Five things we learned from NFL Week 3

Sport360 staff 09:08 27/09/2016
The key things we learned from a frenetic weekend of action.

The Philadelphia Eagles have made an impressive start to the season – can they maintain their form? That’s the question.

Meanwhile, Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian did something on the field not even Peyton Manning or Brock Osweiler could manage last season.

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1) As impressive as Carson Wentz was in the first two games, it was fair to reserve judgement on the rookie and Philadelphia as a whole until they played an actual contender. Well, after blowing out one of the AFC’s best teams, Pittsburgh, 34-3, we can now say with confidence that Wentz and the Eagles defence is a combo that will be hard to beat.

2) Of all the fantastic defensive efforts in Week 3, the Vikings should be near the top of the list for what they did to reigning MVP Cam Newton and the Panthers, which included eight sacks, three turnovers and a safety. It was a strong encore to last week’s outing when they restricted Aaron Rogers. Despite their injuries, the defence still makes them a force to be reckoned with.

3) The Broncos’ ceiling knows no bounds if their quarterback is more than just adequate and can make plays. That’s what Trevor Siemian proved he can do when he picked apart Cincinnati with 312 yards and four touchdowns for a 132.1 passer rating. For comparison, Denver didn’t get a passer rating that high from either Peyton Manning or Brock Osweiler last season.

4) Coming off arguably the best game of his career, Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn’t have played any worse in the loss to Kansas City. The Jets quarterback threw six interceptions, including two in the end zone, to remind everyone that for as good as he can be any given week, he’s a journeyman at the end of the day with a limited upside. This, however, was a new low.

5) A staple of Arizona’s offence and namely head coach Bruce Arians’ attack is to throw downfield and aim for big plays. The Cardinals were able to do that last year, with Carson Palmer leading the league with 8.70 yards per attempts, but so far this season it’s been a struggle as Palmer ranks 17th in the category at 7.37. Opposing defences know to focus on it.

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