Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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SALT LAKE CITY -- Week 3 in the NFL saw exciting games and some spectacular performances. Ryan Fitzpatrick staked his claim in the MVP discussion after the Bills beat the Patriots, which is still weird to write. The Raiders took down the Jets. Other big comebacks included the Saints beating the Texans and the Lions stunning the Vikings.
If week 4 can continue the madness that week 3 brought then keep the dvrs rolling. Here is a look at the top storylines for this weekend.
5. Winless in St. Louis, and other places. Rams, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings and Colts are all looking for their first win of the season and have all looked abysmal. The Chiefs and Vikings play this week after the Chiefs lost to the Chargers and the Vikings gave up a 20-point lead to Detroit. By rule one of these teams has to not lose, 3-3 tie possible, and may lose the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. The NFL draft is in April, but every week is important for these teams looking to change their future. Who can lose the most very well could have the most to gain. he Rams might get back All-pro Steven Jackson against the Redskins, they are the best looking so far and the one that would have the least improvement with Luck.
4. Don't tell anyone, but the Packers are still undefeated. Has there ever been a quieter championship team that is undefeated after three weeks. It is still early, but the story is the underdog Lions and Bills. These teams may be the darlings, but the Packers are looking at a sub par Denver team at Lambeau Field to stretch to 4-0.
3. Can offenses keep up the blistering pace? There are currently five quarterbacks that will break Dan Marino's single season passing record if they keep pace. Five quarterbacks, including Tom Brady who would break it in week 13 or so, could go over 5,000 yards this season. The least of the quarterbacks, Matt Stafford would only break the record by 200 yards or so. The other quarterbacks are Cam Newton, Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees. At this point the record books could just be changed to the 2011 season stat book and make it a lot easier for statisticians. There are four others that are averaging over 300 yards per games.
2. Non-division games create interesting scenarios. This is the second week of the "lockout weeks" where there is no division games scheduled. This could mean that divisions could be closer than ever. If a handful of games work out right there could be up to seven divisions with more than one team in first place for the division. The lone team that is favored would be the Bills over the Bengals to keep them a game in front of the AFC East. The Lions and Packers should both win to keep the NFC North tied with two 4-0 teams. The NFC East and AFC North could have three tied atop after four weeks.
1. New division leaders across the NFL. There is only one team that won their division last year that is in first place in their division and that is the Steelers who are in a three way tie, but are counted as third with a loss in the division. The NFC North, AFC West and South can't get their division leaders from last year back on top this week. Every other division will need a win and a loss just to tie for their last year lead. In a league lauded for its parity this year isn't going to disappoint.
