NFL Power Rankings: Top 3 most impressive wins of Week 3 action

It's safe to say you need to expect the unexpected when it comes to the NFL each week, isn't it? My NFL picks and score predictions from last week were deplorable in hindsight. I even took the liberty of making some adjustments to some picks late in the week and gave everyone three "guaranteed" wins which included the Cincinnati Bengals. How about that?

Sometimes I wonder how nice it would be to be a weatherman. Nobody dunks on you on Twitter/X when you're wrong.

All kidding aside, the only thing we can do after being dead wrong about some games is to admit it and analyze what happened. And hopefully make even better educated guesses going forward.

So what went down in Week 3? Which teams had the most impressive wins of the week and should be the biggest risers in this week's NFL Power Rankings?

Jayden Daniels, Commanders put forth most impressive Week 3 win?

I don't know if the Washington Commanders' Monday night win on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals was the single most impressive win of the entire week that was, but it was definitely in the top three. The Commanders snuck away from Cincinnati with a 38-33 win but there were a couple of things from this game that really blew us away overall.

Number one, how can you not be impressed with what you saw from Jayden Daniels? Daniels put forth the best individual performance we've seen from a rookie QB thus far in 2024 and has now led his team to two consecutive wins including a couple of really gutty drives against both the Giants and the Bengals.

Daniels had more total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) than he did incomplete passes (just 2). I was pretty positive that the Bengals were going to win this game and avoid an 0-3 hole, but the Commanders pulled it off.

Bo Nix, Broncos dominate Bucs on the road

It's not just upsets that make for impressive wins, but the Denver Broncos were 6.5-point underdogs in Tampa Bay this weekend. The previously 0-2 Broncos traveled on the road to take on the previously 2-0 Bucs after the Broncos could barely move the ball at all in their first two games.

Struggling with scoring points and turning the ball over, it was hard to pick the Broncos straight up against the Bucs but they not only covered, they blew the Bucs away to the une of 26-7.

Bo Nix was outstanding in this game, completing over 69 percent of his passes and running for another touchdown while operating the offense efficiently, making plays as a runner along the way. But it was the Denver defense that really shined in this game with seven sacks of Baker Mayfield along with two turnovers forced.

Denver's defense has been really good this year despite their 1-2 start and they might have something cooking if the offense can continue to make strides going forward.

Vikings absolutely wreck the Texans with Sam Darnold leading the charge

It was tough to pick just one more out of the top performances of the week, but the Vikings have officially made a believer out of me after a 34-7 romp of the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.

Sam Darnold took advantage of Houston's mistakes (two interceptions, missed FG) with three touchdown drives and the Texans weren't able to get anything going against Minnesota. Nor were they able to stop them from doing anything.

Darnold had four touchdown passes in this game and continues to look like an absolute stud playing for Kevin O'Connell. This Vikings team is going to be a problem all year if that defense can continue playing so well for coordinator Brian Flores, even if Darnold struggles at times.