What a way to finish Week 3 in the NFL as the Chicago Bears remain the lone undefeated team in the NFC by defeating the Green Bay Packers 20-17 on Monday Night Football.

Was there anyone that could have predicted that after three weeks of play the remaining undefeated teams in the NFL would be the Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears? Not sure anyone could have made that call, before the season started.

Here are the big time heroes and losers for Week 3.

RB Leon Washington: Everyone, including the Jets, thought that Washington was done in the NFL after suffering a broken leg last year. That is, everyone except for Leon Washington. He single-handedly beat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday by returning kick-offs of 101-yards and 99-yards back for touchdowns, and he was a slip away from retuning three back for scores. The second return for a TD, proved to be the game winner as the Seahawks edged out the Chargers for a 27-20 win.


WR Anquan Boldin: After failing to score in his first two games as a Ravens, Boldin found the end zone three times helping the Ravens defeat the Browns 24-17 at home. Boldin finished the day with 8 catches for 142 yards and 3 TDs. That kind of production is why the Ravens acquired Boldin in the off-season.

QB Michael Vick: Vick continues to prove that the Andy Reid and the Eagles made the right decision in naming him the starter. He passed for 291 yards and 3 TDs with 0 interceptions and ended the day with a 119.2 quarterback rating. Vick also added another 30 yards rushing and a 17-yard rushing TD. The Eagles are flying high with Vick under center, and he just might keep this job for a while.

WR Austin Collie: The Colts never cease to amaze me. With Pierre Garcon and Anthony Gonzales out with injuries, the Colts turned to Collie and he was up to the task. Collie was everywhere on the offensive side of the ball and hauled in 12 passes for 171 yards and 2 TDs. Collie has come out of nowhere and currently leads the league in receptions (27), yards (359), receiving yards per game (119.7) and touchdown catches (4).

 

Sean Peyton and K Garrett Hartley: Hartley is not the only one to blame for the Saints 27-24 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Of course there is no excuse for missing a 29 yard field goal in overtime, but head coach Sean Peyton is just as responsible. After the Saints offense had carved up the Falcons secondary to give his team a 1st and goal from the Atlanta 11 yard line, Peyton decided to pull his best players (his offense) off the field and trot on his questionable kicker for the gimmie field goal. Apparently, Peyton forgot that there is no such thing as a gimmie field goal with his kicker.

K Sebastian Janikowski: Speaking of kickers, let’s talk about the Raiders $4 million kicker. Janikowski missed three kicks in the Raiders 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Grant it, one of them was a 58 yard attempt late in the 4th quarter. The big miss, however, was at the end of the game. Janikowski’s attempt of 32 yards sailed wide left as time expired to preserve the Cardinals win. If you pay your kicker $4 million, 32 yard field goals in a dome should be automatic. That miss was just awful.

New York Giants Losing Their Cool: Despite a warning from head coach Tom Coughlin that Jeff Fisher coached teams like to bait opponents into committing personal fouls, the Giants still lost their cool and got flagged five times for personal foul penalties. In the 4th quarter, offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie was flagged twice for unnecessary roughness and the Giants committed another 11 penalties for 86 yards. When you couple all those penalties with two missed field goals, two red zone turnovers and a safety which was awarded when they committed a chop block in the end zone, you can see how the Giants were completely not ready for this game mentally. Has Coughlin lost the Giants locker room? That question will be rearing its ugly head again in New York if the Giants do not step up next week when the undefeated Bears come to town.

Green Bay Packers Plethora “O” Penalties: This game is a prime example of what I have been saying for a long time; not even elite NFL teams can win when they turn over the ball and commit excessive penalties. The Packers took this to a whole new level when the set a franchise record for penalties, getting flagged 18 times for 152 yards. Those penalties along with an Aaron Rodgers interception and a James Jones fumble late in the game contributed to a Chicago Bears 20-17 win.

QB David Garrard and the Jaguars Inept Offense: After throwing four interceptions last week in San Diego and getting benched with a 62.7 QB rating, Garrard followed up his poor performance with an even worse outing at home against the Eagles. Garrard completed just 13 of 30 for 105 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT and ended the game with a 38.9 QB rating. He also fumbled once but fortunately RB Maurice Jones-Drew was there to pounce on the ball. Jones-Drew has been equally unimpressive, being held without a touchdown for three consecutive games. After three weeks, the Jaguars are ranked 30th in the league in points scored (40) and 30th in overall offense with a meager 280 yards per game.