Given how uncommon area objective blocks are, it was jarring to see three of them in succession Sunday afternoon.
There have been indicators Week 3 was going to be unusual, even going into Sunday’s motion. Thursday evening, the Miami Dolphins went into Buffalo and played a competent brand of football. Now, the Buffalo Payments nonetheless received the sport by double digits, however it was a one-score sport for 59 minutes and 38 seconds, and the Payments didn’t cowl.
Talking of, the fourth quarters of these area objective block video games weren’t type to the betting line, because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers noticed their 13-point lead end in a 2-point win, the Inexperienced Bay Packers’ 10-point fourth-quarter lead ended in a loss, and the Philadelphia Eagles gave us one of the worst bad beats you’ll see this season.
The ultimate Week 3 sport between the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions provided us great theater, and that’s the place we start this week’s What’s Trending within the NFL.
Bonus 5: Causes to hop on the Detroit Lions bandwagon
5. Unlikely underdogs: It sounds bizarre to say the staff that’s received its division the previous two years and is coming off a 15-win season by which it topped the convention is an underdog, however that’s type of the place the Lions have discovered themselves in 2025. They had been a one-and-done within the playoffs in January, laying an egg towards the Washington Commanders, then misplaced each of their coordinators within the offseason. They opened the season with a loss to the Inexperienced Bay Packers, the place the scoreboard made their efficiency look better than it actually was.
In the meantime, the Packers have been on the opposite finish of that dialog. Jordan Love is an ascending quarterback, they usually made the big splash by buying Micah Parsons simply earlier than the common season. Even after their loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the Packers remain ahead of the Lions in Super Bowl odds. The Lions are among the best groups within the convention, however they aren’t even universally accepted as the perfect staff of their division.
4. Dicey selections: You don’t need boring soccer, and Dan Campbell doesn’t want to give you boring football. Few calls can prime the fourth-down decision and execution last year in Week 14 towards the Packers, however Sunday gave us one other Campbell traditional. The Lions, up 31-24, went for it on fourth down at midfield with lower than two minutes left within the sport. Jared Goff threw an ideal cross to transform and seal the deal for Detroit. These gutsy calls don’t all the time work out for Campbell, as we’ve seen on the biggest stage in the playoffs, however it’s a must to respect Campbell’s not wavering from who he’s. Those on the finish of video games steal the headlines, however Campbell is aggressive all through, as he confirmed when the Lions scored a landing on a double-pitch on fourth-and-goal on the primary play of the fourth quarter. Campbell’s Lions are a hell of a journey, so that you higher buckle your seatbelt.
3. Secondary storylines: Imagine it or not, issues haven’t all the time been sunshine and daisies for Lions followers, in order that they’ve generally needed to discover pleasure secondhand. For those who develop into a Lions fan and issues don’t work out, you’ve got automated admission to the Los Angeles Rams bandwagon, so long as Matthew Stafford is the quarterback. If you wish to keep grounded and keep in mind what it felt like earlier than the previous couple of years, you may make investments your self in Aaron Glenn’s New York Jets. The Commanders knocked the Lions out of the playoffs final 12 months, however their franchise turnaround has Lions fingerprints on it, with assistant general manager Lance Newmark and senior vice chairman of soccer operations Brandon Sosna, in addition to assistant quarterbacks coach and Lions 2022 “Hard Knocks” star David Blough. Ben Johnson was beloved throughout his time in Detroit, however he doesn’t qualify for this class, for obvious reasons.
2. Endurance: Hopping on this bandwagon isn’t only a short-term repair in your soccer fandom. Detroit’s core is younger, so that you’re set for some time. Jared Goff is 30, however he’s underneath contract for the following few years. Jahmyr Gibbs is 23; Sam LaPorta, Penei Sewell, Kerby Joseph, Jameson Williams and Terion Arnold are all 24; and Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson are 25 years previous.
1. They’re legitimately good: You don’t need to make investments your time in a brand new staff until there’s an actual likelihood for a contented ending. The Lions didn’t look nice in Week 1 they usually is likely to be figuring issues out on offense and protection proper now, however they’re a great soccer staff. The expertise is simple, and Campbell has been there lengthy sufficient to know this staff’s high quality tradition shouldn’t be a fluke.
Not ranked: Homegrown expertise — One of many coolest issues concerning the Lions is that they constructed this factor themselves. Their coach was a participant in Detroit and by no means served as a coordinator earlier than taking the Lions job, which is his first full-time head-coaching gig (he had a stint because the Miami Dolphins’ interim coach). Goff is a transplant, however Arnold, Gibbs, LaPorta, Hutchinson, Williams, Sewell, St. Brown and lots of different key gamers are guys the Lions drafted.
Highway to Santa Clara
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5. Los Angeles Chargers: Misplaced within the particular groups hoopla of this weekend is that the Chargers walked off the Denver Broncos to maneuver to 3-0. Najee Harris’ harm was robust to observe, however that is why they drafted Omarion Hampton within the first spherical in April.
