England's victory over Tonga was the sort of performance you would expect to see in the first game of the warm-ups, rather than the first game of the tournament itself.
Over the past couple of years Tonga have lost by 85 points to New Zealand, by 50 points to Wales, by 34 points to Japan. They are ranked 15th in the world and their players rarely get the time together that England are afforded.
I wasn't expecting to see England win by 100, but I thought they would create more clear-cut opportunities.
Tonga are big and imposing physically but I expected England to systematically pick them apart - to maul, pick and go through the middle, gradually tire them out, before going wide and ripping them apart with the pace of Anthony Watson, Jonny May and Elliot Daly.
Instead it took them nearly 60 minutes to get out of sight and they were often reliant on moments of individual magic from the likes of Watson and Jonathan Joseph to expose their weaknesses.
England, playing their own game and what is in front of them, should be good enough to beat Tonga all day, every day.
Instead they changed the way they play to accommodate Tonga. Early on especially they kicked away good balls and over-complicated their play with set moves. It was summed up by how England attempted to receive kick-off after their first try.
I think Maro Itoje's team-mates were trying to extend the maul back into the England 22m to make the clearing kick easier for George Ford or Owen Farrell. Instead they got offside and gave away a penalty and a route straight back on to the scoreboard for Tonga.
In his post-match interview Farrell talked of how England attempted to deny Tonga targets for their trademark one-on-one hits.
It was completely unnecessary. When England focus on their own game they are scintillating and very difficult to beat. They are good enough to focus on what they are going to bring to the match rather than the opposition.
It is not news that England have struggled to change their strategy mid-game in the past. Why start doing so before the first whistle?
If they play their own way and have a couple of strategies up their sleeve to adapt to what the opposition are doing if they need to, they will maximise their chances.
They can't afford to have another performance like that, because you then start to mend things in training, rather than moving forward positively towards the next iteration of how you want your team to play.
Super Maro
For all the rustiness collectively and tactically, I think there were plenty of good individual performances.
Second row Itoje gave away a couple of penalties but I thought he showed his ability as a true enforcer.
He won four turnovers - more than any other England player - and disrupted the Tonga line-out. When he wants to alter how a game is going, he can do so in so many ways.
Centre Manu Tuilagi will take the headlines with his two tries. His bludgeoning power was in full evidence for his first score as he powered over from close range, but he also showed his canny game intelligence with the supporting line for his second.
Watson's feet were electric and I thought Daly looked sharper than he has, with more threat with ball in hand.
The Tom Curry-Sam Underhill axis in the back row had an effect at the breakdown, slowing up Tonga's ball and threatening turnovers. Lewis Ludlam, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jonathan Joseph all did well off the bench.
Ireland have been the most surprising of the home nations so far. I did not expect them to dispatch Scotland so convincingly, but they made Gregor Townsend's side look very, very average.
That is a very good sign for them going forward.
United States of whoever
England have a four-day turnaround before they play a fresh United States side, 1,000km away from Sunday's game, in Kobe.
That makes it tough for head coach Eddie Jones. We have all been second-guessing him since he got the job, but I would like to see more of a second team against on Thursday with firepower to come off the bench.
Although the line-up against Tonga looked close to it, I don't think his first-choice XV is cut and dried just yet.
I imagine Joe Cokanasiga may get a chance to show what he can do on the wing. Mark Wilson's inclusion may change the back row balance. George Kruis may get a chance to show what he can do as a second-row starter.
It will be a great chance for those on the fringes to put their hands up and say they are not here for the ride, they want to be playing against Argentina.
Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Mike Henson
Scotland flanker Hamish Watson has been ruled out of the rest of the Rugby World Cup because of a knee injury suffered in Sunday's defeat by Ireland.
The 27-year-old back-row will be replaced in the squad by Edinburgh club-mate Magnus Bradbury.
Watson fell awkwardly after being cleared from a ruck and left the field on a stretcher just before half-time.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: "We feel for Hamish, who had worked so hard for this opportunity."
A scan after the game confirmed the damage to the knee was significant enough to mean Watson will play no further part in the tournament.
"While there is a high probability of picking up injuries during a World Cup, it's always disappointing to see someone having to head home," Townsend added.
Bradbury is already in Japan, having travelled as precautionary injury cover for Jamie Ritchie, who missed the opening game with a facial injury suffered in the final warm-up match against Georgia.
Ritchie is expected to be fit to face Samoa in Scotland's second group game next Monday (11:15 BST).
Analysis
BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English
Having missed the entire Six Nations this year with a broken hand, Watson is now out of the World Cup after less than 40 minutes of action. To call it a devastation is to put it mildly.
Watson's appearance on the international scene came a fraction too late for inclusion in Vern Cotter's squad four years ago. Now he's gone early in Japan.
The brutal nature of rugby means there's no guarantee that Watson will still be in his pomp in four years' time in France. He'll be 31 going on 32 then with a lot more miles on the clock.
It's a cruel injustice on a terrific player, the kind of uncompromising character that Townsend desperately needs in the wake of such an awful night against Ireland in Yokohama.
The flanker brings aggression with ball in hand and scavenging qualities at the breakdown. Scotland are crying out for more of him, not less of him. He's one of the best open-side flankers around and was going to be critical in the difficult weeks ahead.
Finn Russell is the most irreplaceable player in this Scotland squad, but Watson is probably second on that list. Townsend doesn't have anyone else like him. For player and coach, this is a calamity.
Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster says Manchester City are in such rampaging form that it will not be long before Pep Guardiola's side pump in 10 goals against a team in the same match.
Foster was on the receiving end of City's record top-flight scoreline at the Etihad Stadium, as the hosts racked up an 8-0 victory over Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.
Beaten five times after just 18 minutes, Foster feared the worst was yet to come as City looked to rebound from a shock defeat by Norwich City in their previous league match.
"To get in at 5-0 at half-time I was over the moon," Foster told British media. "As a goalie, coming here in the first place it's almost an achievement to keep it at one or two goals. At times, if they're on it, they are incredible.
"They will do it to somebody, there will be a nine or 10 out there soon.
"They were scary at times. It was just relentless. You could see them opening us up and the chances developing in front of your eyes. It was absolutely no fun. In all honesty, it could have been double digits."
Guardiola's City have now scored 24 goals in six league matches this season, seven more than leaders Liverpool and 20 more than basement side Watford.
Lucas Rodriguez and Frederic Brillant scored goals as D.C. United improved their playoff standing in the Eastern Conference of the MLS with a 2-0 victory against the visiting Seattle Sounders on Sunday night.
United goalkeeper Bill Hamid made four saves in posting his career-high 11th shutout of the season.
D.C. (13-10-9, 48 points), which clinched a playoff berth Saturday when Chicago, Montreal and Orlando all dropped points on the road, moved from sixth place into fourth in the East with the victory.
Seattle (14-10-8, 50 points) remained in second place in the tightly packed Western Conference but has yet to clinch a playoff berth with two games remaining in the regular season. The Sounders, in their 11th year of existence, have never failed to make the postseason.
Rodriguez opened the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 14th minute. A cross from the right wing was deflected by a Seattle defender and came to Rodriguez just inside the top of the 18-yard box. He chested the ball to his feet, deked one defender and rolled the ball just inside the left post past diving Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Brillant made it 2-0 in the 54th minute off a free kick from Wayne Rooney. The low free kick from just outside the 18-yard box on the left wing made it through a maze of legs to Brillant, who redirected the ball into the net from about two yards out.
Rooney, the longtime English star who has announced he's returning to his homeland at the end of this season, nearly scored twice in the first half, but put the ball off the crossbar both times.
The Sounders played without their captain, playmaking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro, who didn't make the trip to D.C. because of a lower-back injury suffered in Wednesday's 0-0 draw at home against FC Dallas.
In addition, defender Xavier Arreaga was suspended for Sunday's match after receiving two yellow cards against Dallas.
So how are people feeling about VAR? Also, Liverpool keep winning, Tottenham look exhausted, and Man City showed less than zero mercy in their first league game since defeat at Norwich. Buckle up: It's Nick Miller's Weekend Review.
We've already reached the point in the 2019-20 season when VAR is not enforcing the rules but effectively changing them -- or at least distorting their intent. The purpose of offside, for example, is to ensure that the attacker does not gain a disproportionate advantage, but what advantage did Son Heung-min gain by his armpit being an inch beyond the last defender for Tottenham's disallowed goal in Saturday's defeat at Leicester?
That's a slightly broader philosophical point, perhaps: You could argue that offside is binary, and you're either offside or not, whether it's by 10 yards or one inch. But you then have to be pretty certain that you can judge that inch accurately, and the reality is you can't. Without wishing to get bogged down in the minutiae, the frame rates of the cameras mean you can't absolutely determine where the key points of the incident -- when the pass is struck, precisely where the "offside" player is -- occur, so these marginal decisions can't be judged accurately.
In effect, it means the absolutes don't exist.
VAR can and does work well, for the most part. In the same game, Ayoze Perez was clearly offside for a disallowed Leicester goal, and it was efficiently ruled out. But games are being decided on the barest of margins when the technology isn't reliable enough to definitively judge how bare those margins are.
That's just this week's argument against VAR and its implementation. Next week, there will be another and another after that. VAR was brought in to reduce the uncertainty in officiating, but as things stand, it's increasing it.
Are Tottenham drifting out of relevance?
Mauricio Pochettino didn't blame VAR for Tottenham's defeat against Leicester. It's partly because he knows that managers have been calling for it to be introduced for years, which means they'd look pretty silly complaining now that it's here, but it might also have been because he knows it would just look like a distraction from his team's problems.
This was the third time in the past four games that Spurs surrendered a lead, and it was another away game without a victory. They haven't won a Premier League match on the road since beating Fulham in January.
This seems like a Spurs team drifting. There was a hint of further discontent on Friday, with the manager's curious declaration that he wasn't sure whether the squad was better this season than last, despite new additions. There's a concerning softness to them, and only the problems faced by the other top-four contenders might prevent you from writing them off as potential Champions League candidates this season.
Is this another wasted year for Manchester United?
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Are Solskjaer's days numbered at Man United?
After a 2-0 defeat against West Ham, the ESPN FC crew wonder how long Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will remain at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford's penalty against Paris Saint-Germain in March might turn out to be the most glorious moment that United fans wish never happened. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent appointment was confirmed a few weeks later, with league results already on the turn, but would the United hierarchy have been so quick to give him the job had they been out of Europe? They should have waited until the summer to make the decision anyway, but without the Champions League and the afterglow of that night in Paris, would they have been more likely to hold fire?
You felt sorry for Solskjaer watching his postmatch media appearances on Sunday, as he tried to explain the 2-0 loss at West Ham. He looks like a beaten man, scrambling to find answers to questions that he knows he can't and struggling to maintain his usually relentless positivity.
Ultimately, the West Ham defeat was down to the deficiencies in the squad, but at least if there was someone with more managerial nous than Solskjaer, someone you could be confident will still be there in two years, you might think this was the dark before the dawn. Instead, this feels like yet more wasted time for a club that have been drifting for six years.
