If anyone in Buffalo was worried about Josh Allen after watching him struggle through the first two weeks of the season, they're probably not worried much anymore after watching him dice up Washington on Sunday during the Bills' dominating 43-21 win over the Football Team.
After playing at an MVP level in 2020, Allen had some high expectations on him going into the 2021 season and through the first two weeks of the year, he wasn't living up to those, but there's a good chance the narrative is going to change this week. In one of the most impressive performances of his career, Allen threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns, which tied a career high. The Bills quarterback also tacked on a rushing touchdown to give him five totals scores for the day, which also tied a career high.
Allen's at his most dangerous when he's throwing with pinpoint accuracy while scrambling and he showed why against the Football Team. On his first TD pass of the day, Allen rolled out of the pocket and threw a 28-yard dart to Emmanuel Sanders.
What a beaut.
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 26, 2021
📺 #WASvsBUF: FOX pic.twitter.com/OzSX80nrG3
Although Allen is deadly when he's on the move, he can also do some damage from the pocket, which hasn't always been one of his strengths. However, it seems to be a strength now and he proved that when he hit Dawson Knox for a TD pass in the second quarter.
The only thing more amazing than Allen's throw on this play was the catch.
dawson knox
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 26, 2021
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📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/vXyYbXaprg
Allen struggled with his accuracy through the first two weeks of the season -- completing just 55.6 percent of his passes -- but it looks like he's finally figured things out. Against Washington, Allen completed 74.4 percent of his passes, which is even more impressive when you look at the throws he was making. These weren't checkdowns: He was throwing downfield and he averaged 8.2 yards per pass.
Washington's defense isn't as good as it was last year, but it's still Washington's defense and Allen made it look like a D-III college team.
The bottom line is that when Allen is playing like this, the Bills are a Super Bowl contender and right now, they're looking like one of the best teams in the AFC.
Alright, let's get to the grades for every game from Week 3. If you're looking for a deeper dive on Carolina's 24-9 win over the Texans that was played on Thursday, be sure to click here.
Buffalo 43-21 over Washington
| D- |  |
| Washington is only going to go as far as its defense takes it this season and right now, it doesn't look like that's going to be very far. The Football Team's defense basically looked helpless against a Bills offense that rolled up nearly 500 yards. The only thing worse than Washington's defensive performance was its offensive performance. The Football team turned the ball over on two of their first three possessions and things only got worse from there. | |
| A |  |
| We talked about Allen above and one reason he was so good in this game was because his receivers kept coming up with big plays. The addition of Sanders to that group now looks like one of the smartest moves of the offseason as the new Bills receiver caught five passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Bills picked off two Taylor Heinicke passes, which helped set up 10 points for Buffalo. | |
Dallas 41-21 over Philadelphia (Monday)
| D |  |
| The Eagles got embarrassed on national television and that was mostly because they couldn't do anything right on either side of the ball in this game. Jalen Hurts and the offense simply couldn't get anything going until it was much too late. Out of the Eagles' first seven possessions, five of them ended in a punt and two of them ended with a Hurts interception, including a pick six to start the second half that basically iced the game for Dallas. Defensively, the Eagles did score a TD on a fumble recovery in the end zone in the first quarter, but that's about all they did right. | |
| A |  |
| The Cowboys scored a touchdown on their opening drive and that set the tone for the game. The Cowboys offense piled up nearly 400 yards and was basically able to move the ball at will. On the ground, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combined to average 5.53 yards per carry. The only thing more impressive than the Cowboys rushing attack was Dak Prescott's ability to throw the ball. Prescott threw for three touchdowns and only threw five incompletions (21 of 26) on the night. Dak's favorite target was Dalton Schultz, who finished with 80 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Cowboys continued their dramatic turnaround from last year when they were one of the worst units in the league. On Monday, they put together another impressive performance that included a pick six by Trevon Diggs. | |
Tennessee 25-16 over Indianapolis
| C- |  |
| Carson Wentz didn't practice for most of the week and it showed as the Colts offense struggled out of the gate. The Colts only had one drive in the first half that went for more than 23 yards. With Wentz struggling, the Colts needed a perfect game from their defense, which they didn't get. Although the defense did force two huge turnovers, they couldn't get off the field as Tennessee came up with huge conversions on third down (6 of 12) and fourth down (1 of 1). The Colts offense also continued to struggle in the red zone as it was held to zero touchdowns on two different possessions that made it inside of Tennessee's 9-yard line (They ended each of those drives with a field goal). | |
