The Wolf Sports Newsletter for this week begins with a remarkable performance by the Miami Dolphins.
Week 3 NFL recap
The Dolphins exploded for one of the best performances in NFL history, demolishing the Broncos, 70-20. Raheem Mostert and rookie De’Von Achane each scored four touchdowns at running back, and the mind-blowing result was a mix of Mike McDaniel’s superb offense and very poor defense from Denver.
The @MiamiDolphins really dropped a 70 Burger 🍔 pic.twitter.com/AsoCbPc5iO
— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2023
- It’s the fourth time in NFL history and the first time in 57 years that a team scored 70 points in a game.
- The 726 total yards made Miami the second team in history to hit over 700 yards in a game, joining the 1951 Rams.
- The Dolphins have recorded the third-most points (130) and the most yards (1,651) through three games in a season in NFL history.
With a balanced attack and plenty of speed (the top six ball-carrier speeds this season have been by Dolphins players), the Dolphins are a total headache to go up against. Meanwhile, for the Broncos, the 0-3 start under Sean Payton has been the opposite of ideal after he made some bold statements about the previous coaching staff this offseason.
The Cowboys unfortunately lost All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs due to a torn ACL in practice, and the team the struggled in their shocking 28-16 loss to the Cardinals as double-digit favorites. Arizona deserves a ton of credit for how well and hard they have played through three games, and they appear to be setting a strong foundation under head coach Jonathan Gannon. For Dallas, they might want to just chalk the defeat up as an off day—but the Diggs loss is massive for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
https://twitter.com/MicahhParsons11/status/1704971541081928143?s=20
⚡️ The Chargers got on the board with a 28-24 win at Minnesota, but it came at a cost: star receiver Mike Williams is out for the season with a torn ACL. Williams is perhaps the most underrated player in the league and caught a deep touchdown from Keenan Allen (18 receptions, 215 yards) on a trick play to help beat the Vikings. In the Week 3 road victory, Justin Herbert picked apart the blitz, going 32/38 for 308 yards and three touchdowns against the blitz and 40/47 for 405 yards and four touchdowns overall.
The Vikings blitzed Justin Herbert on 40 of his 50 dropbacks, the 2nd-highest blitz rate (82.0%) in a game in the NGS era.
Herbert averaged 2.26 seconds time to throw, his first game under 2.40 seconds in his career, and had a career-high +16.0% CPOE.#LACvsMIN | #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/r9DmneTPHr
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 24, 2023
It was a wild week for the Bears that was capped by a 41-10 loss to the Chiefs.
- Defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned from the team in a mysterious situation that the organization is not saying much about.
- General manger Ryan Poles held a press conference and said “no one is panicking,” which many people believe means that they are in fact panicking.
- Justin Fields said during his press conference that he’s playing too “robotic” and gave “coaching” as the answer to why that is—before quickly coming back and making it clear he did not mean to throw his coaches under the bus.
- Over $100K in equipment was stolen from Soldier Field.
- Then you had the 13th consecutive loss for Chicago—this one, you have probably seen, coming in front of Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce—a storied franchise that hasn’t won a game since Elon Musk purchased Twitter in October 2022.
For Kansas City, Andy Reid passed Tom Landry for the fourth-most wins by a head coach in NFL history (271).
In the second consecutive Monday Night Football doubleheader, the Eagles pulled away from the Bucs behind a strong defensive performance and run game while Jalen Hurts battled flu-like symptoms. And the Bengals got on the board with a 19-16 victory over the Rams in a Super Bowl LVI rematch, sacking Matthew Stafford six times.
Other Week 3 games:
- 49ers 30, Giants 12: Running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) and left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) were out for New York, and San Francisco was just too much on Thursday night. The Giants were somewhat in the game in the second half, but a late touchdown by Deebo Samuel really put it out of reach. San Francisco gave multi-year contract extensions to head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch the next day.
- Colts 22, Ravens 19: In wet Baltimore, Colts kicker Matt Gay became the first player in league history to hit four 50+ field goals in the same game—including the game-winner in overtime. The Ravens were down several starters, and perhaps a little too much was asked of Lamar Jackson (14 carries, 102 yards, two touchdowns) in the loss. After the win with Anthony Richardson (concussion) out, Indy is now 2-1, as first-year head coach Shane Steichen is off to a good start even without star running back Jonathan Taylor.
- Browns 27, Titans 3: Deshaun Watson looked about as comfortable as he has with the Browns, and Cleveland’s defense continues to have the makings of an elite unit after not giving Derrick Henry any room to run in their blowout win. As for really fantastic news, Nick Chubb’s knee injury does not appear as bad as anticipated, with multiple reports saying damage has been limited to a torn MCL with a six-to-eight month recovery timeline.