They won, but are Arsenal progressing under Emery?
Sunday saw a victory for Arsenal but one that potentially raises more questions. Such as how they can have so little control of a game against a newly promoted team, and how they can defend so abysmally as to concede the two goals they did against Aston Villa?
These are still early days in the season, and they will be delighted if they are still fourth in May, but there's still the nagging sense that this team just isn't progressing under Unai Emery.
Success at both ends for Leicester
James Maddison got the headlines for Leicester's win over Spurs, and rightly so, but a word for a couple of other players, old and new(ish). Jamie Vardy is 33 in January but still plays like a 23-year-old, and Brendan Rodgers wasn't being entirely disingenuous when he said he wouldn't swap his striker for Harry Kane.
At the back, Caglar Soyuncu was terrific again, showing that Leicester really aren't missing Harry Maguire much. It's a victory for planning ahead in transfer strategies after they bought him last summer in anticipation that they would need a replacement centre-back at some stage, a move that is now bearing fruit.
Liverpool find another way to win
The idea that a team winning while playing badly is "champion material" is an old cliche, which in any case might be harsh to apply to Liverpool after this weekend. But what could be encouraging is their winning games in various ways: The success at Chelsea was not one of great style but one achieved through substance, as they grinded out a 2-1 victory to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
They've won 15 league games in a row stretching to March, and it's just as well, really. Despite City's recent slips, Liverpool know they'll have to be more or less perfect to topple their rivals this season.
Signs of progress in defeat for Chelsea
Chelsea might have lost to Liverpool, but they aren't the first and won't be the last. In any case, there are plenty of positives Frank Lampard can take for his youthful, patchwork side. One was the performance of Fikayo Tomori, who was terrific in defence and showed that, like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have already, he's another Chelsea youth product who belongs in the first team.
Chelsea still haven't won at home this season, and conceding another two goals is clearly a concern, but their second-half performance in particular, in which they pinned Liverpool back for long spells, indicated that there is hope ahead.
Luckiest moment of the weekend
There were a few concerning moments for Liverpool's defence, but the starkest was in the closing stages, when substitute Michy Batshuayi was allowed as much space as he wanted to head in an equaliser for Chelsea ... but he didn't, and Liverpool got away with it. They might not be so lucky another weekend.
Player of the weekend
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'It could've been 15-0' for Man City
Alejandro Moreno says Manchester City could have scored far more in their 8-0 win vs. Watford, and he wanted to see them do it.
The current record holder for assists in a Premier League season is Thierry Henry, who got 20 in 2002-03. Kevin de Bruyne is currently on seven in six games, and his first against Watford on Saturday was so good that it should probably have been worth two or three.
It's still September, but we're almost certainly witnessing one of the greatest individual seasons of all time from the Belgian.
It's better to be proactive than passive against City
Manchester City are so good that Watford could easily write that defeat off before the match, but they were pathetic at the Etihad, and it started from the moment the teams were named.
Managers might think that trying to attack City is suicide, but there is a middle ground: Quique Sanchez Flores named a side without a striker, and Tom Cleverley was their second-most attacking player. Their entire approach to the game was embarrassingly passive, and when you concede after 52 seconds to a team that good, it's impossible to alter that mindset.
Hopefully the contrast in approach by City's last two opponents -- Norwich's proactive win and Watford's humiliation -- will persuade opposition managers not to start games against them in such spineless fashion. Because if you set out to contain and get battered 8-0 anyway, you might as well play the game like there are two teams out there, rather than one and a set of training cones.
One in the eye for statistics
Sheffield United's 2-0 win over Everton at the weekend was further evidence that statistics should be used very carefully indeed. Chris Wilder called it their worst performance of the season, but they won 2-0, despite having 30% of possession and two shots, of which only one was on target. Weird old game, sometimes.
Madhav Apte, the former India Test opener, died in Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Monday, aged 86. When alive, he was the fourth-oldest living Indian Test cricketer.
In his seven Tests for India in 1952-53, Apte averaged 49.27, the highlight being a match-saving, unbeaten 163 against West Indies in Port of Spain. Five of his seven Tests were played on that tour of the Caribbean, where it seemed he was the next big thing in Indian cricket, averaging over 50 and finishing second on the runs charts for India.
But he never played for India again.
Shishir Hattangadi, the prolific Mumbai run-getter from the 1980s and early 1990s, confirmed the news of Apte's death and paid tribute to his senior.
"I hadn't met him for a couple of months, he hadn't been keeping well," Hattangadi told ESPNcricinfo. "There were age-related complications. I was told that he suffered a cardiac arrest this morning. The memories are of a lovely human being, he embraced sports romantics, a lovely man to spend time with.
"He would tell you stories of people and events you have only heard of. But he rarely spoke about his own career. Very dignified, he didn't want to talk about it. He was a senior that you respected, someone you could spend a lot of time with. A very simple man. A great loss, but he lived his life well."
In all, Apte's first-class career ran 17 years, from 1951-52 to 1967-68. He scored a first-class ton on debut for Mumbai in 1952, and promptly went on to make his Test debut as a 20-year-old during Pakistan's tour of India later that year. Next up was the tour of the Caribbean.
Against a West Indies attack that included Sonny Ramadhin, Alf Valentine and Frank King, Apte struck 64 and 52 in the first Test, 64 again in the second, and followed that up with that unbeaten second-innings 163 in the third Test to secure a draw for India and average 51.11 for the series.
