in 0-3 Texans’ coffin, plus Week 3 game balls, biggest gaffes

Tyler Sullivan

Buccaneers will run away with the NFC South

Overreaction or reality: Reality

Who’s going to compete with the 3-0 Buccaneers? The Falcons don’t know who their quarterback is (and the Buccaneers beat them already). The Panthers are the Panthers and the Saints are one of — if not the — worst teams in the NFL. The NFC South is seemingly wrapped up, right? 

Here’s what’s crazy about the Buccaneers. They have a 3-0 record and are the first team in NFL history with a game-winning score in the final minute of the fourth quarter in each of them. They have the lowest combined margin of victory (six points) in a 3-0 start to a season in NFL history, yet they lead the division by two games.

Are the Buccaneers elite? That will be determined next week against the 3-0 Eagles, but they are by far the best team in a weak NFC South. Where they fit on the NFC pantheon is to be determined. 

Time for Falcons to go back to Kirk Cousins

Overreaction or reality: Reality

The Falcons already benched second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the fourth quarter of a 30-0 loss to the Panthers. Yes, the Falcons didn’t score a point against Carolina.

Penix was awful, completing just 18 of 36 passes for 178 yards and two interceptions (40.5 rating). This was Penix’s first multiple interception game in the NFL, but he hasn’t been good in his three games this season — completing just 58.6% of his passes for a 78.3 rating. 

Penix will likely get the start next week, but they should give the $180 million backup an opportunity to win his job back — more than a full year after rupturing his Achilles. Cousins may give the Falcons a spark on offense, which they really haven’t had all year.