| B+ |  |
| After getting diced up during the first two weeks of the season, the Titans defense finally brought its 'A' game. The defense held the Colts to under 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. Offensively, the Titans were able to impose their will on the Colts and their will was to run the ball with Derrick Henry, who finished with 113 yards. Ryan Tannehill also had an impressive performance with three TD passes, but the Titans aren't getting an 'A' because they simply made too many errors. Tannehill threw two interceptions and Nick Westbrook lost a fumble inside of Indy's 10-yard line. | |
Baltimore 19-17 over Detroit
| B- |  |
| Ravens coach John Harbaugh would probably be the first to agree that the Baltimore wasn't at the top of its game on Sunday, but that didn't matter, because Justin Tucker was there to save the day. The Ravens kicker drilled a 66-yard field goal on the final play of the game, which won it for Baltimore while also setting an NFL record for longest kick. Tucker's field goal masked an iffy outing by the Ravens, who saw Marquise Brown drop three passes (including two likely touchdowns). Lamar Jackson also struggled with his accuracy until he hit Sammy Watkins for a 36-yard pass on fourth-and-19 to set up Tucker's game-winning kick. | |
| B+ |  |
| The Detroit Lions played a nearly perfect game, but even that wasn't enough to pull off the upset here. Not only did the Lions defense do a reasonably good job of bottling up Jackson, but they also stopped him on nearly every big play. The Ravens converted just 1 of 10 times on third down, but the Lions bend-but-don't-break defense finally broke in the fourth quarter when Jackson converted a fourth-and-19. The Lions offense played a stellar second half that helped them dig out of a 13-0 hole to take a 17-16 lead with 1:07 left. We won't rehash how this game ended, though, because Lions fans are probably already tired of hearing about it. | |
Atlanta 17-14 over N.Y. Giants
| B- |  |
| This game definitely wasn't one of the best of Matt Ryan's career, but he'll probably remember it fondly after playing a nearly perfect game in the fourth quarter. With the Falcons trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter, Ryan proceeded to complete 11 of 12 passes for 118 yards and a TD over the final 13 minutes of the game to propel Atlanta to the win. Kyle Pitts (two catches, 35 yards) and Cordarrelle Patterson (six catches for 82 yards) both came up with big plays on Atlanta's final drive to help set up Younghoe Koo's 40-yard game-winning field goal. | |
| C |  |
| After shutting down the Falcons for the better part of three quarters, the Giants defense melted down over the final 13 minutes of this game. Not only did it let the Falcons drive 72 yards for a game-tying TD, but Giants corner Adoree' Jackson dropped a gifted interception that would have iced the game. Even then, the Giants still had a chance to win, but the defense surrendered a 58-yard drive in the final two minutes that led to the Falcons' game-winning field goal. The Falcons only put up 296 yards in the game and 43 percent of that came on their final two possessions in the fourth quarter. Joe Judge also made some questionable decisions, including a punt on a fourth-and-3 from Atlanta's 39-yard line. | |
Arizona 31-19 over Jacksonville
| B |  |
| The Cardinals offense got off to a slow start, but it was able to withstand that because its defense came up big. The Cards defense forced four turnovers, including a pick six by Byron Murphy Jr. that basically iced the game. Offensively, the Cardinals had several receivers step up, which was much needed since DeAndre Hopkins was dealing with a rib issue. Both A.J. Green (five catches, 112 yards) and Christian Kirk (seven catches, 104 yards) finished with more than 100 yards receiving. Kyler Murray didn't throw any TD passes, but he did throw for 316 yards while also adding a rushing TD. Of course, the Cards came close to blowing this game and a big reason for that was because they surrendered a 109-yard kick six right before halftime. | |
| B- |  |
| If the Jaguars are going to beat teams that have more talent than them, they can't afford to make any big mistakes, but that's exactly what Trevor Lawrence did. Lawrence has thrown some ugly interceptions this season, but none of them were uglier than the pick six he threw on a flea-flicker early in the second half. Before the interception, the Jags were actually leading 19-17, but after the pick, it felt like there was no way Arizona was going to lose. Despite the turnovers, the Jags did give a spirited performance that included an NFL-record tying 109-yard TD from Jamal Agnew that came after the Cardinals fell short on a 68-yard field goal attempt. | |
Cincinnati 24-10 over Pittsburgh
| A+ |  |
| Cincinnati outplayed the Steelers in all three phases. The Bengals' offensive line played significantly better than the Steelers' offensive line. They provided mostly solid protection for Joe Burrow, who threw three touchdown passes for the third time in his career and the first time since Week 7 of the 2020 season. The Bengals' offensive line cleared the way for running back Joe Mixon to rumble for 90 yards on 18 carries. Defensively, the Bengals could have claimed residence in Pittsburgh's backfield. They constantly hounded Ben Roethlisberger, who was sacked four times and hit on numerous other occasions. The pressure led to inaccurate throws from Roethlisberger, who threw two interceptions to Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. The first pick set up the game's first score, a 17-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Tyler Boyd. The second set up Burrow's 9-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Marr Chase that extended the Bengals' lead to 24-7 late in the third quarter. | |
