(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Week Three just closed late Monday night with a dominating performance by the Dallas Cowboys who got their first win in the billion-dollar Cowboys Stadium over the Carolina Panthers 21-7.
This means when we all wake up on Tuesday to turn on ESPN, Jerry Jones will not have fired head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett in the heat of rage from losing two consecutive national TV games in the new building. So for now, they are both safe.
This week saw a couple of top-tier teams stay at 3-0, and most of the good teams are sticking around at 2-1.
A big surprise of the week was watching the two teams from Super Bowl XLIII in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals both drop to 1-2 and look like they are in some trouble.
But the biggest and maybe most shocking news was the Detroit Lions ended their 19-game losing streak dating back to 2007 with their 19-14 victory over the terrible Washington Redskins, so the fans in Detroit will not have another 0-16 season on their hands.
Lets look at who is on top of the NFL through Week Three.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (UR) (2-1, Won 23-20 over Pittsburgh Steelers)
If one tipped pass to Brandon Stokley doesn't occur in Week One, the Bengals are actually 3-0, but that's the luck of the NFL. The Bengals are surprisingly 2-1 after big-time upsets over two playoff contender-type teams in the Packers and Steelers.
Carson Palmer led his team down field with less than a minute to go and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to defeat the defending Super Bowl Champions.
It gets better for the Bengals next week as they play the hopeless 0-3 Browns, who has a town and team ready to kick Eric Mangini out of the city. It'll be a disappointment if Cincinnati isn't 3-1.
9. Atlanta Falcons (4) (2-1, Lost 26-10 over New England Patriots)
It's always tough going into Foxboro and trying to knock off Tom Brady and the Patriots, so consider this a big-time NFL lesson for Matt Ryan and the Falcons.
They were right with the Patriots at halftime as they were only down 13-10. But, the Patriots apparently woke up in the second half and remembered they were in their own building.
It's not a terrible defeat for the Falcons, but they can't afford to take too many loses with the Saints still undefeated.
They get next week's bye to rest any injured players and gear up for the long stretch of 2009.
8. New England Patriots (10) (2-1, Won 26-10 over Atlanta Falcons)
Tom Brady wasn't exactly at his best in this game. He overthrew a ton of receivers down field and still didn't look 100 percent comfortable. It could be Brady trying to get used to playing full time with the surgically repaired knee.
The Patriots, however, were able to take control in the second half and run the ball very well with Fred Taylor, who looks revitalized in his new colors after playing so long in Jacksonville.
The Patriots will have the Ravens next week in one of Week Four's top games.
7. Denver Broncos (8) (3-0, Won 23-3 over Oakland Raiders)
Never in a million years did I think the Broncos were going to start out 3-0 and on top of the AFC West, but they are. The bigger question is, how long can Denver stay on top of that division?
We're going to send you the most entertaining NFL articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
15 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete