What’s hot and what’s knott in football – Week 3

By Rhys Knott

Al Davis once said, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” By that measure, plenty of NFL teams were trying this week. Giving away penalties was hot, as was dancing, blocking kicks and ripping the ball away from an opponent with your bare hands. 

The 2025 season may still be in its infancy, but some teams’ playoff chances are hot, too. Since the playoffs were expanded to include 14 teams in 2020, 86% of the teams that make the postseason have started 3-0. 

That’s great news for Bills, Colts, Chargers, Eagles, Buccaneers and 49ers fans. Starting the season 0-3, on the other hand, gives teams a mountain to climb. Historically, only 2.4% of 0-3 teams make it to the postseason. 
Kellen Moore’s Saints, the Giants, Titans, Texans, Jets and Dolphins need to get going. 

The Vikings took out their early-season frustration on the Bengals, and the Seahawks put the Saints. Which begs the question, are Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz good?

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What’s hot in football – Week 3 

No. Absolutely not. Well, Darnold is ok, but both those wins were rooted in solid defense and special special teams play. 

For the Vikes, Isaiah Rodgers proved he’s more than just snazzy cleats (seriously, he’s got loads of them, the Grinch Christmas ones are sublime). Nothing will ever match the perfect PFF rating the cornerback put up as Brian Flores’ defense crushed Jake Browning’s Bengals offense. 

Penalties. Penalties were really hot this week. 210 penalties were accepted in total this week. That’s 673 in three weeks! That’s 47 more than the same period last season, and the 5,477 total penalty yards is 264 more than the first three weeks of the 2024 season! The No Fun League indeed. 

Cam Skattebo, nobody really knows why the Giants drafted Jaxson Dart when they already had Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito, but everyone agrees Skattebo was a bargain in the fifth round. Did you know he can fly? 

Seeing “Bazooka” Joe Milton III throw passes in a regular-season game is very hot (even if it was garbage time). Seeing Brevyn Spann-Ford pluck one of those passes out of the sky was even hotter. If Brian Schottenheimer’s offense keeps spluttering, we might get to see a lot more of those two as the clock ticks down. 

Blocking kicks is the hottest thing in football right now. You know the special teams put on a show when so many kicks were blocked that USA Today ranked them! Their ranking is wrong, though. Denzel Ward made the best block of the day. 

Jordan Davis clocked 18.59 mph as he had the best block, scoop and score. Who doesn’t love a thicc six? Davis had a sensational game against the Rams. Only Cooper DeJean and Jihaad Campbell recorded more solo tackles than the 336-pound defensive tackle. But neither of those young whippersnappers recorded a sack; the former Georgia Bulldog even added a tackle for a loss! 

Will McDonald got in on the thicc six action, too. The Jets’ defensive end is only 245 pounds, though, around six and a half stone lighter than Davis! 

Blocked punts are always funny, especially as nobody has the first idea where they went. 

Lighting up a quarterback? That’s always hot. This sack by Jalen McCullough is picture-perfect, but only served to annoy Jalen Hurts so much that he went on to destroy the Rams for the second time in six games! 

Malik of the Week is actually a Maliek in Week 3. Maliek Collins was immense for the Browns in a game very few thought they could win. 30-year-old Collins not only hit Jordan Love twice, he notched up five tackles, one tackle for a loss and 1.5 sacks! 

And when players weren’t getting their massive hands on balls whizzing through the air, they were just ripping them away from the guy holding the ball.  Tyrique Stevenson yoinked this one out of Javonte Williams’ paws in Chicago.

Then Patrick Mahomes went all Alpha Male on poor old Bobby Okereke. 

Only the subject of the GOAT, Mr. Mahomes’ dancing feet are hot in Week 3, too. 

What’s Knott in football – Week 3

Unlike the Chiefs QB’s twinkle toes, Aaron Glenn’s premature dancing is definitely Knott. Will McDonald’s blocking a field goal might have been hot, but allowing 48 yards on seven plays so Chase McLaughlin could kick a game-winning field goal as time expires makes the guy dancing look foolish. 

Taking out your own head coach, that’s definitely Knott! 

All of those kickers who had kicks blocked are clearly on the Knott side of the divide. But Parker Romo just needs to get in the bin. 

Teams that can’t or won’t run the ball are very Knott. Jordan Mason led the league with 116 yards on the ground as the Vikings won. James Cook and Jonathan Taylor both went over 100 yards as the Bills and Colts bagged wins, and even the Browns won as Quinshon Judkins notched up 94 rushing yards. You know who didn’t win?  The majority of teams with receivers who went over 100 yards!  

Tre Tucker led the way with 145 yards on just eight catches! But the Raiders were pasted 41-24 by the Jayden Daniels-less Commanders. Courtland Sutton racked up 118 yards as the Broncos lost to division rivals the Chargers. Puka Nacua ended the game in Philly with 112 yards as he lit up Jakorian Bennett, and Nico Collins racked up 104 yards as the Texans imploded. 

Playing from behind is always going to pad those stats, but come on, guys, learn how to run block for everyone’s sake. 

There’s no padding the stats when it comes to throwing flags, though. Puka’s “taunting” penalty? That’s very much Knott. 

The officiating is even more infuriating when they still keep missing the Eagles’ false starts on the tush push. 

Offensive coordinators who can’t scheme receivers open? They’re Knott. Brian Daboll can hop in that bin with Parker. But an offense that can’t score a single point takes the biscuit; the Falcons need to have a good, long think about what they just did (or didn’t do). 

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

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