Following the tour of the West Indies, India had no Tests scheduled in 1954. He was part of the Silver Jubilee Commonwealth XI match in 1954, playing for India against West Indies to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the BCCI. But he wasn't at his best by the time India's next Test assignment came about, and was overlooked.
Apte, whose younger brother Arvind also played a Test in 1959, had begun his career as a legbreak bowler before intervention from the great Vinoo Mankad - his coach at college - turned him into an opening batsman. Apte later confessed that he learnt the art of batting by observing Vijay Merchant bat in the nets every morning in Mumbai. It was Merchant's subsequent injury in 1952 that handed Apte a first-class debut for Mumbai.
After his first-class retirement, Apte moved to Malaysia on work but continued to turn out in the Kanga League in Mumbai, representing the club side Jolly Cricketers. He played over 50 seasons of the Kanga League, last featuring in a game at the age of 70. Between 1948 and 2002, Apte made more than 5000 runs in the Kanga League.
In 1989, Apte became the president of Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, one of the oldest clubs for the sport in the country. He was also instrumental in bringing a 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar into the CCI side. Recalling what he thought of Tendulkar's talent back then, Apte once said: "One sees a hell of a lot of talent at the age of 14, 16, and so on. Not all of that talent really matures because the future, no one can predict. [But] at that time, my comment in the dressing room was, 'If this boy keeps his head on his shoulders, he will play for India sooner than later.' But even the lord almighty could not have seen that he would go on to get hundred hundreds and so on."
SEATTLE -- A regretful Pete Carroll admitted he had a bad day at the office on Sunday, a reference to some coaching miscues he made in the Seattle Seahawks' 33-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Also part of Carroll's bad day: The nose injury he suffered after taking an errant football to the face before the game.
As miffed as he was about all the mistakes that caused the Seahawks (2-1) to drop a home game against the Drew Brees-less Saints, Carroll maintained a sense of humor about his injury. Blood was still visible under the clear bandages on the bridge of his nose as he joked about it postgame.
"It would have been a really good story that I had head-butted Bobby [Wagner] in the pregame, getting fired up in the locker room, but I heard that they captured it on film," Carroll said. "I got smacked in the nose with the football. The last play of warm-ups. I didn't see it coming."
Replays showed Carroll unknowingly running right into the path of a ball that rookie linebacker Cody Barton had tossed from a short distance to an assistant coach as the Seahawks made their way back to the locker room.
Asked if his nose was broken, Carroll replied: "It's been broken many times."
The Seahawks entered Sunday with a 15-0 record in September home games since Carroll took over in 2010. That streak ended amid a flurry of Seattle mistakes, starting with a short punt by Michael Dickson in the first quarter that Deonte Harris returned 53 yards for a touchdown.
The Saints scored their next touchdown when Vonn Bell returned Chris Carson's third fumble in as many games for a touchdown. Seattle committed seven penalties for 53 yards, including an illegal formation on a missed Saints field goal to extend a drive that resulted in a 1-yard Michael Thomas touchdown catch from Teddy Bridgewater.
"This was an unusual game," Carroll said. "So many things happened in this game that just hurt ourselves. Even the coach got hurt in this one. We made mistakes, errors, the big plays, the returns, the mistake in the kicking game that gives them a chance for another touchdown -- it's like a turnover. We just had a really hard time getting out of our own way.
"Sometimes the game goes like that and you just can't get out of our own way, you make the mistakes that caused the problems, and you try to recover. We just didn't get it done. I had a particularly bad day. There were too many chances I had to make some things happen, and I tried too hard at times."
Carroll regretted his decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 41 with 2:37 left in the first half. The Saints stuffed a Carson run and scored seven plays later on a 29-yard touchdown catch by Alvin Kamara, who broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.
"I thought right at the end of the first half, I didn't do that well, and I wished we would have kicked the ball and made them go the long way and not give them a chance to score, which they did," Carroll said. "So they took advantage of the opportunities in a really winning way. [Sean Payton's] guys played really good to get that done."
The Seahawks were 1-of-4 on fourth down.
"I could have changed the situation on fourth down some," Carroll said. "I could have kicked the ball and done a couple more conservative things that I like to do often, but I felt pretty good about how we were playing D. I tried too hard. It was one of those deals."
The Seahawks had a chance to score right before halftime when Russell Wilson connected with DK Metcalf for a 54-yard gain to the Saints' 16. But they couldn't call one of their two timeouts before time expired. Carroll wanted a do-over on letting the clock run after the completion that preceded Metcalf's catch.
"If we knew that was going to happen, I would have called timeout earlier," he said. "But it didn't work. That was just kind of how things went. It was one of those days."
Another decision that Carroll wanted back: Kicking an extra point after Wilson's touchdown run with 2:55 left. That cut New Orleans' lead to 33-21, whereas a successful two-point try would have put the Seahawks in position to tie the game with another touchdown, another two-point conversion and a field goal.
"We didn't do that right, either," Carroll said. "We didn't do that right."
Wilson finished 32-of-50 for 406 yards, two passing touchdowns, two rushing scores and no interceptions. Tyler Lockett, who caught Wilson's first touchdown, set a new career high with 11 catches for 154 yards.
The Seahawks will play at the Arizona Cardinals (0-2-1) next Sunday.
"There were just so many ways in this game for it to be different," Carroll said. "It's just unfortunate. It's very frustrating. But this is one game. Maybe this is the one game that we learn from and we grow from and we can put this one behind us, and we can turn things in the right direction and not let this happen. It's particularly hard to do this in front of our own fans at home."
