By Enwereji Amuruche
Week three of the NFL came to a close on Monday as the Dallas Cowboys traveled to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants and came away winners.
This game week brought us a lot of action-packed games. The Dolphins and Eagles remain the only unbeaten teams in the league. Joe Burrow got the Bengals in the win column against the Jets. Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts continued their MVP campaign with commanding victories over the Patriots and Commanders respectively.
Aaron Rodgers edged Tom Brady in a low scoring 14-12 victory over the Buccaneers. Matt Ryan and Trevor Lawrence led their respective teams to shock victories over potential Super Bowl contenders, the Chiefs and Chargers. With such an exciting weekend of football, it was difficult to narrow the top performers of the week down to five. Honorable mentions include Jeff Okudah for his performance in the Lions’ loss to the Vikings, and rookie defensive back, Sauce Gardener in the Jet’s loss to the Bengals. Here are the top five performers of game week 3
Lamar Jackson – QB – Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson scores against New England Patriots AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
The Baltimore Ravens front office is going to have to deal with the slight inconvenience of hearing everyone from fans to media outlets echoing the phrase “pay that man”. For their sake, let us hope that is the only inconvenience they have to endure in regards to paying their star QB. Lamar Jackson continued his historic start to the season by becoming only the second player in league history with at least four TD passes, 100 rushing yards and a rushing TD in the Ravens week 3 win over the Mac Jones led New England Patriots following in the footsteps of Randall Cunningham of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990. Jackson is the most elusive runner in the league combined with elite arm talent to locate his target anywhere on the turf. The Baltimore Ravens now have to pay him or watch his imminent date with Vince Lombardi from outside the restaurant.
Trevor Lawrence – QB – Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence celebrates with WR Marvin Jones AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a star in Trevor Lawrence. The 2021 number 1 pick finished 28/39 passes for 262 yards while throwing three touchdowns against Super Bowl hopefuls , the Los Angeles Chargers. He threw 0 interceptions without getting sacked during the game, lifting the team to the top of the AFC South. We knew that Lawrence was good, the question now is how good can he be now that the Jaguars are free from the off the field antics of Urban Meyer.
DeVonta Smith – WR – Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles WR DeVonta Smith catching a pass vs Washington Commanders Getty Images
DeVonta Smith had college stats to put him in the conversation of one of the best receivers to ever play in the NCAA. The question was always if his slender frame would allow him to dominate in the pros. Although against the commanders, Smith showed us why he can be a star in this league. He caught eight passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. His athleticism combined with his elusiveness made him the number one target for Jalen Hurts. One play in particular exemplifies that as Hurts threw the ball into double coverage and Smith rose above the two defensive backs to make the catch. Darius Slay gave him the nickname “skinny batman” a couple weeks ago and his fellow receiver said it looked like he was flying vs the Commanders. A testament to his talent, Smith is emerging as one of the electrifying receivers in the league.
Jalen Hurts – QB – Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw 3 TD passes in win over Washington Commanders AP Photo
Is Jalen Hurts the MVP? His throwing ability has been in question since 2020 and Hurts just threw 22/35 passes for 340 yards and 3 TD’s without any interceptions vs the Commanders following up a dominant week 2 performance against the Vikings. This game meant a little more as it came against Carson Wentz, the man who Hurts had to fight for a job in his rookie year. The Eagles will go as far as Hurts takes the. As of now, they are 3-0 in the NFC East and Hurts was showered with MVP chants as he left Lincoln Financial Field.
Matt Ryan – QB – Indianapolis Colts
Colts QB Matt Ryan signals victory to crowd after win over Kansas City Chiefs AP Photo/Michael Conroy
NFL comeback player of the year?
Far from a perfect game but considering the opposition, Matt Ryan justifies his place on this list with 27/37 passes for 222 yards with a couple of TD’s. Ryan made clutch plays down the stretch as the Colts registered their first victory of the season in their comeback win vs the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a couple of fumbles but was not fazed as he kept his composure to throw a 12 yard winning TD pass to rookie Jelani Woods with 24 seconds left to play.