NFL Week 3 Recap

(AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
Let's just say its great to have the real referees back

This Week's Record: 7-9
Overall Record: 27-21

Giants vs. Panthers: 36-7 Giants
Giants Player of the Week: Andre Brown- 113 rush yard, 2 touchdowns
Panthers Player of the Week: Greg Olsen- 7 receptions, 91 receiving yards

Let me just say, after posting my first week under .500, I am glad to hear that the real NFL referees are back, starting with tonight's game. Anyways, back to the Giants and Panthers. The Giants came out right at of the gate and couldn't be stopped. By the end of the first half, it was 20-0 Giants, and Andre Brown and Ramses Barden already were having career days. Cam Newton threw three interceptions in the loss.

Rams vs. Bears: 23-6 Bears
Rams Player of the Week: Danny Amendola- 5 receptions, 66 receiving yards
Bears Player of the Week: Michael Bush- 55 rush yards, touchdown

This game wasn't pretty, but the Bears remembered how to score in the fourth quarter and ended up beating the Rams. It is clear that the Bears miss Matt Forte even with Michael Bush healthy in the backfield. Brandon Marshall got 11 targets from Jay Cutler, so it seems that the two have found each other again after not connecting well in Week 2.

Bills vs. Browns: 24-14 Bills
Bills Player of the Week: Ryan Fitzpatrick- 208 pass yards, 3 touchdowns, 107.8 passer rating
Browns Player of the Week: Trent Richardson- 27 rush yards, 24 receiving yards, touchdown

Every time one Bills running back goes down, another one steps up. CJ Spiller was having another nice week before going down with an injury before the half. Tashard Choice stepped in and rushed for 91 yards in the win. Fitzpatrick had a turnover-free day and even tossed three touchdowns. As for the Browns, it seems that they have fallen back into their "We Don't Score More Than Two Touchdowns A Game" phase.

Bucs vs. Cowboys: 16-10 Cowboys
Bucs Player of the Week: Doug Martin-53 rush yards
Cowboys Player of the Week: Miles Austin- 5 receptions, 107 receiving yards

Defense dominated this game. The Cowboys held the Bucs to under 100 yard receiving and 100 yards rushing on the day. The Bucs held the Cowboys to just 38 rush yards, but still allowed Tony Romo to throw for 283 yards.

Lions vs. Titans: 44-41 Titans (OT)
Lions Player of the Week: Calvin Johnson- 10 receptions, 164 receiving yards, touchdown
Titans Player of the Week: Jake Locker- 378 pass yards, 2 touchdowns, 113.0 passer rating

This game was the first of many bazaar finishes. With the Titans up by two touchdowns with under a minute left in the game, the Lions managed to tie it up thanks to a touchdown, an onside kick recover, and then a hail mary catch to send the game in to OT. In OT, Rob Bironas kicked a 26 yard field goal to win the game for the Titans. Despite the win, Chris Johnson was still MIA, rushing for just 24 yards on 14 carries.

Jaguars vs. Colts: 22-17 Jaguars
Jaguars Player of the Week: Maurice Jones- Drew- 177 rush yards, touchdown
Colts Player of the Week: T.Y. Hilton- 4 receptions, 113 receiving yards, touchdown

Just when the Colts thought they won the game, Blaine Gabbert found Cecil Shorts up the middle for a 80-yard game winning touchdown. Andrew Luck played a good game, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns.

Jets vs. Dolphins: 23-20 Jets (OT)
Jets Player of the Week: Santonio Holmes- 9 receptions, 147 receiving yards,
Dolphins Player of the Week: Daniel Thomas- 69 rush yards, touchdown

The Jets didn't win this game, Dan Carpenter just lost it for the Dolphins. Carpenter missed two chances to win the game for the 'Fins. Both teams suffered big losses in the game. The Jets lost Darrelle Revis for the season due to an ACL tear while Reggie Bush left the game early for Miami.

Niners vs. Vikings: 24-13 Vikings
Niners Player of the Week: Vernon Davis- 5 receptions, 53 receiving yards, touchdown
Vikings Player of the Week: Kyle Rudolph- 5 receptions, 36 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

After hyping up the 49'ers by saying that they were the best team in the league, they lost to Minnesota by 11. The supposedly unstoppable San Francisco defense allowed 146 rush yards and nearly 200 pass yards in the loss. Christian Ponder played great for the Vikings, a sign he has shown a few times this season already.

Chiefs vs. Saints: 27 -24 Chiefs (OT)
Chiefs Player of the Week: Jamaal Charles- 233 rush yards, 55 receiving yards, touchdown
Saints Player of the Week: Drew Brees- 240 pass yards, 3 touchdowns, interception, 92.4 passer rating

The Saints were up 24-6 with the third quarter half way finished, but somehow allowed the Chiefs to sneak back into the game and eventually win it. Jamaal Charles had a monstrous day and now leads the NFL in rushing yards.

Bengals vs. Redskins: 38-31 Bengals
Bengals Player of the Week: AJ Green- 9 receptions, 183 receiving yards, touchdown
Redskins Player of the Week: Robert Griffin III- 221 pass yards, 85 rush yards, 2 touchdowns, 90.4 passer rating

As we learned this past weekend, RG3 can't do it alone. Despite leading the team in passing and rushing yards, RG3 lost his home debut to Andy Dalton and the Bengals. Dalton actually had one of the best games of his career, throwing for 328 yards, three touchdowns, and posting a 132.9 passer rating in the win.

Eagles vs. Cardinals: 27-6 Cardinals
Eagles Player of the Week: LeSean McCoy- 70 rush yards
Cardinals Player of the Week: Larry Fitzgerald- 9 receptions, 114 pass yards, touchdown

Boy was I wrong about this one. As it turns out, the Eagles have a few problems they have to take care of on offense, while the Cardinals may be surprisingly one of the better teams in the league. Kevin Kolb continues to impress while the Cardinals D continues to shut down every offense they face.

Falcons vs. Chargers: 27-6
Falcons Player of the Week: Matt Ryan- 275 pass yards, 3 touchdowns, 107.8 passer rating
Chargers Player of the Week: Ryan Mathews- 44 rush yards, 32 receiving yards

The Falcons confirmed that they are an elite team last week when they demolished the Chargers on the road. Matt Ryan had another stellar performance, throwing three touchdowns to three different receivers. As for the Chargers, Ryan Mathews is back from injury, but they didn't look good at all on Sunday.

Texans vs. Broncos: 31-25 Texans
Texans Player of the Week: Matt Schaub- 290 pass yards, 4 touchdowns, 115.3 passer rating
Broncos Player of the Week: Peyton Manning- 330 pass yards, 2 touchdowns, 83.0 passer rating

The Texans seem to be the most complete team in the NFL. They've got an incredibly talented offense as well as a stone wall defense. When was the last time a team had the offensive player of the year and defensive player of the year on the same team, because JJ Watt and Arian Foster are both playing out of their minds.

Steelers vs. Raiders: 34-31 Raiders
Steelers Player of the Week: Ben Roethlisberger- 384 pass yards, 4 touchdowns, 123.2 passer rating
Raiders Player of the Week: Darren McFadden- 113 rush yards, touchdown

How did the Steelers blow this one, especially when Big Ben played a phenomenal game? The fact of the matter is that the Raiders needed that win more than anything. It's very likely that they lose their next two games and fall to 1-4. Hopefully, the Raiders use the momentum from their win and play hard these next few weeks.

Patriots vs. Ravens: 31-30 Patriots
Patriots Player of the Week: Wes Welker- 8 receptions, 142 receiving yards
Ravens Player of the Week: Torrey Smith- 6 receptions, 127 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

If it weren't for Torrey Smith's courageousness and the tragedy he dealt with last weekend, I would have been very disappointed in the Patriots in losing this game. The Pats led most of the game, but blew it late. In the end, Justin Tucker kicked a game winning field goal for Baltimore, but was it really through the uprights?

Packers vs. Seahawks: 14-12 Seahawks
Packers Player of the Week: Aaron Rodgers- 223 pass yards, 81.5 passer rating
Seahawks Player of the Week: Golden Tate- 3 receptions, 68 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

Regardless of the poor officiating, and arguably the worst Monday Night call of all-time, we can't forget how great the Seahawks played on Monday Night. For crying out loud, their defense sacked the reigning MVP eight times. You read that right, EIGHT times. I mentioned last week that it is almost impossible to beat the Seahawks at home. Well, whether the team plays fantastic or gets some help from the referees, it is truly difficult to beat the Seahawks at home.