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens admitted that it was a "bad call" to try a draw play on fourth-and-9 during Sunday night's 20-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Browns had the ball at the Rams' 40-yard line in the fourth quarter, with a chance to take the lead. But instead of trying to get the first down with a Baker Mayfield pass, Kitchens called a draw to Nick Chubb, who was stuffed for a 2-yard gain.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, no NFL team had attempted a draw on fourth-and-9 or more since at least 2007, when ESPN began tracking such calls.
"It just didn't work. It was a bad call," said Kitchens, who is Cleveland's offensive playcaller. "We're trying to win the game and we're on their side of the field. Bad call."
With solid field position, the Rams drove down to kick a field goal and extend their lead.
Mayfield was also asked about the playcall, as well, but blamed execution for coming up short.
"I know what you guys are gonna try and do is talk about the playcalling," Mayfield said. "But you know what, that's why I said execution's the most important thing. Whatever we have called, we have to do our job."
The Browns still had a chance to send the game to overtime late, with Mayfield driving the offense to the Rams 4-yard line with 43 seconds remaining. But after three incompletions, Mayfield's desperation heave was picked off in the end zone, sealing the victory for Los Angeles.
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Mayfield throws INT with game on the line
Baker Mayfield is flushed out of the pocket and picked off by John Johnson III as the Browns fall to the Rams.
Considering the Browns still had all three timeouts, Kitchens was asked why he didn't try to run the ball with Chubb then.
"I should've run it one time," Kitchens confessed. "I should've -- that's why I'm kicking myself in the ass for it right now."
Kitchens, who took over as Cleveland's interim offensive coordinator midway through last season as the Browns surged down the stretch, went on to take responsibility for Sunday's loss, which dropped the Browns to 1-2 on the season.
"I gotta do a better job during the course of the week, putting these guys in better situations and then on game day," he said. "So, if you're looking to blame somebody, blame me. Don't blame any of our players; don't blame any of our other coaches -- just blame me, because I can take it.
"Go write your article and say I messed the game up. Go write your article and say it's my fault things [are] not looking like it did last year. Because it is."
Statistics: 19-for-26 with 261 yards passing, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, Total QBR 85.6
Performance in two words: Season-saving. Had Kyle Allen not come through for the injured Cam Newton (foot) and the Panthers fallen to 0-3, this team might have self-destructed. For sure, there would have been rumblings about the job security of coach Ron Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney. Now the only rumblings will be about whether the Panthers should stick with Allen as long as he's on a hot streak because the offense clicked on practically all cylinders with him spreading the ball around. It hasn't with Newton. -- David Newton
Statistics: 19-for-27 with 177 yards passing, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, Total QBR 65.6
Performance in two words: Long overdue. Bridgewater delivered in his first "meaningful start" since the 2015 season -- and admitted that he was filled with emotions pregame. He didn't light up the stat sheet, but he was savvy enough to get the ball to Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas while avoiding sacks and turnovers in one of the NFL's toughest road venues. His poise was exactly what the Saints expected when they made him the NFL's highest-paid backup quarterback. -- Mike Triplett
Statistics: 12-for-22 with 98 yards passing, 0 TDs, 1 INT, Total QBR 13.4
Performance in two words: No chance. Falk was overwhelmed in his first NFL start, orchestrating two drives that crossed midfield. Facing one of the top defenses in the league, Falk was under heavy pressure (five sacks), some of it due to his inability to read defenses. Patriots coach Bill Belichick toyed with the 24-year-old quarterback, confusing him with pass coverages you can bet he didn't see in the Pac-12. Falk didn't see the field well and completed seven passes to his wide receivers. It could be one-and-done for him, as Sam Darnold (mono) is hoping to return after the Week 4 bye. -- Rich Cimini
Statistics: 23-for-36 with 336 yards and 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 4 carries for 28 yards, 2 TDs, Total QBR 88.0
Performance in two words: Absolutely incredible. In his first career start, Jones became the second player (joining Eric Hipple) since the 1970 merger to record two rushing TDs and two passing TDs, according to Elias. Giants co-owner Steve Tisch described it as a "new chapter." It included an 18-point comeback and a game-winning touchdown scamper with less than two minutes remaining on a fourth-down prayer. Jones made coach Pat Shurmur look smart in his belief that the rookie was the better quarterback for the Giants right now when deciding to start Jones over Eli Manning. -- Jordan Raanan
Statistics:14-for-27 with 174 yards passing, 2 TDs, 1 INTs, Total QBR 18.9
Performance in two words: Too conservative. Rudolph didn't uncork a long pass until the second half. In the first half, seven of his eight completions were caught at or behind the line of scrimmage. But when he went vertical in the second half -- including touchdown throws of 76 and 39 yards -- the offense picked up. Rudolph made a couple of young quarterback mistakes, including taking a few sacks and throwing a bad interception, but the biggest mistake was on the coaching staff for not dialing up plays that fit his skill set until it was too late. -- Brooke Pryor
Statistics: 18-for-39 with 200 yards passing, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, Total QBR 52.7
Describe his performance in two words: Initial spark. Rosen brought more aggression to the Dolphins' offense than it had the first two weeks with Ryan Fitzpatrick, including a 40-yard reception to DeVante Parker and a 25-yarder to Preston Williams. Rosen flashed some solid pocket presence and looked to be on the way to a strong day when he led four first-half drives deep into Cowboys territory. But drops and an untimely turnover got the Dolphins a total of six points. In the second half, Rosen took a step back, throwing for 46 yards and failing to get any rhythm going. -- Cam Wolfe
The Bills, Pats, Chiefs, Packers and Cowboys all sailed to 3-0 while the Lions also remained undefeated at 2-0-1. In big Week 3 wins, the Vikings' run game dominated Oakland, while Jacksonville was forced to rely on its passing game. And Daniel Jones debuted in a big way.
