Rodgers Inspires Steelers as Five Teams Stay Perfect Through NFL Week 3
Aaron Rodgers produced his best performance of the season as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27, one of the standout results from a Week 3 that left five teams unbeaten.
Buffalo, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minnesota and San Francisco all moved to 3-0, while Atlanta, Indianapolis and Washington collected their first wins of the campaign.
Rodgers Rolls Back the Years
Rodgers threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 101.6, a marked improvement on a lifeless offensive display the previous week.
The win also moved him level with Ben Roethlisberger on 165 regular-season victories, the fifth-most by a quarterback in NFL history, achieved in the stadium Roethlisberger called home for 18 seasons.
Kansas City maintained their perfect start in a game that was tight for three quarters. Leading 14-10 entering the fourth, the Chiefs added a field goal before Travis Kelce sealed it with a touchdown.
A Kicker Plays Through Pain
The most unlikely story of the day came in Indianapolis, where the previously winless Colts beat Houston 19-17.
Kicker Spencer Shrader was injured during warm-ups but played through it, making all four of his field goal attempts including a 53-yarder in the closing seconds to win the game.
For Houston it continued a difficult start. The Texans entered the season as AFC contenders on the back of a dominant defensive year, but mistakes from C.J. Stroud and an ineffective running game have left them searching for answers.
The Los Angeles Chargers are also winless at 0-3, and face a punishing stretch with a trip to defending champions Seattle followed by divisional games against Denver and Kansas City.
Around the League
Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught ten passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in Washington, continuing a strong opening month for the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Backup quarterbacks had a productive weekend in the NFC East, with two of them delivering wins.
The week had begun on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, where the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens played the NFL's first game in Brazil at the Maracana. It is one of nine international fixtures the league is staging this season across four continents.
Week 3 concludes on Monday night when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to face the Chicago Bears, a game complicated for the hosts by injuries at quarterback. Caleb Williams is week to week with a hamstring strain and backup Tyson Bagent has been in the concussion protocol.
Buffalo host New England in Week 4, with the Chargers travelling to Seattle and Houston looking for a first win of the season.
Injuries continue to shape the early weeks. Washington are without Jayden Daniels after he dislocated his left elbow against Dallas, with Marcus Mariota starting in his place, and the New York Giants face a lengthy spell without Jaxson Dart, whose knee injury against the Rams may require season-ending surgery.
