Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order After Sunday's Week 3 Results
The Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears sit atop the NFL Draft order after losses Sunday afternoon that can best be described as embarrassing.
They were deflating defeats that have them in a prime position to pick very early in next May's draft.
Which other surprising teams join them at the top of the draft order, the 2023 season not going anything like they expected thus far, and what franchises were the subjects of the most buzz coming out of the Week 3 slate?
Find out with this recap of Sunday's action.
Week 3 Results
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San Francisco 49ers def. New York Giants (30-12) (Thursday)
Detroit Lions def. Atlanta Falcons (20-6)
Los Angeles Chargers def. Minnesota Vikings (28-24)
Green Bay Packers def. New Orleans Saints (18-17)
Houston Texans def. Jacksonville Jaguars (37-17)
Miami Dolphins def. Denver Broncos (70-20)
Cleveland Browns def. Tennessee Titans (27-3)
Buffalo Bills def. Washington Commanders (37-3)
Indianapolis Colts def. Baltimore Ravens (22-19)
New England Patriots def. New York Jets (15-10)
Seattle Seahawks def. Carolina Panthers (37-27)
Kansas City Chiefs def. Chicago Bears (41-10)
Arizona Cardinals def. Dallas Cowboys (28-16)
Pittsburgh Steelers def. Las Vegas Raiders (23-18)
Draft Order Following Sunday's Games
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Order via Tankathon
- Chicago Bears
- Denver Broncos
- Minnesota Vikings
- Chicago Bears
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Arizona Cardinals
- Tennessee Titans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- New York Jets
- New England Patriots
- Arizona Cardinals
- New York Giants
- Los Angeles Rams
- Green Bay Packers
- New Orleans Saints
- Dallas Cowboys
- Atlanta Falcons
- Houston Texans
- Buffalo Bills
- Washington Commanders
- Baltimore Ravens
- Seattle Seahawks
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Detroit Lions
- Indianapolis Colts
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Miami Dolphins
- San Francisco 49ers
Broncos And Bears Are the Worst of the Worst
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Following the improved play of quarterback Justin Fields, and taking into consideration the weapons around him, there was considerable excitement surrounding the Chicago Bears entering the 2023 season.
Ditto the Denver Broncos, who had a terrible season in 2022 but acquired head coach Sean Payton, had Russell Wilson in his second season with the team, and still possessed some of the most promising young playmakers in the league.
All those teams managed to do Sunday, though, was lost by 31 and 50, respectively, neither looking particularly competitive as they were embarrassingly run off the field by the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
The Broncos looked helpless, unable to stop the juggernaut offense of the Dolphins en route to allowing the second-most points in an NFL game ever. The Bears were systematically dismantled by the world champs while Taylor Swift watched enthusiastically from the press box, her presence a bigger story than the same old struggling Chicago offense.
Neither team is going to make the playoffs and, while there is plenty of time for them to turn things around and stun the football world with a push toward the postseason, there is nothing about their play to this point that would give anyone any reason to believe that will be the case.
Subpar defense and struggling offense, coupled with bad coaching and lackluster play at the quarterback position, have the once-proud franchises battling futility more than their opponents.
The explosive potential of Fields would understandably have some believing it is only a matter of time before he takes over games, and Payton's previous offensive showcases with New Orleans may lead some to believe he can turn it around in Denver, but both defenses are so inept that the likelihood they can compete against the top squads in the league is low.
Chicago has allowed 35.3 points per game while Denver is allowing 40.7, a stat that was not helped Sunday by giving up 70 to the Dolphins.
Neither team is equipped to get into a shootout with opponents so giving up those numbers and still having a chance to win is not realistic. Until the teams find a way to plug players into that side of the ball and field a unit that can make even the occasional stop, it will continue to be a long season for two franchises that had lofty expectations for themselves entering the season.
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Are the Dallas Cowboys for Real?
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There was considerable hype surrounding the Dallas Cowboys entering Week 3 and a showdown with the 0-2 Arizona Cardinals.
America's Team had allowed just 10 points while scoring 70 and finally looked to be the Super Bowl contender fans and analysts had been waiting for them to develop into.
Then came Sunday's game, where they gave up 400 yards to Josh Dobbs and James Conner en route to a 28-16 upset loss.
Quarterback Dak Prescott threw an ill-advised interception, star wideout CeeDee Lamb was limited to just four catches and no touchdowns, and the defense was unable to force a single turnover.
Perhaps buying into their own hype, they looked like a team that took Arizona for granted and ended up getting outplayed in a more physical game than they expected.
The question now is if this is indicative of the team the Cowboys will be this season or a one-off loss that will help them grow and become the juggernaut they were in the first two weeks of the season.
The Cowboys, for all of the hype that surrounds them, have a long history of not playing up to the number of headlines and TV segments devoted to them. They show flashes of greatness but then follow it up with an embarrassing loss, not unlike what we saw Sunday.
To their credit, the Cardinals played their best ball of the season, with Dobbs looking like a quarterback coming into his own while Conner smashed through the Cowboys defense for 98 yards on 14 carries.
Arizona provided the other 30 teams in the league the blueprint for beating Dallas: punch them in the mouth by playing physical football and using the run to set up big plays in the passing game.
How Dallas responds to this loss, and if it can rectify what went wrong Sunday, will ultimately determine if this is that Super Bowl-worthy team that fans buzzed about after the first two weeks of the season, or if they are the same old Cowboys destined for disappointment.
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