Key takeaways and analysis from Week 3 in the NFL

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Flores in his own tier

Don't let quarterback bias distract you from the real story in Minnesota.

The Vikings' offense is doing its part with Sam Darnold under center, to be sure, and Kevin O'Connell's system will always give Minnesota a chance to put points on the board. But this team's ceiling is being lifted by everything that's happening on the other side of the ball.

It was easy enough to shrug off a 28-6 win in the opener - the Giants have trouble scoring no matter the opponent. Frustrating Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers' offense en route to a Week 2 upset was a different story, though. And the encore in a blowout win over the Texans this week marked the best work yet from defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

The stunning 34-7 result marked the Texans' second-lowest scoring effort of the C.J. Stroud era, with the star quarterback managing just 215 passing yards while serving up two interceptions and taking four sacks.

Flores' knack for disguising coverages and dialing up exotic blitz packages is proving to be a nightmare matchup for even the best of opponents. Brock Purdy was highly complimentary of the scheme talking to Flores after last week's game, and Stroud may have had similar feelings.

The Vikings, just like everyone expected, are one of five remaining undefeated teams. While they may not have the kind of star power to match many of their opponents on paper, this kind of coaching will allow them to hang with just about anyone straight through to January.

At that time, we'll start hearing Flores' name right there alongside Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel among the most coveted head coaching candidates around the league. He's setting the standard for the NFL's defensive resurgence.

Andy Dalton?!

Carolina's decision to bench Bryce Young sparked an interesting conversation last week. While the former No. 1 pick surely deserved blame for how his career had begun, it was also fair to wonder whether the state of the Panthers ever gave him much of a chance.

One game later, it no longer seems like there's much to discuss on that front.

Turning to 36-year-old veteran Andy Dalton was somehow all the Panthers needed to look like a completely different team. A 36-22 win over the Raiders, Carolina's highest-scoring output since 2022, saw the Panthers produce more points than Young's last four starts combined.

Dalton's performance wasn't only impressive in relation to his sophomore counterpart, though. He became the first quarterback league-wide to put up 300-plus yards and three-plus touchdowns in a single game this season.

It's possible that the offense comes crashing back down to earth in the coming weeks - Dalton is not going to emerge as a consistently high-level passer at this point in his career. But to see the unit enjoy that much improvement by simply benching its young franchise quarterback in favor of an aging journeyman is staggering.

While the organization was reportedly planning to go back to Young after a few weeks on the bench, it's tough to see how that would be possible if the team is this much better without him. The Panthers shouldn't hesitate to entertain trade offers for Young and get some sort of middling value in return while they still can.

Dalton, believe it or not, provides the best option for laying the foundation of what this program hopes to be under the leadership of Dave Canales. The rest of the team deserves to start out on that journey.

Rams grind one out

Wins don't get much more impressive than that, folks.

Nobody was giving the Rams a chance in Sunday's game against the 49ers, and understandably so. Injuries had absolutely ravaged this roster over the first two weeks, leaving Los Angeles without Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and three starters on the offensive line.

The 49ers had their share of injury issues heading into this matchup, to be fair, but the Rams' bad luck had seemingly threatened to end their season before it could even begin.

To their credit, the Rams had no interest in throwing in the towel. Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams responded every time the 49ers seemed poised to put the game away. The defense came up with a huge fourth-quarter stop after a 10-point comeback, and a clutch punt return from Xavier Smith put the offense in position to win it at the end.

It'll continue to be tough sledding for as long as the Rams are without some of their most important offensive pieces, but this win was a reminder that this team has the depth and coaching to be scrappy while they wait for their stars to return.

Next week's matchup with the Bears provides an opportunity to get back to .500. If the Rams can start getting some of their key players back in the weeks that follow, there's no reason this team can't hit its stride at the right time and make some noise down the stretch.

Quick slants

Nabers already a superstar

The Giants passing on a rare opportunity to draft a quarterback will always be a questionable move. It's hard to be too upset with the decision when you end up with a player like Malik Nabers, though. The No. 6 overall pick was the best playmaker on the field in Sunday's win over the Browns. His pair of scores made him the first receiver in NFL history to start his career with 20-plus receptions and three-plus touchdowns over his first three games. Nabers will be one of the best in the game for a long time.

Willis outplays Levis

Another week, another impressive Packers win. Malik Willis once again played a key role in place of the injured Jordan Love, this time accounting for 275 total yards and two touchdowns against his former team. Going into Tennessee and so thoroughly outplaying Will Levis, the player drafted to replace him after just one year, is the revenge game of all revenge games. Matt LaFleur putting him in a position to succeed, and Willis getting the job done when called upon, has the Packers poised to take off with Love's impending return.

Concern for Cowboys

There's no shame in falling to a desperate (and good) Ravens team, even if it did drop the Cowboys to 1-2. But Mike Zimmer's defense is a major concern. After giving up 190 yards on the ground in a blowout loss to the Saints, Dallas yielded an astounding 274 rushing yards to Baltimore. This group has the playmakers to create turnovers in passing situations, but it won't matter much if opponents can easily keep their offense on schedule with a dominant run game. Something has to change soon.

Refs still at it

A fun afternoon matchup between the Lions and Cardinals could've looked a whole lot different were it not for an inexcusable blunder from the officiating crew. Arizona appeared poised to take a late first-half lead on a wild pick-6 until the play was blown dead for the two-minute warning. The broadcast replay clearly showed that the clock was at 2:01 at the time of the snap. Credit to the Cardinals for hanging tough and keeping it close, but this was yet another game-changing error from the officials.

Richardson struggles

It's been a rough two weeks for Anthony Richardson after a highlight-reel opener. The Colts quarterback was especially bad in Sunday's win over the Bears, with strange misses and poor decisions culminating in a 10-for-20 day with 167 yards and two interceptions. Don't panic just yet, though: Richardson's path to stardom was always going to look a lot like Josh Allen's. Maybe it doesn't work in the end, but the flashes of brilliance still hint at unicorn-type upside. Patience is key here.

Some things never change

Allow the Raiders to provide your latest reminder about overreacting to early-season results. An upset win last week in Baltimore was certainly a fun story, and it seemed possible that the offense was turning a corner. But nobody who's paid any attention to this team over the last two decades took it as a surefire sign of progress. Following that up with an embarrassing home loss to the Panthers, of all teams, is peak Raiders football. It's tough to be surprised by the letdown game, and that's kind of the problem.

Jennings rises to occasion

The 49ers may not have come away with the victory against the Rams, but it wasn't because no one could step up for their injured playmakers. Jauan Jennings was spectacular as the second option in San Francisco's passing game, racking up 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. He'll slide back into a low-volume, third-down specialist role when Deebo Samuel and George Kittle get healthy, but this kind of depth is huge for a beat-up 49ers offense.

Tucker passing the torch

Justin Tucker has now missed a field goal in each of the first three games. He may be on the downswing of his career after a pair of seasons in which his conversion rate fell well below his lofty career averages. If you're wondering who might take his place as the league's undisputed top kicker, all you had to do was look across the field Sunday afternoon in Dallas. Brandon Aubrey has built upon a sensational debut season with a perfect start in 2024, including a 65-yarder against the Ravens. The ease with which he connects from distance is oddly reminiscent of Tucker in his prime.

Stat of the week