NFL Week 3 overreactions

Week 3 of the NFL season was a roller-coaster. Between nail-biting finishes and shocking upsets, many outliers deserve an overreaction.

The Kansas City reign of terror is officially over

The Chiefs picked up their first win of the season with a 22-9 victory on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants, but they looked far from impressive.

The offense has been extremely underwhelming to begin the year, and it did not look much better against the second-worst defense in terms of yards allowed.

Kansas City scored just nine first-half points, their second game this year without a touchdown in the first 30 minutes.

Travis Kelce, who first showed signs of regression last season, looks like a shell of his former self. He recorded just four catches for 26 yards. Without Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice, it is very troubling that he has not shown the production of an effective offensive option.

This lack of offensive production did not plague the Chiefs last year due to their outstanding defense, a unit that allowed just 19.2 points per game.

This season, that side of the ball also looks a tick below the standard, and certainly does not look good enough to mask the non-threatening Kansas City offense.

In their next seven games, the Chiefs will face five playoff teams from last season, including the Ravens, Lions and Bills. There is a very real possibility they enter their Week 13 bye week with a below .500 record.

If Patrick Mahomes cannot put on the superhero cape he has shown in years past, this season and dynasty could slip away much quicker than we thought.

The Philadelphia Eagles will finish the regular season undefeated

For just over half of the football game, it looked as if the Los Angeles Rams had figured out how to beat the Eagles.

Rams kicker Joshua Karty used his knuckleball kickoff to pin Philadelphia deep every possession. The Los Angeles defensive line hounded Jalen Hurts, resulting in just 33 yards in the first half and only seven points.

Then, down 26-7, a switch flipped.

The Eagles' offense looked hyper-efficient, scoring touchdowns on their next two drives. The defense locked down Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense, stifling a key fourth-down attempt to start the fourth quarter.

The story of the day, however, was special teams. Two blocked field goals, including a block returned for a touchdown by Jordan Davis as time expired, secured a 33-26 Eagles win.

So, if the Eagles can play very poorly for an entire half of football, go down by 19 points, and still beat one of the best teams in the NFC, who's gonna beat them?

Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem anyone will. It looked as though Philadelphia found a spark in their passing offense, which can accurately be described as “Get AJ Brown the ball and get out of the way.”

If Jalen Hurts can continue to make minimal mistakes while the defense plays to half of their ability, we could see the first team in 18 years to finish the regular season undefeated.

The Colts will run away with the AFC South

For the third straight week, the Indianapolis offense has looked dominant and electric.

The Colts beat the Titans 41-20 on Sunday, their third straight game with over 29 points.

During the start of this season, Daniel Jones has played like a perennial top-five quarterback, as Shane Steichen’s offensive system has perfectly suited his abilities.

Jonathan Taylor has been playing the best football of his career, leading the league in rushing with 338 yards. Combining this dynamic offense with a defense that currently leads the league in turnovers generates a dream start to the year for Indianapolis.

The real cause for this take, however, comes from the performance of the rest of the AFC South.

The Houston Texans are an absolute wreck offensively. The offensive line has looked horrid, and offensive coordinator Nick Caley has not done C.J Stroud any favors. They have started the season 0-3, and there are not many signs of optimism that they will right the ship.

The Tennessee Titans have found their franchise quarterback in Cam Ward, but it is not enough to move the needle this season. Brian Callahan will likely be fired by season’s end, and the defense is not nearly good enough for a playoff-level team.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have looked… meh. Trevor Lawrence has not taken the leap that some were hoping he’d achieve, and Travis Hunter has not seen the offensive involvement to warrant an effective passing offense. To this point in the season, they look to be the biggest threats to the Colts.

Whether it’s because of their early-season excellence or due to the ineptitude in their division, the Indianapolis Colts could not only win the division but also handily punch their playoff ticket with weeks to go in the season.

Brendan Kern is a second-year student majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email bwk5372@psu.edu