All that and more in Week 3's biggest takeaways from NFL Nation.
The Rams escaped Cleveland with a victory despite an uneven performance by the offense. The Rams up-and-down night included two touchdown passes and two intercepted passes from quarterback Jared Goff. The defense maintained pressure on Baker Mayfield and sacked the Browns quarterback three times. The Rams return to Los Angeles 3-0, but must find solutions for their first-half offensive woes before they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. -- Lindsey Thiry
Next game: vs. Tampa Bay (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Cleveland had an opportunity for a statement victory against the defending NFC champions. Instead, questionable play-calling in the fourth quarter and the inability to punch the ball in for a touchdown in the final seconds dropped the Browns to 1-2. Coach Freddie Kitchens' decision to call a draw on fourth-and-9, and then to follow that up by not calling a single running play from the Rams' 4-yard line in the final minute, will surely be debated in the coming days. The bigger question for the Browns, though, is whether they can tread water as they work through their struggles offensively. The schedule doesn't get any easier, with a trip to the Baltimore Ravens up next. But as QB Baker Mayfield said, starting 1-2 is no reason to hit the panic button. That's of course assuming the Browns can hover around .500 until the schedule softens down the back half of the season. -- Jake Trotter
Next game:at Baltimore (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and Darrel Williams showed the Chiefs' quality offensive depth. The Chiefs can thrive in the passing game when the injured Tyreek Hill is out of the lineup, as evidenced by Hardman and Robinson each scoring a touchdown. And Williams led the Chiefs in rushing, giving the Chiefs some confidence they will be OK if Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy can't play because of injuries in next week's game at Detroit. -- Adam Teicher
Next game:at Detroit (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The Ravens aren't ready to be mentioned among the NFL's elite.Lamar Jackson struggled for three quarters, the defense couldn't slow down Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and costly penalties proved too much to overcome. The Ravens (2-1) generated plenty of national buzz in routing the woeful Dolphins and beating Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray in his first road start. But when matched against one of the best teams in the AFC, the Ravens made too many mistakes to pull off an upset. The Ravens will find where they measure up in the AFC North next Sunday when they host the Browns. -- Jamison Hensley
Next game:vs. Cleveland (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett showed he can be the guy. He opened the game with 16 consecutive completions to tie Peyton Manning for the fifth-most in franchise history, and his 310 yards passing should end the talk of him not being able to be throw downfield. Brissett didn't rely on one or two receivers, either -- he completed passes to nine different players. He finished the game 28-of-37 for 310 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. -- Mike Wells
Next game:vs. Oakland (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
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0:44
Brissett's hot start powers Colts' win
Jacoby Brissett starts the game with 16 straight completions and finishes with 310 yards and two TDs to lead the Colts past the Falcons.
The Falcons have to play with more discipline. They were penalized 16 times for 128 yards on Sunday, including a defensive holding call on Damontae Kazee at the 10:33 mark of the fourth quarter when the Colts faced third-and-10 from their own 47 and Brissett threw an incomplete pass. It kept the Indianapolis drive alive with a first down and eventually resulted in Marlon Mack's 4-yard touchdown that proved to be the difference. "You just can't hold. That's it,'' Kazee said. Coach Dan Quinn, now coordinating defense, expects more, particularly with procedural penalties. In three games, the Falcons have accumulated 35 penalties for 264 yards. The lack of discipline needs to end, starting with the Titans next week. -- Vaughn McClure
Next game:vs. Tennessee (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Winning on the road against a good team shows the Lions will compete in the NFC North. "Obviously, it's a tough game against a tough team," wide receiver Marvin Jones II said. "That's a good team right there ... so us doing that, showing resiliency throughout whatever, that's big." Are the Lions for real? We'll find out next week when they host Patrick Mahomes and the unbeaten Chiefs. -- Michael Rothstein
Next game:vs. Kansas City (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Mistakes cost the Eagles amid injuries. The Eagles' inability to capitalize on Malcolm Jenkins' blocked field goal put the Super Bowl hopefuls in a precarious position. Philadelphia (1-2) has loads of talent, but early injuries have hit the veteran-laden roster. And with DeSean Jackson (abdominal strain) expected to miss Thursday's game in Green Bay, and Alshon Jeffery (quad) iffy, the Eagles remain shorthanded. -- Tim McManus
Next game:at Green Bay (8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday, Sept. 26)
The Packers are getting their money's worth out of Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith. They dished out $36 million in signing-bonus money alone to the duo, but they already have more combined sacks (7.5) than last year's starting edge rusher combo of Clay Matthews (3.5) and Nick Perry (1.5) posted all season. That sent the Packers to 3-0 heading into Thursday's quick turnaround game against the Eagles, as the Smiths combined for five of the Packers' six sacks and nine of their 13 pressures. It was also the second time in three weeks the defense has forced at least three turnovers, helping to allow Aaron Rodgers and the offense to get away with the slow start. -- Rob Demovsky
Next game:vs. Philadelphia (8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday, Sept. 26)
The Broncos are battling themselves in addition to their opponents. They have moments when they look to be rounding into the tough-minded team, but there are still too many when they make the mistakes that doom their chances. It makes a Week 4 home game against Jacksonville all the more important. The Broncos keep saying they're close to putting things together. "Right there, one or two plays,'' defensive end Shelby Harris said. But there has to be some kind of payoff on the field for their efforts. -- Jeff Legwold
Next game: vs. Jacksonville (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The Patriots are winning with defense. With the Tom Brady-led offense dealing with myriad injuries, the attacking defense is the backbone of the team, sparking memories of the dominant units of the early 2000s that led the team to three Super Bowl titles. The D made it look easy Sunday against third-string quarterback Luke Falk and the Jets (touchdowns were scored on a pick-six and a muffed punt). Next up is a visit to face the Bills, who aren't in the offensive powerhouse category, either, but should provide a greater challenge. -- Mike Reiss
Next game:at Buffalo (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The spotlight will be on coach Adam Gase as the Jets head into their bye week. The Jets are off to one of the worst offensive starts in team history, and Gase used words such as "brutal" and "atrocious" to describe Sunday's performance. He should get some slack because he started Falk, but there were other issues, including a veteran offensive line that looked completely out of sync. They need quarterback Sam Darnold (mono) in the lineup, and soon. -- Rich Cimini
Next game:at Philadelphia (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 6)
The Vikings are getting a major return on their investment in running back Dalvin Cook. Yes, Minnesota has faced some lackluster defenses that have struggled against the run, but topping 100 yards and scoring a rushing touchdown in the first three games is incredible. He's averaging more than 6.5 yards per carry and has breathed life into this offense. Given the way the Vikings have built a run-first mentality, it's not hard to predict Cook continuing to turn in performances like he did against the Raiders, even against defenses that are harder to run on, like the Bears next Sunday. -- Courtney Cronin
Next game:at Chicago (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
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0:23
Cook jukes out multiple Raiders
Dalvin Cook takes the ball and jukes his way around several Raider defenders for a big gain.
