NFL Week 3: Winners, Losers, McCarthy to Giants, Plus Eagles-Bears MNF Picks
Get a complete recap of NFL Week 3, including top performers and disappointments, J.J. McCarthy's trade to the Giants, and expert predictions for the Eagles vs. Bears Monday Night Football game. This covers all key NFL news for September 28

Hello football friends, and welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
If you're still trying to recover from Sunday's NFL action, welcome to the club. Every time I thought Week 3 couldn't get any crazier, it somehow got crazier. In the early slate of games, we saw the Commanders -- who just LOST their starting quarterback last week -- take down the undefeated Super Bowl champion Seahawks 33-31.
That was one of seven upsets that we saw in Week 3.
If you felt like every game on Sunday was close, you're not crazy. There were a total of 12 games decided by a single possession, which is tied for the most for any day in NFL history and the most for any week in league history. If we get a one-score game tonight, that will set the NFL record for most one-score games in a week, but don't count on that happening, because every Monday night game has been a blowout so far.
Anyway, it's Monday, so you probably already know what's coming your way: We've got grades from every game, plus some overreactions. And of course, we'll be breaking down the J.J. MCCARTHY TRADE that went down on Monday afternoon.
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, just click here .
1. NFL Week 3 grades: Ravens earn 'B+' for wild win in Rio
For the first time ever, CBS got to air an international game and it ended up being possibly the craziest international game of all time with the Ravens beating the Cowboys in Rio De Janeiro. Maybe the NFL should put all their games in Rio.
Next time there's a game in Rio, I'll be requesting to go, but I didn't go this time because I was way too busy handing out grades. I graded every game from Week 3 and here's a look at the grades from two notable games that were played Sunday:
Ravens 34-31 over Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro
- Ravens takeaway: The Ravens came alarmingly close to blowing a double-digit lead for the second straight week, but Lamar Jackson saved the day with some late magic in Rio de Janeiro. The Ravens QB was absolutely clutch in this game: He only threw for 186 yards, but 72 of that came in the fourth quarter, including a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers that set up Tyler Loop's game-winning field goal. When Lamar goes into clutch mode, he's almost impossible to stop and the Cowboys found that out here. The Ravens' defense certainly has some cracks, but this unit helped save the win by holding the Cowboys out of the end zone in the final 20 seconds. This feels like the kind of win that can propel a team to greatness so it won't be surprising if we see the Ravens go on a run from here. Grade: B+ - Cowboys takeaway: The Cowboys played well enough to win this game, but a few bad coaching decisions might have cost them the win. After Brandon Aubrey's field goal tied the game with seven seconds left, the Cowboys decided to have Aubrey kick a touchback, which gave the Ravens enough time to pull out the miracle win. This was a rollercoaster game for both sides of the ball. The defense started the fourth quarter with a goal-line stand, but then gave up a long pass to set up the game-winning field goal. Dak Prescott and the offense drove down to Baltimore's 2-yard line in the final 30 seconds, but couldn't punch the ball in for a game-winning touchdown. This team just needed one player -- anyone -- to make one more play, but that didn't happen. The Cowboys will be kicking themselves for 10 straight hours on their flight home to Dallas after this loss. Grade: B
Steelers 30-27 over Bengals
- Bengals takeaway: The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year, and it looked like that defense was on the field in Pittsburgh. The Bengals couldn't stop the run, and they got gashed up by a Steelers passing attack that had struggled through the first two weeks. Special teams was also a huge problem for Cincinnati. Not only did Ke'Shawn Williams lose a muffed punt, but the Bengals also got called for roughing the punter on a fourth-and-6 play in the third quarter that gave Pittsburgh a first down. Both of those errors eventually led to touchdowns for Pittsburgh. Despite all of that, Joe Burrow still had a chance to lead a game-winning drive, but he fumbled the game away in the final minute. The Bengals let this game slip through their hands. Grade: C- - Steelers takeaway: It took two weeks, but the Steelers offense finally came alive on Sunday. The biggest surprise might have been Jaylen Warren , who averaged 7.5 yards per carry on a day where he ran through the Bengals defense for 127 yards. And this came from a Steelers offense that averaged just 74.5 yards per game on the ground through the first two weeks. The passing game was also on point for Pittsburgh, with Aaron Rodgers finally connecting on the long ball. After completing zero passes of 20 air yards or more through the first two weeks, he completed two of those for touchdowns in the first quarter against the Bengals. The Steelers' defense won't be bragging about this performance, except for maybe Derrick Harmon , who won the game by forcing a Joe Burrow fumble. Don't sleep on this Steelers team. Grade: B
As for the other 26 grades that we handed out so far in Week 3, you can check those out by clicking here .
2. NFL Week 3 winners and losers: Drake Maye's struggles continue
You can't have a week of NFL action without having winners and losers, so we have some winners and losers. Carter Bahns came up with this week's list, and we're going to check out his losers below. At the top of our losers' list is a QB who was in the Super Bowl just seven months ago.
LOSERS
- Drake Maye . Maye threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Sunday's 35-6 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars . The three turnovers brought his season total to seven. In contrast, he was responsible for only 11 turnovers all of last year. The Patriots are off to a 1-2 start, and the offense was atrocious in the two losses with a combined 16 points and five Maye interceptions. - Mike McDaniel. Things are just not working for the Los Angeles Chargers , specifically on offense. The team is 0-3, and it has not scored more than 16 points in a game. That is against two bottom-dwelling opponents and a Buffalo Bills defense that surrendered exactly 31 points in both of its first two games. Sunday's 24-16 loss in upstate New York was another example of how a highly touted offensive coordinator hire is not delivering the expected results for the Chargers.. - 49ers injury luck. The 49ers lost wide receiver Mike Evans and tackle Trent Williams for the game in their 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals , and that is not to mention Nick Bosa's injury in practice leading up to the contest. This team is all too familiar with its best players sitting on the bench and finding itself in tough situations as a result.
If you want to see Carter's list of winners (and a couple of other losers), be sure to click here .
3. Overreactions from Week 3: Are the Raiders going to make the playoffs?
Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that's especially true when we're talking about the NFL. Personally, I overreact to everything. With that in mind, Zach Pereles decided to take a look at several things that happened during Week 3 to decide if we're all overreacting.
Statement: The Raiders are going to make the playoffs. Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. The Raiders can only play who is on their schedule, and their wins are now over the Chargers (who look miserable), the Dolphins (who might not win a game) and the Saints (who might be good but might be just OK). Let me be perfectly clear: It's OK if the Raiders aren't going to make the playoffs. They already have as many wins this year as they did last year. Kubiak has done wonderful stuff, the young players look great, the free agent additions look great, and it's already one of the most impressive turnarounds of the year.
Statement: Trevor Lawrence is a dark horse MVP candidate. Overreaction or reality: Reality. Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes and could have ran for another score (he kneeled). The difficulty level on some of his throws is really impressive. Lawrence is simply playing at an extremely high level. He wasn't great last week at the Broncos , but as we've already seen, every quarterback has off weeks. He is finally unlocking everything we projected he could be when he was coming out of Clemson: big arm that can access the entire field, impressive athleticism and awesome downfield accuracy, especially over the middle of the field.
Statement: Brock Purdy is playing as well as he ever has. Overreaction or reality: Reality. Let's give Brock Purdy his due. This season, he ranks: 1st in net yards per attempt (9.5), 1st in EPA per dropback (0.62), 1st in success rate (65.6%), 1st in touchdown rate (10.8%), 3rd in completion percentage (72.3%). Now, Kyle Shanahan always has uber-efficient offenses. He's also doing this with no Ricky Pearsall , no De'Zhaun Stribling and no DeMarcus Robinson . Mike Evans left Sunday's game, too.
There are plenty more overreactions and you can check them out here .
4. 10 crazy stats from Week 3: Deebo Samuel just set an NFL record that might not ever be broken
Every Sunday night, I get an email from our research department here at CBS Sports, and every Sunday, that email always includes some amazingly wild stats about the games that were just played.
With that in mind, here are 10 crazy stats from Week 3:
- Deebo's unlikely record. Samuel had 80 receiving yards against the Cardinals, but here's the twist: He didn't catch a single pass. He scored on a hook-and-lateral play where Mike Evans caught a pass from Brock Purdy and then pitched it to Samuel, who eventually scored (You can see the highlight here ). On that play, Samuel set the NFL record for most receiving yards without making a catch, topping the mark of 65, which was set in 1961 by Eagles running back Timmy Brown. - High drama in Cowboys-Ravens. The Ravens win over the Cowboys became the first game in the Super Bowl era where both teams kicked a field goal in the final 10 seconds. Brandon Aubry hit a kick to tie the game with seven seconds left and then Tyler Loop ended up hitting a game-winner as time expired. - Raiders are doing the impossible. The Raiders are 3-0, which is almost unheard for a team coming off a season where they earned the No. 1 overall pick. As a matter of fact, this is just the fourth time that the team with the No. 1 pick has started 3-0 in the common draft era, which dates to 1967. The Raiders join the 1967 Colts , 1980 Lions and 2013 Chiefs . - Vikings are doing the impossible. The Vikings are 3-0 even though they rank last in the NFL in total offense. The Vikings are the first team since the 1957 Browns to start 3-0 without topping 250 yards in any of their games. The Browns aren't the worst team to be compared to here because that 1957 team ended up making it to the NFL title game. Minnesota is averaging 238.3 yards per game this season, which is the lowest total for a 3-0 team since the 2004 Jaguars averaged 218. - Bizarre win by Bills. The Bills turned the ball over five times in their 24-16 win over the Chargers. This win marked the first time since 1997 that the Bills won a game with a turnover differential of -4 or worse. That 1997 win came over the Colts, who had Jim Harbaugh as their starting QB. And in a bizarre coincidence, Harbaugh was also on the sideline Sunday as the head coach of the Chargers. - Lions join rare company. With 31 points on Sunday, the Lions have topped 30 points in each of their first three games, but they've also been outscored 95-93 on the season. That makes them just the second team in NFL history -- joining the 1994 Patriots -- to score at least 30 points in each of their first three games and still have a negative point differential. - Don't bet on the Buccaneers . The Buccaneers lost to the
_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-3-winners-and-losers-plus-j-j-mccarthy-dealt-to-giants-and-eagles-bears-picks-for-monday-night/)._
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