With Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season done and over with, it's time for some knee-jerk reactions to some of the games before heading into the next slate of games!
As a reminder to all, knee-jerk reactions are how I reacted to certain games almost immediately after they ended. These are not meant to be taken as predictions, hot takes, or any variations of the sort.
Now, let's go over some of the biggest knee-jerk reactions following Week 3!
Browns' No. 1 defence
The Cleveland Browns, despite being 1-2, undoubtedly deserve the respect they've earned at this point - specifically, their defence. Heading into Week 4, Cleveland's defence has allowed a league-best 204.3 yards per game.
No other defence in the league has allowed, on average, less than 225.0.
They have the fourth-ranked pass defence (147.0 ypg) and top-ranked run defence (57.3 ypg). And the only reason they rank 18th in points per game allowed is because they had a run-in with the No. 1 scoring offence (Baltimore Ravens).
Even so, they completely shut down a Green Bay Packers team that was starting to look like Super Bowl contenders - holding them to just 230 total yards, recording seven QB hits and five sacks.
Entering Week 4, they are tied for the second-most sacks (11) and the fourth-most quarterback hits (19). If they find a way to get their 18th-ranked offence together, the Browns can shock some people this season.
It's worth noting that when the Browns had the No. 1 defence in 2023, they finished the season 11-6 with the No. 13 offence
Ravens are a joke
When will the Baltimore Ravens stop being the butt of everyone's jokes at this point? How come everyone from their couches knows what's wrong with this team down to defensive formations and what they need to do, but the team itself doesn't?
The Ravens recorded 20 missed tackles while their offense gave up seven sacks and 30 quarterback pressures. I'll say that again - 30 quarterback pressures in one game! This goes beyond terrible players being terrible players. They had zero preparation.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is falling in love with stupid playcalling (rollout pass with Lamar Jackson on the goal line, Derrick Henry throwing a pass) again and again, while head coach John Harbaugh clearly does not have this team prepared for games whatsoever.
Kicker Tyler Loop got yet another penalty on a kickoff. Defensive coordinator Zachary Orr and his conservative zone schemes. Stupid turnovers. Dumb playcalling. All while Lamar Jackson is doing everything he can to give this team a chance to win.
And what's even more embarrassing about this team is that one of their All-Pro veterans in cornerback Marlon Humphrey won't look up at the cameras after a game but won't hesitate to post podcast nonsense to social media the night of.
This team has no defensive leader. They have no drive. Their pass rush is non-existent. They made two Lions guards who were heading into this game with terrible grades look like Zack Martin and Marshal Yanda.
Baltimore is long gone from the days of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, and Haloti Ngata. And as bad as the Kansas City Chiefs have been this year, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest that quarterback Patrick Mahomes puts up 350 yards and at least three touchdowns come Sunday and Baltimore falls to 1-3.
Carson Wentz over J.J. McCarthy?
Are we about to enter another Sam Darnold situation with the Minnesota Vikings? Starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy missed Sunday's game and backup quarterback Carson Wentz just so happened to lead them to one of the biggest blowouts of the season.
Minnesota hadn't eclipsed 260 total yards of offence. Then, with Wentz under center, they put up 352 against the Cincinnati Bengals. "But it's the Bengals' defence." Well, McCarthy couldn't do anything against an Atlanta Falcons defence in Week 2, and they just got throttled by the Carolina Panthers 30-0.
So do we have a Sam Darnold 2.0 situation on our hands again in November? It's a tough call for head coach Kevin O'Connell when the time comes. He has to decide to show McCarthy this team is his or that Wentz is the hot hand and he deserves another start.
In a tough NFC North division that'll come down to the wire, wins and losses hold a lot more weight. A single loss from here out can be the difference between a division title and missing the playoffs.
AFC - Conference of mediocrity
Through the first three weeks of the 2025 NFL season, the AFC has not only shown to be the weaker conference - but it's drastically less entertaining.
Only three of the top 10 scoring offences are in the AFC and one of them - the Ravens - have the worst defence in all of football along with a 1-2 record following their embarrassment against the Lions.
They have six teams with a winning record compared to the NFC's 10. Another six teams don't have a single win within the AFC, while the NFC has just three teams that don't have a conference win. And, to top it all off, the AFC is 3-9 against the NFC to start the season.
The top three teams are the Buffalo Bills, a battered Los Angeles Chargers team, and an Indianapolis Colts team that is somehow, someway defying all the odds.
So pardon me if I have little belief after three weeks in any AFC team hoisting the Lombardi come February, with the Buffalo Bills possibly being the only stable bit of hope.
