There was nothing weak about Week 3 in the NFL, except for “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything!” (see below). The Lions win a game, Brett Favre goes all Brett Favre on the 49ers, QB Mark Sanchez and the Jets at 3-0, the Lions win a game, the Ravens have found an offensive attack and did I mention, the Lions win a game!

Just another great week in the spectacular NFL.

The Good:
A Farvetastic finish!
The old man comes through in the clutch. For the 40th time in his career, Vikings’ QB Brett Favre, just two weeks shy of turning 40 years old, completed a miraculous 34-yard touchdown pass with just two seconds remaining in the game. Favre lead the Vikings on an improbable comeback past the San Francisco 49ers, 27-24, marching the Vikings 80 yards down the field with only 1:29 on the clock and no timeouts. He finished the game with 301 yards passing, the 56th 300+ yards passing game of his career.

20th time’s a charm.
The Detroit Lions win a game! That’s right, you read that correctly, the Lions have won a game! The Lions’ nineteen game losing streak came to an end with a 19-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. The Lions played hard, committed zero turnovers while forcing Redskins’ QB Jason Campbell into a critical 3rd quarter interception. The Lions and their fans can now exhale, as they will not have to worry about consecutive 0-16 seasons.

The Ravens have an offense!
For the third consecutive week, the Baltimore Ravens have scored 31 points or more, averaging 34 points per game this year. That is eleven points higher than they averaged last season. What is the difference this year? That would be 2nd year QB Joe Flacco, who has already passed for 839 yards in three games. This week, he torched the Browns’ secondary for 342 yards passing and a touchdown. Last year Flacco did not pass for over 300 yards in a single game. This year he has accomplished that feat twice in three games.

Get the OC kid in here!
I wonder if USC head coach Pete Carroll still thinks Mark Sanchez is not ready for the NFL. Not only did Sanchez throw 2 touchdown passes and rushed for another TD, but he become the first rookie QB to win the first three games of his career in NFL history. That is impressive, plain and simple. Sanchez has the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets at a perfect 3-0. There certainly is no questioning that Mark Sanchez made the right decision.

Jets QB Mark Sanchez

The Bad:
The return of Mike Vick.
For the many that believe Eagles’ QB Mike Vick should not be allowed to play in the NFL, they may not have much to worry about after his dubious debut versus the Kansas City Chiefs. It had been 1,001 days since Vick played in a regular season football game, but after all the hype and hoopla, Vick laid a huge dud. He participated in 11 plays, with two incomplete passes, one run for 7 yards and seven hand offs. He looked stale and rusty and Vick did not factor into the outcome of the game.

Last Year’s Division Winners Starting 0-3
There is a mantra in the NFL that most fans do not know about. “Just because a team made the playoffs last year, does not guarantee the playoffs this year.” Three division winners from a season ago have started this year 0-3. With the Tennessee Titans losing to the NY Jets 24-17, the Miami Dolphins losing to the San Diego Chargers 23-13 and the Carolina Panthers dropping the Monday night game to Dallas 21-7, that means that these three playoff teams from a year ago will have a hard time making the playoffs this year. They are not out of it, but there is a tough hill to climb ahead.

Teams starting 0-3

“Have fun storming the” Cassel.
I think there is a reason Chief’s QB Matt Cassel never started for USC and the only thing keeping Cassel from dropping down into the Ugly category is his 2 TD passes. However, 90 yards passing is not going to get it done in the NFL. Head Coach Todd Haley is still backing Cassel, but I am sure Haley and the Chiefs are expecting more from Cassel and their $63 million investment. The Denver Broncos, now 3-0, must feel like they dodged a bullet, after vehemently wooing Cassel this off-season.

The Ugly:
The chaos and confusion playing QB for the Raiders.
Last week during our fantasy segment, we told you to avoid Raiders’ QB JaMarcus Russell because he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Well, Russell did not disappoint. He only completed 12 of 21 passes for 61 yards, 0 TDs and 2 interceptions. That is horrid! What’s worse? Russell getting sacked 3 times in the second half of the Raiders loss to the Broncos. A half in which Russell recorded a net of 1 passing yard.

Both Cleveland Browns’ Quarterbacks.
How bad do you have to be at QB, to be replaced by someone that is worse than you? That is what Brady Quinn is asking himself after being benched in the second half in favor of Derek Anderson. Brady’s first half numbers were a pedestrian 6 of 8 for 34 yards and 0 TDs with 1 interception. However, Anderson’s numbers were worse, completing only 11 of 19 for 92 yards and 0 TDs with 3 interceptions. Remember, if you feel that you have two starting QBs on your team, you really have NONE!

Tampa Bay gives a new meaning to “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”
The Buccaneers’ offense only produced 86 total yards and got shutout, losing to the New York Giants 24-0. The Bucs offense ran 36 offensive plays and had 22 of them go for zero of negative yards. I am not sure what is worse, the Bucs’ offensive performance, or rookie Head Coach Raheem Morris saying,

“We were beat by a grown man team today, a team we want to be like one day.”

I didn’t know the Bucs were playing peewee football. Now, that’s embarrassing!

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything