NFL Week 3 Recap: Kicking It Up a Notch

66 yards. 198 feet. 2,376 inches. All of those equaled history for (undoubtedly) the greatest kicker in NFL history: Justin Tucker. The Baltimore Ravens played yet another nail biter in Week 3; it seems to be a theme for them this season. Week 1 saw them suffer a heartbreaking overtime loss in a Monday Night thriller. Week 2 was the 4th-and-1 call heard 'round the world. For Week 3, it was a record setting kick by Justin Tucker.

With three seconds left and the Ravens down one, Tucker was put in to kick a 66-yard field goal--the ball was kicked from the Ravens' own 46 yard line. The kick was up, hit the crossbar, and over for the three points. The Ravens celebrated like they won the Super Bowl, because history was made. Baltimore won 19-17, and Tucker is in the history books--the longest FG in NFL history. Here's a fun fact: Tom Dempsey's famous 63-yarder that stood as the record for many decades? That was a game winner kicked against the Lions in Detroit, resulting in a 19-17 victory. Coincidence, or the Lions just being cursed?

Now, I have to mention the proverbial elephant in the room. The Ravens got away with delay of game on the last play before that kick. Usually in delay of game cases, it's not called once the game clock hits zero; there is always a one-second delay allowed. In this case, the delay was about 2-2.5 seconds, and the ball still hadn't been snapped. Clear case of delay of game. If the penalty had been called, the consensus is that the Ravens don't win that game, though knowing Tucker's abilities, he probably would have nailed a 71-yard field goal!

Another kicker who delivered his own clutch kick in a big time game was the Green Bay Packers' Mason Crosby, but this was one 15 yards closer. The Packers were in Santa Clara facing the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, a big game for both teams, mainly the Packers, as Aaron Rodgers' history in Santa Clara hasn't been good. Despite this, the Packers got off to an amazing start both offensively and defensively, scoring the first 17 points and leading 17-7 at the half. Though the Niners were climbing back, the Packers answered every time, but after Green Bay was held to three, the Niners went all the way, as Kyle Juszczyk's TD gave the Niners their first lead--28-27.

However, there was one teeny, tiny problem: 37 seconds were left on the clock for Aaron Rodgers. If there are three QBs in the NFL who you cannot leave time on the clock for, it's Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and the aforementioned Rodgers. No timeouts? No problem for Rodgers. All Green Bay needed was FG range, and two passes to Davante Adams got it done. Crosby came out and nailed the 51-yarder, and the Packers left Santa Clara victorious. As a Packers fan, I was so happy to the point of near emotion. I had said for while that Santa Clara was "Rodgers' kryptonite"; but he did it. The team did it. The Packers won in Santa Clara against a healthy Niners team. And I was also happy with how the defense performed; yeah, they gave up 28, but they made the Niners earn those points--they weren't given.

Los Angeles may have reasons to be excited (that aren't related to the Dodgers), as both the Rams and the Chargers are on a roll. Each team faced off against a team who played in last year's Super Bowl; first off, the Chargers were in Arrowhead facing the Chiefs, who were coming off that close loss to the Ravens. I myself figured that this would be a bounce back game for Kansas City, but to my surprise, it wasn't. The Chiefs appeared to be quite discombobulated: four turnovers committed (two Mahomes INTs and fumbles from Tyreek Hill and Clyde Edwards-Helaire--the latter fumbling for the second straight game); and a bad penalty extending a Chargers drive that resulted in a TD. The Chargers won 30-24, and for Mahomes, he is on a very rare slump: he has lost three of his last four games dating back to Super Bowl LV.

As for the Rams, they faced off against the champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in that game at SoFi Stadium, it was all Rams all the way. Tom Brady could not solve that Rams defense, nor could TB's defense do anything to stop Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. The Rams went on to win, 34-24, joining the New Orleans Saints as the only teams to defeat the "Brady Bucs" twice. In fact, the Rams handed the Bucs their last conference loss, and this loss snapped a 10-game winning streak dating back to last season.

Week 3 began with the Carolina Panthers winning 24-9 over the Houston Texans, improving their record to 3-0, which means that before the month of October has started, Sam Darnold has more wins this season than he had all of last season with the New York Jets--who, along with the Giants, remained winless after three weeks. The Jets were blanked in Denver, while the Giants lost at home to the Falcons on the day that Eli Manning's #10 was being retired. The Bengals defeated the Steelers, 24-10, at Heinz Field, leaving many wondering if we were seeing the end of the Steelers as we know it. We got another OT game in Vegas, with the Raiders winning, 31-28, on a Daniel Carlson FG in the final seconds of the game, and the Cowboys routed the Eagles, 41-21, in Dallas' home opener to finish off Week 3.

So after three weeks, the number of unbeatens is now down to five: the Raiders, Broncos, Panthers, Rams, and Cardinals are all 3-0. Only one of those teams made the playoffs last year. Among the winless so far: the Lions, Jets, Giants, Jaguars, and Colts. The Colts also made the playoffs last year. The Colts were also the last team to lose to the Jaguars, doing so on September 13, 2020--the opening week of that season. Jacksonville has lost 18 straight games dating back to last season. The longest losing streak in NFL history is 29 from the Chicago Cardinals from 1942-1945; while the longest since the 1970 merger is the Buccaneers losing their first 26 games of existence from 1976-1977. Another loss would tie them with the 1961-62 Oakland Raiders, as well as the Detroit Lions--whose streak was centered by their 0-16 season in 2008.

Week 4 kicks off with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars; seriously, we are in a league where the Bengals, Chargers, and Broncos have better records than the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Steelers. Let that sink in. The Sunday Night game is an anticipated one that is over a year in the making: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the New England Patriots...in Foxboro! Tom Brady is coming home! Monday Night Football will be an AFC West battle; the unbeaten Las Vegas Raiders against the surprising Los Angeles Chargers.

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