4. Detroit Lions: It was laborious to know who the Lions had been, with the remarks being fairly dangerous after the Week 1 loss and laborious to learn due to the opponent in Week 2’s massive win over the Chicago Bears. Monday night’s performance was a a lot better indicator, particularly when you look previous Baltimore’s garbage-time landing on the finish.
3. Inexperienced Bay Packers: Sunday’s loss to the Browns is the type of loss that doesn’t essentially make you re-evaluate the way you felt about an excellent staff, however it’s one that might chew the Packers late within the season when playoff seeding and tiebreakers are on the desk. Inexperienced Bay’s sport was off even earlier than the late interception and area objective block that led to a collapse, however groups have off video games. The offense now will get the Dallas Cowboys protection that has made the ghost of Russell Wilson and younger Caleb Williams seem like Corridor of Famers in back-to-back weeks. Emotion will probably be an element, in addition to Parsons’ return to Dallas for the first time.
2. Philadelphia Eagles: One factor I’ve realized concerning the Eagles lately is that you would be able to’t decide them on type factors as a result of they usually play to the extent of their competitors. The Bears beat the Cowboys 31-14 on Sunday, but the Eagles sneaked by Dallas 24-20 at dwelling simply two weeks prior. In Week 13 final season, the Eagles had a one-possession win over the Ravens after which had a one-possession win over the Carolina Panthers seven days later. The Eagles don’t all the time look fairly, however they normally get the job accomplished.
1. Buffalo Payments: It was a hard-fought divisional win over the Dolphins on Thursday, giving the Payments further time to arrange for Week 4 in per week they in all probability aren’t overly thrilled with their most up-to-date efficiency. Pray for the New Orleans Saints.
The Payments vs. the Saints is likely to be the largest mismatch within the NFL. (Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Photographs)
Not ranked: Baltimore Ravens — It’s fascinating to suppose that, barring a tie, both the Ravens or the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs will probably be 1-3 after 4 weeks. The Chiefs offense has not been clicking, however Xavier Worthy may very well be returning this week, and Patrick Mahomes remains to be Patrick Mahomes. It feels bizarre to say this concerning the Ravens, however other than limiting Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns, the defense has looked bad. Their Week 1 loss conceded 41 factors on the highway, and Monday evening’s loss gave up 38 factors at dwelling. The Payments and Lions are good groups, however the Ravens can’t make a deep playoff run if the protection doesn’t enhance.
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5. New York Jets: Although everybody marvels on the three area objective blocks in clutch time Sunday, depart it to the Jets to be the one staff from the trio that also loses the sport. We did get an incredible Aaron Glenn dance, which is even better when set to Earth, Wind and Fire. The very fact it occurred on the twenty first of September is the cherry on prime.
4. New York Giants: The benching of Russell Wilson was inevitable, and possibly would have occurred sooner if Wilson didn’t benefit from dealing with an terrible Cowboys protection in Week 2. However by no means concern, I’m certain Brian Daboll will pull Jaxson Dart off the sector randomly for a few performs to place Wilson within the sport handy the ball off to a operating again.
3. Miami Dolphins: Divisional video games can all the time be bizarre, however the Dolphins’ hanging round with the Payments was a greater illustration of what a staff with that type of expertise on the roster ought to resemble. It’s not sufficient to encourage hope for this season, however possibly we are going to re-evaluate their basement based mostly on their subsequent two video games towards the Jets and the Panthers.
2. New Orleans Saints: Talking of rooting for the Lions, Campbell’s final 12 months within the NFL was 2009 in New Orleans. He spent the entire 12 months on injured reserve and didn’t get a Tremendous Bowl ring, however Campbell’s final cease earlier than getting the top spot in Detroit was a five-year run as an assistant on Sean Payton’s workers. It helps that Campbell is as likable a head coach as you’ll discover in at this time’s NFL. Congratulations, Saints followers. You’ve gotten an honorary membership to hop on the Lions bandwagon.
1. Tennessee Titans: It was already a nasty begin to the season when Brian Callahan didn’t know the foundations nicely sufficient to problem a giant play within the Titans’ one shut sport this season. Now, he’s handing off play-calling duties and the entrance workplace is trading away starters. The Titans have the worst level differential within the league. Hearth up the mock drafts.
Not ranked: Dallas Cowboys — For the second straight 12 months, the Cowboys’ Week 2 efficiency made any individual look ok to attract false conclusions and hit pause on inevitable demotions. The Giants weren’t sold on Wilson as the starter after Week 1, however his lighting up the Cowboys protection bought him an extra week earlier than the staff switched to Dart. Final 12 months, it was the Saints’ 44-19 win in Dallas that had some questioning whether or not Klint Kubiak may very well be trending towards a head-coaching job. As a substitute, the Saints misplaced seven consecutive video games afterward and fired their coach. You possibly can even go back to 2023, when Joshua Dobbs led the Arizona Cardinals to a win over Dallas — his first of his NFL profession — solely to be traded away 5 weeks later.
The protection is dangerous, and the offense is getting hammered with accidents. However there’s an actual likelihood Brandon Aubrey could set a new record for longest field goal made, so there may be that going for them.
(High picture of Kerby Joseph celebrating with a Lions fan after beating the Ravens: Greg Fiume / Getty Photographs)
