Around The NFL: Week 3 Is Full Of Unbelievable Upsets
By Danny Cox
There are some strange things going on in the NFL this season, and it includes a number of teams with losing records that many thought would not lose a game at all this year. Green Bay is sitting at 1-2. Washington is 0-3. The New York Giants got shut out by Carolina and Cleveland kept the Vikings without a win.
Browns defeat Vikings with third-string quarterback and rag-tag running game
Cleveland went into Minnesota with Brian Hoyer under center and having just traded away its main offensive weapon in running back Trent Richardson. Well, it didn't seem to matter as somehow the Browns won and the Vikings dropped to 0-3.
Hoyer threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Browns to their first victory of the season. Cleveland did turn the ball over four times, but most of those were negated thanks to the Vikings turning it over three times.
RG3 struggles again as Lions drop Redskins to 0-3
Robert Griffin III may have put up 326 passing yards, but he didn't throw a touchdown, threw one pick, was sacked twice, and still isn't running nearly like he used to. If it wasn't for Alfred Morris, the Redskins wouldn't have had anything come from its offense. The first score of the game came thanks to DeAngelo Hall intercepting a Matthew Stafford pass and returning it 17 yards for the score.
Washington ended up racking up 420 yards offensively, but just couldn't find the end zone enough. Detroit didn't worry about Reggie Bush's injury keeping him out because there was plenty of offense to go around.
Green Bay posts monster come back, but can't finish off Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals came out on Sunday and built up a 14-point lead before Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense even stepped on the field. Before they knew it though, Green Bay scored the next 30 points and was leading by 16 more than halfway through the third quarter.
From there, Andy Dalton of the Bengals took over as he threw touchdown passes to A.J. Green and Marvin Jones to get Cincy within three. With less than four minutes remaining, Bengals cornerback Terence Newman returned a fumble 58 yards for the game-winning score.
Giants get destroyed by Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers
It's hard to have words for this one, but to put it easily: Eli Manning threw an interception, David Wilson couldn't run again, and the defense obviously could do nothing. With that, the Panthers dealt the Giants the worst loss in the Tom Coughlin-era.
Brandon LaFell caught two touchdowns and Cam Newton looked like … well, Cam Newton. The Panthers quarterback had three touchdown passes and ran for 145 yards while DeAngelo Williams ran for 120 yards to send the Giants to a record of 0-3.
For more NFL news and updates, visit NFL Central.
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