It's only three games old, but the season might already be on the brink. Defensive end Josh Mauro said, "If you feel comfortable after losing like that, there's something wrong with you." Added linebacker Tahir Whitehead: "If we don't get this corrected, it's going to continue to poke its head up. We just need to ... hold ourselves accountable, and make sure that there aren't any people that are feeling comfortable after this loss because there are a lot of things that need to be fixed. And unless we fix them, it's going to be a long season." The Raiders head to Indianapolis to face the Colts next week and don't play in Oakland again until Nov. 3. -- Paul Gutierrez
Next game:at Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Dallas adjusted at halftime to reach 3-0 for the first time since 2008 and for the sixth time in Jerry Jones' tenure as owner. In four of the previous five times, they made the playoffs, including Super Bowl seasons in 1992 and 1995. Nobody is saying that about this team -- yet -- but it is off to the start it needed with a more difficult schedule later in the season. The Cowboys overcame a poor first half to win Sunday. "Our ability to kind of process what's keeping us back and then getting it fixed then seeing that transfer over into success, I mean, it doesn't always happen within games," tight end Jason Witten said. -- Todd Archer
Next game:at New Orleans (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
There was positive progress for the Dolphins after being embarrassed over their first two weeks. Quarterback Josh Rosen had a few nice drives early in his first start for the Dolphins, who outplayed the Cowboys in the first half. But the result was ultimately the same -- a mistake-heavy blowout loss. The Dolphins don't want any moral victories. The Chargers come to town next Sunday, and it doesn't seem like the blowouts will stop anytime soon. The Dolphins have been outscored 133-16 in their first three games, a minus-117 point differential, the worst in the Super Bowl era. -- Cameron Wolfe
Next game:vs. L.A. Chargers (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Josh Allen needs to discover the balance between extending a play and extending a drive. His ability to keep plays alive and make throws downfield put the Bills ahead for good Sunday -- but also kept them from putting the Bengals away throughout most of the second half. His delayed decision to throw the ball away and move on to the next play led to an ugly interception and the Bengals' first touchdown of the game. "I was trying to do the right thing," he said. "Just one of those plays where, at the last split-second, I made a bad decision." Bad decisions by Allen would cost the unbeaten Bills any chance of beating the unbeaten Patriots next week at home. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques
Next game:vs. New England (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
A top priority for Bengals coach Zac Taylor will be making sure the team doesn't believe it's as bad as its 0-3 record. The Bengals almost pulled off their second road win in as many games but couldn't put together two solid drives to withstand the Bills. As the onslaught from outsiders begins, Taylor is working to fortify the self-belief of a team that has lost 10 of its past 11 games. "We know that it's errors that we're bringing upon ourselves," Taylor said. "Once we can fix that and just catch our break eventually, we're going to be in good shape." -- Ben Baby
Next game:at Pittsburgh (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday, Sept. 30)
Daniel Jones can do it all. He rallied the Giants from an 18-point halftime deficit without running back Saquon Barkley in his first career start. And he threw for 300 yards and had three total touchdowns in the second half alone, something Eli Manning never did in any half of his career, according to ESPN Stats and Information. Giants co-owner Steve Tisch called this the start of a "new chapter." He was blown away by the 22-year-old's poise and composure. His teammates were equally impressed. They loved when Jones -- who doesn't curse much -- yelled "Let's f---ing score!" in a second-quarter huddle. Moments later, he kept the ball on a zone-read for his first touchdown as a professional. -- Jordan Raanan
Next game:vs. Washington (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
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1:43
Jones' 4 TDs rally Giants past Buccaneers
Daniel Jones shines in his first NFL start by throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another two scores as the Giants beat the Buccaneers 32-31.
The Bucs' well-documented kicking woes aren't behind them. Rookie Matt Gay missed a 34-yard field goal with four seconds left, and he missed an extra-point attempt after the Bucs' opening possession and had a blocked extra point at the end of the first quarter. Gay also had a 42-yard miss last week against the Panthers. But the disappearance of the defense in the second half was perhaps more troubling. This group had given up one touchdown in the first eight quarters of the season and gave up four to a rookie quarterback on Sunday. It won't get any easier with a daunting five-game road stretch ahead. -- Jenna Laine
Next game:at L.A. Rams (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Kyle Allen gave the Panthers a spark. If you've followed the Panthers for any length of time, you know quarterback Cam Newton takes at least an hour after games to prepare for his news conference. Allen, who replaced the injured starter on Sunday at Arizona, was in front of the podium less than 15 minutes after the locker room opened. No fancy outfits. Just a polo shirt, slacks and tennis shoes. It won't go into the records books as the fastest turnaround ever for a Carolina quarterback after a game, and Allen's four touchdown passes aren't a record, either. But Allen was impressive enough that the Panthers shouldn't think twice about giving Newton at least another week to rest his sore left foot. Allen gave the offense what it needed after an 0-2 start, in which the ailing Newton became the focus of attention. -- David Newton
Next game:at Houston (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The education of Kyler Murray continues. The rookie quarterback learned what it was like to run a nearly flawless drive for a touchdown and get sacked eight times in a game on Sunday. But as he and coach Kliff Kingsbury have done through three weeks, they'll address the issues that are broken and try to fix them with their first taste of an NFC West rivalry coming up Sunday against the Seahawks. But as they've also learned, every time they fix something, something else seems to pop up. -- Josh Weinfuss
Next game: vs. Seattle (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The offensive line finally looked pretty good. The Texans hoped they fixed their line problem by starting their third right tackle in three games. Houston moved first-round pick Tytus Howard from left guard to right tackle and replaced him with second-round pick Max Scharping. After allowing 10 sacks in the first two games, the offensive line only gave up two sacks Sunday. Going into the season, figuring out how to better protect quarterback Deshaun Watson was the priority for the Texans, and against the Chargers, O'Brien said, "Watson had a lot of time," especially considering the talent of Los Angeles' front seven. -- Sarah Barshop
Next game:vs. Carolina (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The Chargers have struggled in second halves so far this season, getting outscored 45-10. Turnovers and costly penalties have been at the root of the team's 1-2 record, with five of the team's turnovers this season in the second half, leading to 15 points for the opposing team. It was a strength for the Chargers last season, so they have to figure out how to close games now, starting next week at winless Miami. -- Eric D. Williams
The Saints proved they can win some games during Drew Brees' absence.Teddy Bridgewater showed he is savvy enough to lean on Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas and a standout offensive line. And, by the way, the Saints regained sole possession of first place in the NFC South at 2-1. They are now three quarters of the way through a grueling September schedule that will culminate with a Sunday night showdown at home against the 3-0 Cowboys. -- Mike Triplett
Next game:vs. Dallas (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
Ball security is still an issue for Chris Carson. Coach Pete Carroll doesn't seem to have reached his breaking point yet with the running back despite his sudden fumbling problem. Carson lost a fumble Sunday that the Saints returned for a touchdown, a key play in Seattle's 33-27 loss. It was his third fumble in as many games (not counting a botched handoff that wasn't entirely his fault). But Carroll was supportive of Carson postgame. "He's had three remarkable, remarkable punches that have knocked the ball out, and he was covering it and his conscious was in the right place and it happened again," Carroll said. In other words, expect Carson to remain the starter when Seattle heads to Arizona next week. -- Brady Henderson
Next game:at Arizona (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
San Francisco is finding ways to win. By rule of the most important stat in football -- turnover margin -- the 49ers not only should have lost to Pittsburgh, they probably should have lost handily. Instead, these Niners again found a way to win, and for as ugly as it might have been, it was a victory they wouldn't have gotten a season ago. Overcoming five turnovers and coming up with timely drives and a pair of takeaways of their own yielded the team's first 3-0 start since 1998. "It's just the mindset of the locker room," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. "Complementary football. ... That's how you create a good football team. We're getting there." Indeed, there's still plenty of work for the 49ers to do moving forward, work that begins even on next week's bye. But the early returns indicate they're finally moving in the right direction. -- Nick Wagoner
Next game:vs. Cleveland (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday, Oct. 7)
The Steelers are 0-3 for the first time since 2013, a season in which they finished 8-8. Though newcomer Minkah Fitzpatrick was optimistic about his team's outlook after Sunday's loss, there is mounting frustration in the locker room. Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward expressed his surprise at being winless. "We've just got to finish games," he said. "Two times, defense has just got to make a stop. We didn't." But center Maurkice Pouncey said the Steelers can bounce back. It starts next week on Monday Night Football. -- Brooke Pryor
Next game:vs. Cincinnati (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday, Sept. 30)
The Jaguars were abysmal at running the ball. They had to rely on rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II to move the offense, and the sixth-round pick showed Thursday night that he's up to the challenge, throwing for 204 yards and two touchdowns. The Jaguars ran for 89 yards, but 69 of that came on one run in the fourth quarter. Until that point, Leonard Fournette had negative rushing yards, mainly because of how poorly the offensive line played. That's happened in back-to-back weeks, and there needs to be significant improvement next week in Denver or it's going to be the Minshew show again. -- Mike DiRocco
Next game:at Denver (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
The Titans offense is reeling after two lifeless losses to division rivals. Quarterback Marcus Mariota made a couple of nice throws but also missed a couple of wide-open receivers for what would have been timely big gains. Tennessee's offensive line gave up nine sacks against the Jaguars, increasing their total to 17 allowed this season. That trend can't continue if the Titans plan to break their two-game losing streak next week against the Falcons. -- Turron Davenport
Next game:at Atlanta (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 29)
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