It was quite the scene in Rio de Janeiro as the Baltimore Ravens ran out 34-31 winners over the Dallas Cowboys in a dramatic contest in Brazil.
This game went right down to the wire and reminded me of a conversation I had with Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson in the summer. He spoke about remaining calm with games on the line, but also about his desire to always create magic. And Lamar did just that when it mattered most on Sunday night.
He got the ball back with the game tied at 31 apiece with just seven seconds left, surely not enough time to do anything significant. Would he take a knee and head into overtime, or would he be brave? Well, the Ravens are enjoying a breath of fresh air under new head coach Jesse Minter because they went for it. They were bold. A 27-yard completion to Zay Flowers over the middle was followed by an immediate calling of a timeout with just one second left on the clock, and then it was down to Tyler Loop, the Ravens kicker.
The young man who missed the field goal, a very makeable 44-yard field goal, in Week 18 last year against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which meant the Ravens missed the playoffs; was in the global spotlight. But this time Loop was long and true, nailing the kick from 56 yards to send the crowd into raptures.
What a game, what a finish in Brazil. An instant classic between the Ravens and the Cowboys. And for Baltimore, a sigh of relief, I would imagine. They fought back from being 10-nothing down to then lead in 24-13 when Chris Moore scored on a pass from Lamar Jackson late in the third quarter.
But as has happened so often in recent years, the Ravens let that lead slip away, and it was Dallas who led 28-24 going into the fourth. But Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Matt Hibner and then set up that winning field goal.
The Ravens are not perfect, but they showed all their explosiveness and talent on Sunday. Derrick Henry scored twice on the ground, Zay Flowers had some big moments as he returned from his hamstring injury, and the defense rose up on some key occasions. So, the Ravens still have work to do, but they are right in the mix in what is suddenly a very competitive AFC North, with all four teams having 2-1 records.
Who's Hot…
Brock Purdy… The San Francisco 49ers more key injuries on Sunday, but they just keep rolling, and they moved to 3-0 on the season with a 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals. And the reason for their success falls largely on quarterback Brock Purdy, who is the highest-rated passer in the NFL this season. Purdy has thrown nine touchdown passes to just one interception, and it's high time we put more respect on his name. I think Purdy doesn't get mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, because he was the last player picked in the draft, and because we always say that he's helped out by Kyle Shanahan, his head coach. But Matthew Stafford is helped out by Sean McVay, Trevor Lawrence by Liam Coen. That's supposed to be a relationship that works in lockstep, quarterback and head coach. Shanahan is calling up some wonderful plays, but Purdy has to execute them, and he is red hot right now and arguably the best quarterback in the league.
Marcus Mariota… I have to admit, I didn't see the Washington Commanders beating the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, but they did just that, winning a thriller 33-31. And in getting off the mark for the first time this season, the Commanders showed the value of having an experienced backup quarterback. Marcus Mariota stepped in for the injured Jayden Daniels and made the 83rd start of his career. He was clean throughout, throwing for 183 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Washington had contributors all over the field. Terry McLaurin came up big at receiver, while the defense produced a crucial pick-six as the Commanders held off the defending champions. It's exactly the kind of win this team needed, and they'll be feeling a whole lot better about themselves now as they head to London.
Aaron Rodgers… A week after he hinted that the play calling in Pittsburgh might have room for improvement, Aaron Rodgers rolled back the years as the Pittsburgh Steelers recorded a 30-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Heading into the contest, Pittsburgh had gone 20 straight drives without producing an offensive touchdown and had only found the end zone once in this season. But Rodgers delivered a touchdown strike to Roman Wilson on the first drive and threw three by the end of the game. This was encouraging for the Steelers. If they can find offensive consistency, then they can be in the playoff mix. As for the Bengals, that was the first time this season that we left a contest with questions about their defense. Let's see if this was a one-off for either team or the beginning of a trend.
