22. Washington Commanders
Last week: 28th
Marcus Mariota, stand up and take a bow.
It feels like Mariota is good for at least one or two really great games each season, and we just saw one of them as the Washington Commanders pulled off the biggest upset of Week 3.
And they gave the Seahawks a little taste of their own medicine in the process.
For the first two games of the season, it was the Seahawks playing inspired football with their backup quarterback – Drew Lock – impressing and leading the team. With a matchup against a Commanders team that was playing without Jayden Daniels for the first time this season, it seemed like the Seahawks would be able to go on the road and easily walk out with a win.
The Commanders were clearly underestimated going into this game. Marcus Mariota was outstanding for the Commanders, throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions.
It was a hard-fought game as the Seahawks came screaming back with four touchdown passes from Sam Darnold, but the Commanders found a way to finish against the reigning Super Bowl champs. As far as first wins go, this one was impressive.
21. Carolina Panthers
Last week: 19th
Were the first two weeks of the season fool’s gold, or are the Cleveland Browns just that good on defense?
It might be a combination of both.
The Carolina Panthers have been really impressive early this season on the offensive side of the ball, but their defense has had some lapses in the month of September. They gave up a disgusting 59 points to the Chicago Bears in the first week of the season, and absolutely collapsed in the 4th quarter against Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns.
We were ready to buy the Panthers after their dominating 34-3 win over the Falcons in Week 2, but that would have obviously been ill-advised. They caught the Falcons in their worst state this season, and got to put up some style points, kicking a division rival while they were down.
They start off the month of October with matchups at home against the Lions and on the road against the Falcons, so we’re going to find out quickly if this Panthers team is going to be relevant in the NFC South.
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