On Football: Plenty of parity in the NFL through 3 weeks

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Any given Sunday was more than a cliche in Week 3.

Six winless teams earned their first wins of the season. Nine road teams and eight underdogs were winners.

It’s only September but the season has been unpredictable, just the way the NFL likes it. A league built on parity has seen plenty of competitive balance in the first three weeks.

Five teams remain undefeated: Chiefs, Bills, Steelers, Vikings and Seahawks. The Bengals, Jaguars and Titans are winless.

There’s plenty of surprises in that group of eight teams.

Minnesota was a consensus pick for last place in the NFC North. Seattle has a first-year coach in Mike Macdonald. Pittsburgh is missing Russell Wilson but Justin Fields has filled in nicely. Buffalo was supposed to take a step back after losing several talented players.

Cincinnati was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, but no team has ever reached that point after starting 0-3. Jacksonville was expected to contend for the AFC South.

But there are no guarantees in the NFL and that’s been quite evident over the first three weeks.

Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders to the biggest upset of the week, a 38-33 victory on Monday night in Cincinnati.

The Commanders (2-1) were 7 1/2-point underdogs. Maybe the oddsmakers overrated the Bengals. Daniels was outstanding, tossing two touchdown passes, running for another and setting an NFL rookie record by completing 91.3% of his passes (21 of 23).

Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, has been the best rookie quarterback of the six selected in the first round.

Four other teams that were at least 5 1/2-point underdogs also won this week. The New York Giants beat Cleveland 21-15. The Denver Broncos, led by rookie QB Bo Nix, routed previously unbeaten Tampa Bay 26-7.

The injury-depleted Los Angeles Rams rallied for a 27-24 win over San Francisco. The Carolina Panthers, a 5 1/2-point underdog, defeated the Raiders 36-22 behind a stellar performance from Andy Dalton in his first start replacing Bryce Young.

Darnold’s resurgence

Six years after the Jets thought Sam Darnold would be their franchise QB, he’s playing like one for the Minnesota Vikings. Darnold has been impressive in his first season with coach Kevin O’Connell. He has 657 yards passing, eight touchdowns, two picks and a 117.3 passer rating in three games.

Darnold showed signs of progress late in the 2022 season in Carolina and spent last year backing up Brock Purdy in San Francisco. He signed a one-year, $10 million deal to be a placeholder in Minnesota but rookie J.J. McCarthy sustained a season-ending knee injury and Darnold has thrived. If he keeps playing at this level, Darnold will make a ton of money in free agency.

Trevor’s regression

Trevor Lawrence has regressed after the Jaguars gave him a $275 million contract. It’s not entirely his fault. He’s not getting enough help from his offensive line, receivers and coaches.

Still, a $55 million QB is paid to make plays and sometimes has to do it on his own. There was an opportunity for Lawrence to connect for a long gain with Jacksonville trailing Buffalo 20-3 in the second quarter on Monday night. He had an open receiver, a clean pocket and time to throw but sailed a pass that landed in Damar Hamlin’s arms for an easy interception.

That’s on Lawrence, not coaching, blocking, scheme, or routes. It happens. Quarterbacks make poor throws but the Jaguars needed better from him in that moment.

Dallas doomed ‘D’

The Cowboys (1-2) can’t stop the run and they can’t run the football. That spells dooms for most teams in the NFL. After an impressive opener for Mike Zimmer’s defense in Cleveland, the Cowboys have been throttled at home by New Orleans and Baltimore. They’ve allowed 464 yards rushing in the two games and 10 touchdowns on the first 12 drives.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press