| F |  |
| Pittsburgh's offensive line was manhandled by the Bengals' formidable defensive line. The Steelers once again could not get their running game going, as Pittsburgh rushed for just 45 yards on 15 carries. Roethlisberger made two critical mistakes while struggling with his accuracy. Pittsburgh's offense failed to cash in on two scoring opportunities in the second half. Chris Boswell missed a 42-yard attempt that would have made it a two-possession game with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Two possessions later, Roethlisberger overthrew a wide-open James Washington on a play that would have been a sure touchdown. That drive ended on Cincinnati's 11-yard-line, when Roethlisberger settled for a check-down completion to Najee Harris that resulted in negative yardage. Injuries also plagued the Steelers, as Pittsburgh lost receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool and offensive linemen Chukwuma Okorafor and Kendrick Green during the game. Harris was the lone bright spot for the Steelers, as the first-round pick caught 14 passes for 102 yards. He had 57 total yards on Pittsburgh's only touchdown drive. | |
Bengals-Steelers grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
New Orleans 28-13 New England
| B+ |  |
| The Saints did let the Patriots briefly sneak back into this game and had a couple of missed field goals, which keeps them out of the "A" category. That said, it was a much better effort from the Saints than what we saw in Week 2. Jameis Winston was able to make plenty of impressive plays under pressure and took advantage of a number of Patriots miscues, including a broken coverage on the Alvin Kamara touchdown to begin the game. They also came up clutch to spoil New England's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to essentially clinch the win. | |
| F |  |
| As much as you can give the Patriots credit for somewhat getting back into this game, they had no business even sniffing a win in Week 3. New England began the game with three straight three-and-outs and had just 13 net yards of total offense in the first quarter. Defensively, there were a number of early breakdowns in coverage that directly resulted in points and special teams also struggles with a blocked punt and a kickoff that fell out of bounds. In all three phases of the game, the Patriots came up short. They also turned the ball over three times, which was largely thanks to the pressure placed on Mac Jones throughout the afternoon. That's simply not a winning recipe. | |
Saints-Patriots grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Cleveland 26-6 over Chicago
| C- |  |
| Between the poor offensive line play and questionable usage of Justin Fields, the offensive performance was putrid. Fields was forced to quicken his eyes as the game progressed so perhaps that helps him moving forward. It is reasonable to question whether or not his confidence might have been shaken. The defense, specifically Robert Quinn, looked good. It combined for five sacks on Baker Mayfield. | |
| B+ |  |
| Cleveland was able to get the ground game going in the second half. Kareem Hunt showed a lot of will churning yards after contact. The notable performance of the day was Myles Garrett, who recorded 4.5 sacks on the day. It was not a particularly crisp game from Mayfield but the team was able to do more than enough around him to get the win. | |
Bears-Browns grades by Josh Edwards (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
L.A. Chargers 30-24 over Kansas City
| A+ |  |
| Justin Herbert threw four touchdown passes on the road as the Chargers announced to the Chiefs they'll be fighting for that AFC West title. Herbert and the Chargers withstood every blow the Chiefs fired at them in this one, taking two fourth-quarter leads en route to the win -- at Arrowhead Stadium no less. The Chargers revamped defense forced four turnovers that kept the Chiefs to 24 points, and kept the Chargers in the game. Mike Williams had 112 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the big-play receiver the franchise thought they were getting when Los Angeles selected him in the first round five years ago. Brandon Staley played to win the game with plenty of aggressive calls on the winning drive that paid off -- making his reputation felt across the league as a gutsy coach that knows his players. This is a good Chargers team and while the win is shocking -- it shouldn't come as a surprise Los Angeles is playing this well. | |
| B- |  |
| The Chiefs managed to lose another close game, one that was of their own doing thanks to four turnovers. Three of which were committed in the first half on their first three possessions -- leading to a 14-0 hole they had to climb out of. Kansas City did manage to take the lead with 17 unanswered points, but the final turnover ended up biting them. In a 24-24 game with under two minutes left, Patrick Mahomes threw a questionable pass that was intercepted at the Chargers 41-yard line, which led to the winning touchdown from Herbert to Williams in the final minute. The Chiefs did improve on stopping the run (Chargers had just 77 yards), got their own run game going (186 yards), and moved the will at will (437 yards) -- but four turnovers and no takeaways of their own doomed them in. Kansas City will be fine as long as it can move the ball. The Chiefs beat themselves in this one. | |
Chargers-Chiefs grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Denver 26-0 over N.Y. Jets
| F |  |
| The Jets are a total disaster right now. After starting the season 0-2, it didn't seem like they could get any worse this week, but somehow, they managed to get worse. They can't run the ball (they finished with 43 yards), they can't throw the ball (Zach Wilson threw two picks) and they can't protect their quarterback (The offensive line gave up five sacks). Also, their defense is basically set up to fail because it's on the field all the time. This is team is bad. | |
| A+ |  |
| The Broncos might be the best team in the AFC that no one's talking about, although the Jets are probably talking about them now after the way Denver played in this game. The Broncos defense dominated the overmatched Jets. Not only did the unit pick off two passes, but it also tallied five sacks, including two by Alexander Johnson. More importantly, the Broncos didn't give up a single point, marking just the third time over the past 15 years that the Broncos have pitched a shutout. This game also marked the first time since 2009 that Denver has held an opponent under 200 yards in consecutive weeks. | |
Minnesota 30-17 over Seattle
| C- |  |
| For the second straight week, the Seahawks offense absolutely disappeared in the second half, and Seattle lost because of it. After moving up and down the field in the first half, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense weren't even able to muster 100 total yards in the second half. The third quarter continues to be a nightmare for the Seahawks as they've scored exactly zero points in the quarter through three weeks. If the Seahawks don't figure out soon how to fix their second-half woes, this could end up being a long season. | |
| A- |  |
| At 0-2, the Vikings were desperate to get a win on Sunday and they absolutely played like it. Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense came out on fire with six scores on their first seven possessions. Even without Dalvin Cook, the Vikings were able to move the ball at will and that was mostly thanks to Cousins, who completed 30 of 38 passes for 323 yards and three TDs. With Cook out, Alexander Mattison stepped in to take some pressure off of Cousins by rushing for 112 yards. Defensively, the Vikings absolutely shut down the Seahawks in the second half surrendering zero points after giving up 17 in the first half. | |
L.A. Rams 34-24 over Tampa Bay
| C- |  |
| Tom Brady was on the money for stretches of Sunday's potential NFC Championship Game preview, and for about a half he looked very capable of guiding another signature comeback. But this was still a tame offensive performance by their standards, with no run game to speak of and an Antonio Brown-less receiving corps occasionally struggling to find openings against the L.A. secondary. Defensively, they had few answers for Matthew Stafford's own pass-heavy attack, proving vulnerable to the pass for the third straight week. | |
| A |  |
| If you're not yet convinced that Stafford is a different animal under Sean McVay and within the confines of the Rams' explosive offense, well, please start tuning in. The veteran QB was off target early but never looked back once he got in stride, and his entire receiving corps, from Cooper Kupp to DeSean Jackson, looked explosive. The absence of any real run game is a temporary concern, but everything else was rock-solid here, including a defense that regularly stepped up in timely spots for a statement win. | |
Buccaneers-Rams grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Las Vegas 31-28 over Miami (OT)
| B- |  |
| Jacoby Brissett struggled for the majority of the matchup, and didn't even have 100 yards passing until the fourth quarter. He flipped a switch at the end of the game, however, and led a 13-play, 82-yard touchdown drive with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. He ran in the final touchdown and connected with Will Fuller on the game-tying two-point conversion. Brissett also kept the chains moving in overtime, and even converted a fourth-and-20. I don't know how many games he will win as Miami's starter, but Brissett definitely shows that he has potential. | |
| B |  |
| It wasn't a perfect outing for the Raiders, but we again saw the kind of resilience this team has. After going down 14-0 in the first quarter, Derek Carr was able to rally the troops and get the offense settled in. The Raiders reeled off 25 straight points, but the defense failed to do its job at the end of the game -- which is why we had to play overtime. That's something to keep an eye on moving forward. Of course, if the offense keeps piling up nearly 500 yards per game -- it had 495 against Miami -- it might not matter how the defense plays. | |
Dolphins-Raiders grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Green Bay 30-28 over San Francisco
| B+ |  |
| Green Bay was rolling toward an "A" for pretty much the entire first half, but Trenton Cannon's big kick return changed the tenor of the game. The defense did its best to blow Aaron Rodgers' lead, but No. 12 was able to pull yet another rabbit out of his hat with the game on the line to get his team to 2-1. | |
| B- |  |
| The Niners did well to get themselves back into the game after falling down 17-0. But they also put themselves in a 17-0 hole to begin with. They made crucial time-management mistakes at the end of what should have been their game-winning drive, and they let Davante Adams get wide open TWICE to set up Mason Crosby's game-winner. | |
Packers-49ers grades by Jared Dubin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