Who's Not…
Drake Maye… The New England Patriots certainly won't be happy with their 1-2 start to the season, but perhaps more concerning is what we're seeing from quarterback Drake Maye. Maye has now thrown six interceptions through the opening three games, and he also lost a fumble during Sunday's 35-6 thrashing at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Let's not forget that Maye was the runner-up in the MVP voting last season, and he went the entire regular campaign throwing just eight interceptions. But since the start of last year's playoffs, he has now thrown 10 interceptions and he looks lost in the early stages of this campaign. How he and the Patriots bounce back is going to be vital. Can he clean things up quickly enough? That's the key question in New England is we head into October.
The Chargers and Texans… What makes the 0-3 starts suffered by the Los Angeles Chargers and the Houston Texans so jarring is the fact that there were high hopes for both teams heading into this campaign. The Chargers were one of the feel-good stories of the summer, having brought Mike McDaniel in to serve as offensive coordinator under head coach Jim Harbaugh. But that side of the ball has been an abject disaster in the first three weeks of the season. As for the Texans, they can't seem to line up good performances on both sides of the ball in any of their games. And this is a club that also was not only in the playoff conversation over the summer months, but being tabbed as a genuine Super Bowl contender. There is a lot of work to do for both of these teams because they are in danger of letting their season slip away. The one positive: the Texans have been here before, and they have found a way back to the playoffs. I have more faith in them than Los Angeles.
The Fast Five…
- The Buffalo Bills have a lot to clean up from Sunday, but they showed their power by recording a 24-16 victory over the Chargers on a day when they turned the ball over five times. If they can play that badly and win, then the Bills really might have something special going on this season.
- There may be concerns about Detroit's defense, but there's nothing wrong with the Lions' attack, which starred Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown again. Detroit beat the New York Jets 31-24 on Sunday, marking the third straight game in which the Lions have scored exactly 31 points. That's not easy to do.
- Don't look now, but the Las Vegas Raiders are a perfect 3-0 on this young season, and their veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins continues to lead the way. Cousins threw for three touchdowns in Sunday's 35-27 win over the New Orleans Saints, outlasting Tyler Shough in a shootout in the Superdome.
- Trevor Lawrence continues to look so comfortable under the guidance of head coach Liam Coen and that was evident during Jacksonville's big win over the Patriots. Trevor spread the ball around nicely, throwing three touchdown passes to three different receivers. If he maintains this form, the Jaguars are serious, and I mean serious contenders in the AFC.
- The usual suspects showed up in Miami as the Kansas City Chiefs rolled to 3-0 on the season with a 24-10 win over the hometown Dolphins. Patrick Mahomes continues to show physical growth week on week as he comes back from those torn knee ligaments suffered last December and one of his scoring strikes went to tight end Travis Kelce. But the new addition of Kenneth Walker in the backfield is arguably the biggest reason this team is dangerous once more.
Fact of the Week
Trailing 26-23 on Sunday Night Football, Bo Nix delivered a 30-26 win for the Denver Broncos over the Los Angeles Rams by running in a one-yard touchdown with just 47 seconds remaining. Even though he is only three games into his third NFL season, that was the 12th game-winning drive of his young career – two more than the next-best player since he entered the league in 2024.
Final Thought…
London games, baby! Here we go! It's one of the best times of the year as we get set for three London games in a row in the month of October. We start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday as two winners from Week 2 – the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts – go head-to-head. Then a week later, we have the mouth-watering meeting between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles. Finally, on Sunday October 18, the action transfers to Wembley Stadium as the Jags take on the Houston Texans. It's going to be a busy time for me, personally, but I love it all and I never take these games for granted. Don't forget, I've been covering this sport for so long now that there was a time when even thinking about having one game would have been utter madness. And now we have three. I also enjoy being out and about among the great NFL fans in the UK, so if you see me around; please feel free to come up and say hello. We are all one big NFL family, after all!
