Top 5 QB Performances of Week 3
Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins was a huge talking point this past week, as we all wanted to see if he could follow up his strong Week 2 performances against one of their worst defenses in the league by taking the division rival Philadelphia Eagles to task. He certainly achieved that, even if the Eagles prevailed 37-34 in a game that honestly came down to which team’s secondary was worse, as Nick Foles, who also cracked this list of five, had an even easier time tearing the Redskins defensive backs apart.
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San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers
A regular on this list, Philip Rivers was as efficient as ever against an overwhelmed Buffalo Bills defense that simply had no answer for his accuracy, though few defenses can stop him (just as few quarterbacks possess his accuracy). Rivers needed just 25 attempts (18 completions for another stellar completion percentage over 70%) to put up 256 yards, giving him an incredibly efficient 10.2 yards per attempt. Throw in two touchdowns and no interceptions, and you get a guy who definitely deserves to be on this list. Though the Bills never challenged him, Rivers was challenged by the loss of Danny Woodhead, who will miss the rest of the season and rob Rivers of an important, clutch safety valve out of the backfield. Plus, who doesn’t love them some Woodhead?
Philadelphia Eagles QB Nick Foles
One of the NFL’s best distributors, Nick Foles helped lead the Eagles to a narrow victory over their rivals, with an important 27-yard fourth quarter touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin being a highlight. He whipped up a nice connection with his new No. 1 receiver, as Maclin caught eight passes for 154 yards and a touchdown on ten targets, and rookie Jordan Matthews also had an excellent day with seven receptions on eight targets for 59 yards and two TDs. Playing behind a decimated offensive line that lost Jason Kelce for 6-8 weeks with a sports hernia. Thanks to that aforementioned line, the Eagles once-elite running game was reduced to just 22 yards on 19 carries, as LeSean McCoy found running lanes at a premium. This made Foles’s performance all the more important, and he finished with an efficient three TDs, no INTs, and 7.9 yards per attempt.
Washington Redskins QB Kirk Cousins
Cousins might have been the best quarterback this week despite the fact that the Redskins loss, and he’s already made two positive steps in the direction of Wally Pipping Robert Griffin III. With an average of 8.9 yards per attempt and three touchdowns to one interception, Cousins made it very difficult for the Eagles to stop the Redskins passing attack, and he used his new, top-notch wide receiver duo of DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon to great effect. But the main person he should thank is Trent Williams for keeping his blindside spotless.
Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck
Like Cousins last week, Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Andrew Luck had a field day against the Jacksonville Jaguars porous secondary, which showed plenty of potential last year thanks to underrated CBs like Alan Ball and Dwayne Gratz. Things have fallen apart for the Jags DBs this year, and their pass rush was quite awful against the Colts offensive line, with A.J. Shipley, who normally gets beaten, having a solid outing at the heart of the Colts offensive line. The Redskins put up 41 on the Jaguars last week, but Luck and the Colts bested that total with 44 behind his impressive 31-39 line for 370 yards, four touchdowns, no picks, and an average of 9.5 yards per attempt. Luck sure as heck isn’t messing around this year.
Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan
On Thursday night, we witnessed an absolute pounding, as the Atlanta Falcons took the Carolina Panthers motto and shoved it down the woefully overmatched Tampa Bay Buccaneers’s throats. Without Gerald McCoy, the Bucs were completely powerless, and Matt Ryan and Julio Jones bounced back from a weak Week 2 to flex their talons in flight before tearing the Bucs zone defense into shreds. Jones put on a clinic with nine catches on 11 targets for 161 yards for touchdowns, but Ryan was even more impressive in an easy, 56-14 blowout win. He threw just three incomplete passes, notched three TDs (yes, as many touchdowns as incomplete passes), no picks, and a whopping 11.9 yards per attempt.