Week Three is in the books in the 2024 NFL season.

There are five teams with unbeaten 3-0 starts and three without a win so far as their playoff hopes become thinner and thinner.

But who came out of Week Three with their heads held high and who had a weekend to forget?

Here are winners and losers from Week Three of the 2024 NFL Season.

Winner #1: Jayden Daniels

It was a statement victory for the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football's double header as they earned a surprise 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, who themselves move to 0-3 in a nightmare start.

Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick from this year's draft, put a league on notice with a fantastic performance that is sure to excite Commanders fans.

In a game which had no turnovers or punts, the first time this has been done in the NFL since 1940, Daniels balled out.

He recorded three total touchdowns and 254 passing yards. Daniels also had a 91.3% completion percentage, which is the highest ever for any rookie in NFL history.

It sure was Daniels' night.

When the San Francisco 49ers led the Los Angeles Rams 21-7 with over four minutes remaining of the 3rd quarter, many thought the game was over. This is especially the case when Jauan Jennings had recorded three touchdowns, on his way to eventually finishing the night with 174 receiving yards.

However, the Rams earned a tremendous comeback, with kicker Joshua Karty's 37-field goal winning the game for Sean McVay's side to earn them their first win of the season and avoid an 0-3 start.

This is the second time in three seasons that the 49ers have started 1-2, so it should not concern them too much, especially as they went to the NFC Championship the last time they started with this record. They could have even made the Super Bowl had the injury crisis hit them at quarterback during that game to the point where Christian McCaffrey was taking snaps at the position.

However, they will want to forget this game as quickly as possible as they should have closed this one out, something that cost them in both Super Bowl losses to the Kansas City Chiefs.

It has been a really interesting start to the 2024 NFL season, with some quarterbacks forming their own resurgence. Derek Carr balled out during the opening two weeks and Andy Dalton impressed in Week Three.

However, it has been the resurgence of Sam Darnold that has caught the eye of many. He was drafted third overall in 2018 after the New York Jets traded up to get him. However, his time in New Jersey was underwhelming, albeit better than Zach Wilson’s, and he did not do much to impress with the Carolina Panthers.

He spent a year with the 49ers as the backup to Brock Purdy and made the move to the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. He was expected to be the bridge quarterback to rookie JJ McCarthy, and may still be, but was given the main starter role for the season after their tenth overall pick suffered a season ending injury before Week One even began.

His form has been nothing short of astounding. People will argue that anyone can succeed with Justin Jefferson to throw to. However, tell that to Skylar Thompson, Teddy Bridgewater and Tim Boyle, who have all struggled to get the ball to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle when stepping up for Tua Tagovailoa in a Miami Dolphins jersey.

Along with his 657 passing yards, he also has eight touchdowns and two interceptions, leading the league for passing touchdowns. He guided the Vikings to another win to move to 3-0 on Sunday, as they demolished the Houston Texans 34-7.

The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are both 2-1, and the Vikings could very easily go back to their old selves, the version we all expected prior to Week One. However, they could also be the dark horse of the campaign. We have seen it as recently as the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 season, or the New York Giants in both 2007 and 2011. In a conference that is wide open, this could be the story of the 2024 season.

It has been quite the season and a half for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They were at one point the number one seed in the AFC during 2023, but lost each of their final five games and did not even make the playoffs. This includes Monday Night Football’s humiliating 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. They have not won a game since Thanksgiving weekend.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a difficult evening, recording just 178 passing yards, along with one touchdown and one interception. He missed open receivers and failed to bring the ball down the field. It was a very conservative performance.

Once seen as the “can’t miss prospect” prior to being the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, he is so far a one season wonder. That 2022 campaign prevents him from being labelled a bust, as is the Asterix rookie season under one and done Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer.

He has been paid this offseason, at which point the excuses come to an end. He now has the pressure to deliver and so far he has not done this in 2024.

Speaking of the Buffalo Bills, the aforementioned win over Jacksonville moved them to 3-0, as quarterback Josh Allen put himself in early MVP contention. It was not the story of the night as Damar Hamlin earned his first career interception.

Monday Night Football’s unpopular double header saw announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling the other game between the Commanders and Bengals. The last time they commented on a game in Cincinnati was the night where the game was called off after Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest.

The Comeback Player of the Year award should be named after Hamlin, due to the incredible story of his return to the field in 2023. He had very limited snaps in this season, as you would expect, and managed to come up with a play Monday Night.

It was a full 180 moment for everyone involved, no more so than Buck and Aikman. There is now a connection between the Bills and Bengals that arose from the horrific events in January 2023.

The Las Vegas Raiders would have expected an easy win going into their Week Three clash with the Carolina Panthers, who had struggled the first two weeks, losing by a combined score of 73-13 across those opening couple of weeks.

Even with a quarterback change, Andy Dalton is not a name that scares opposition defenses. However, despite being heavy favourites, the Raiders fell to a humiliating 36-22 loss to the Panthers. After the high of beating last season’s AFC number one seed in the Baltimore Ravens a week ago, this is not the result that they would have hoped for, as fresh doubt over their season has now been set.

Andy Davies

Week Three Winners and Losers

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