Week three of the NFL is almost in the books, with only two games left to play. A few players have played in spectacular fashion, and some amazing results from many teams.
Arguably the most impressive performance of the week came from Malik Nabers, who led the Giants to a surprise victory over the Browns.
When he was 21 years and 56 days old on Sunday, he became the youngest wide receiver in NFL history to score two touchdowns in a game.
He also joined Saquon Barkley (2018) as the only players in Giants history with 20 receptions in their first three career games. That’s not all, as the LSU product also became the first player in NFL history to have 20 receptions, 250 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in his first three career games.
Nabers wasn’t the only one who had an amazing game this weekend. FOX Sports Research breaks down ten more eye-opening nuggets for you. Let’s take a look.
At 32 years old, the “honey corn” ages like fine wine. He recorded his second hit of the season on Sunday, giving him 35 for his career. He became the fifth player since 2010 to reach that milestone, and just the second active player of the five, joining Harrison Smith.
He is the only player this season with a record, forced fumble, and fumble recovery.
Tenacious Steelers defense
Mike Tomlin’s team improved to 3-0, and held the Chargers to just 10 points and less than 300 yards of offense. They did so in all three games this season, making them the first team since the 2004 Seahawks to start 3-0 to hold all three opponents to under 10 points and under 300 total yards. The only time Pittsburgh did this was in 1936, when the franchise was known as the Pirates.
It was the fourth time the Steelers have started 3-0 under Tomlin (2007, 2010, 2020), having made the playoffs in each of the last three instances.
Malik Willis’ new look
Malik Willis looked like a different player for the Packers. For perspective, he was 1-2 in three starts with the Titans, throwing for 234 yards and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of zero-to-three, with a 51% completion rate. In both starts against Green Bay, he is 2-0 with 324 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 76% completion percentage.
He also rushed for 73 yards in the win against the Colts, the most by a Packers quarterback in one game since Don Majkowski in 1990 (88 yds). Over the past two weeks, Willis leads the league in both passing yards per attempt (9.8) and yards per rush (9.5) among players with at least 12 attempts in each category over that span.
Speaking of young looking quarterbacks, Sam Darnold looked incredible. The 7-year-old has caught multiple passes in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. He threw four touchdown passes against the Texans this Sunday, a feat he had done once in the past six seasons.
Darnold also became the first quarterback in Vikings history to start the season 3-0 and throw multiple touchdowns in each game. Through Sunday, he leads the league in passing touchdowns with eight.
The 49ers were without Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle. Enter Jauan Jennings. He had a career game, posting 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdown catches. Since 1973, only two other 49ers have posted 100 receiving yards and three scores in a game—Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens.
Jennings also became the first player to catch 10 receptions, 175 receiving yards, and three scores in a single game. regulation loss since Drew Bennett in 2004.
49ers and Rams madness
Jennings did a great job individually in the game, but Matthew Stafford had the last laugh, recording his 48th game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime. That’s sixth in NFL history when including playoffs.
Brock Purdy did a great job as well, recording his seventh game with three passing touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s tied with Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert for second-most games among quarterbacks’ first 25 starts (Patrick Mahomes- nine).
But arguably the worst note of the game involves how the game was won, and how it was lost. The 49ers were 50-0 under Kyle Shanahan when they went up by 14-plus points at any point in the second half (including the postseason). They are now 50-1.
On the other hand, the Rams have lost 101 straight games where they have been down 14-plus points at any point in the second half. This was their first win since 2006, when Marc Bulger and Isaac Bruce were on the team.
Baltimore dominated the ground game all day in this matchup against Dallas, with the duo of Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson serving as a force to be reckoned with. Henry finished with 151 yards and two rushing scores, joining Jim Brown and LaDainian Tomlinson as the only players in NFL history with 12 career games with 150 rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns.
He also became the 10th player in NFL history to have 14 career games with 150 rushing yards. Jackson added 87 yards and a rushing score. The last time a team had a quarterback with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown, and a running back with 150 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the same game was the 2014 49ers (Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore).
The two also became the first teammates to each top 250 yards in the team’s first three games since 1976. The two-time MVP has led the Ravens in rushing over the past five seasons, the most seasons by a quarterback as well. as the longest streak by any quarterback in NFL history.
Miami is the only team in the league that hasn’t led at any point in possession this season. They kicked the game-winning field goal in Week 1 as time expired to win against the Jaguars. The 205 yards of offense against the Seahawks was the lowest in the Mike McDaniel era, and the third lowest by any team in Week 3 (with games played on Sunday). The three-pointers scored were also the lowest under McDaniel, and the first time they failed to score at least 10 points in a regular season game under him.
Carolina benched Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton, and the 14-year veteran did not disappoint. The Panthers snapped a 10-game losing streak, which was the longest active losing streak in the NFL. Dalton threw all three of his touchdown passes in the first half, which was the same number of touchdown passes Young threw in his 11 starts. Diontae Johnson also recorded 122 receiving yards with Dalton under center, a career high.
The 36 points scored were the most since Week 16 of the 2022 season, and the most by any team in Week 3 (with Sunday games).
Mahomes is making history
Patrick Mahomes added another record to his resume, recording his 77th victory as a starting quarterback. That breaks a tie with Tom Brady and Roger Staubach for most wins by a quarterback in their first 100 games.
He is one of four quarterbacks this season to go 3-0, along with Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, and Justin Fields. Those three quarterbacks have a combined career record of 70-99 as starters (41.4%). With his 77-22 record, that means Mahomes could lose his next 86 starts and have a better record than that.
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