- Lions 20, Falcons 6: Rookie safety Brian Branch flashed and flew around to record 11 tackles while helping the Detroit defense not allow Atlanta to play their style of ball (holding them to just 44 rushing yards and 2.8 yards per play). Offensively, rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs (17 carries, 80 yards) and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta (eight receptions, 84 yards, one touchdown) came up big for the Lions. The Falcons might have lost versatile linebacker Troy Andersen for the year due to a shoulder injury.
- Packers 18, Saints 17: Green Bay became the third team since 2000 to be shutout through three quarters and come back from a 17-point deficit. Jordan Love and company did it without a few key starters, including cornerback Jaire Alexander on defense. Saints quarterback Derek Carr left the game with an AC joint sprain, and he’s considered week-to-week. New Orleans drops to 2-1, but now they get All-Pro running back Alvin Kamara back from his three-game suspension.
- Texans 37, Jaguars 17: Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud got more help from his defense and a more balanced offensive attack, going 20/30 for 280 yards and two touchdowns including a touchdown to fellow rookie Tank Dell for the second straight week. The Jaguars have looked off—and general manger Trent Baalke is again under fire—so we’ll see if a trip to London to take on the Falcons can somehow get them on track.
- Patriots 15, Jets 10: New England has now won 15 consecutive games versus their rival, which is a stunning stretch. As expected, it was a defensive battle, with Jets quarterback Zach Wilson—who, not that he’s played “well,” hasn’t had much of a shot behind the offensive line—under constant siege. The 58-yard touchdown down the seam to tight end Pharaoh Brown was a massive difference in the game.
Not catching Pharaoh Brown!
📺: #NEvsNYJ on CBS⁰📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UQdQ05hqXN pic.twitter.com/yh6X8yqjqw
— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2023
Unfortunately for the Pats, explosive second-year cornerback Marcus Jones hit injured reserve due to a pectoral injury suffered versus the Dolphins in Week 2.
- Bills 37, Commanders 3: Linebacker Terrel Bernard became the first player since Brian Urlacher in 2007 to with 2+ sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery in the same game, and Buffalo became the first team since Dallas in 1985 to record nine sacks and four interceptions in a game. Sean McDermott’s defense has destroyed inexperienced quarterbacks over the years.
Opposing QBs in their first five career starts vs. the Bills since 2017:
🏈 0-8
🏈 46.4 passer rating
🏈 184 passing YPG
🏈 3 TD – 20 INTs
🏈 29 Sacks— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 24, 2023
- Seahawks 37, Panthers 27: Seattle’s deafening crowd helped create eight false starts by Carolina. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III scored twice for the second straight week, and he and rookie Zach Charbonnet are an exciting duo that can punish defenses. The Panthers were without Bryce Young (ankle) and have not looked good through three games under Frank Reich.
Other Sports Updates
Usher will play the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in Las Vegas.
Former NFL great Andrew Luck made an appearance in the TNF post-game show on Prime Video, which is cool to see after his sudden retirement in 2019.
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you, Andrew Luck. #TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/VfC2XwQYqZ
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) September 22, 2023
College football ranked matchup results:
- No. 6 Ohio State beat No. 9 Notre Dame in South Bend on a game-winning touchdown by Chip Trayanum as time expired. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was fired up after the victory.
Ryan Day never doubted his team's toughness. pic.twitter.com/bPfyp1CvqA
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 24, 2023
- Bo Nix totaled four touchdowns as No. 10 Oregon blew out No. 19 Colorado, 42-6.
- No. 13 Alabama defeated No. 15 Ole Miss, 24-10, in Jalen Milroe’s return as the starting quarterback.
- No. 11 Utah’s defense was dominant in a 14-7 win over No. 22 UCLA.
- No. 7 Penn State shut out No. 24 Iowa in a fantastic White Out performance.
- Cougars quarterback Cam Ward threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in No. 21 Washington State’s win against No. 14 Oregon State.
Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall had one of the plays of the year with an insane one-handed catch in traffic.
OH MY!!!! WHAT A CATCH @S1ickSzn 😳
💻 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/4zzupSxOfJ
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 23, 2023
⚾️ The Twins and Brewers each clinched MLB postseason berths over the weekend, with the regular season ending this week.
Also in baseball, Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player in history to reach 40 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season—with a shot at 40/70.
40/40 club? Ronald Acuña Jr. has his sights set higher than that.
With this homer, he’s now just two steals away from 40/70. 👀 pic.twitter.com/5NyTtE94BX
— MLB (@MLB) September 22, 2023
Haley Van Voorhis became the first female non-kicker to appear in an NCAA football game, playing safety for Division III Shenandoah University. She forced a quarterback hurry and recorded three tackles.
In Case You Missed It
- Week 3 fantasy football awards
- Week 4 waiver wire rankings
- Week 5 college football power rankings
- Our latest Heisman watch