After a chalky start to the season, the NFL found its thrills and unpredictability in Week 3.
An expected Super Bowl contender (Packers) lost to an expected No. 1 draft pick contender (Browns).
A potential Super Bowl preview between the Ravens and Lions lived up to the hype.
Seven games were decided by a score in the final 2:30, and there were nine non-offensive touchdowns scored.
Kickers were everywhere — either having their field-goal attempts blocked, or lifting their teams to last-second victories, or both in the case of Jets-Buccaneers.
When the dust settled, there were six undefeated teams and seven winless teams.
Here are The Post’s NFL power rankings for Week 4.
Terrel Bernard sealed a 31-21 victory against the Dolphins with a late interception to set up Matt Prater’s insurance field goal. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes — the last was a 15-yarder to Khalil Shakir after a critical penalty by the Dolphins wiped out a punt in a tie game — and improved his career record against Miami to 14-2.
Trailing the Rams by 19 points in the third quarter, the Eagles got hot. Jalen Hurts threw his first three touchdown passes of the season — to Dallas Goedert, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — in a comeback that wasn’t sealed until the final play. Jordan Davis blocked a field goal to protect a one-point lead and returned it for a touchdown to finish off a 33-26 win.
The Lions had two touchdown drives covering at least 95 yards in their statement-making 38-30 victory against the Ravens. Head coach Dan Campbell’s fourth-down chops were back on display as the Lions went 3-for-3, including a late-game completion from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 218 rushing yards and four scores.
The Chargers are undefeated after three games for the first time since 2002 after beating the Broncos, 23-20, on Cameron Dicker’s 43-yard walk-off field goal. Justin Herbert threw the tying touchdown to Keenan Allen with 2:44 remaining, the defense forced a three-and-out and then Herbert went 4-for-4 on the final drive to set up Dicker.
Derrick Henry suddenly has fumbleitis, coughing up the ball in three straight games. Like in Week 1, his fumble in the loss to the Lions was a costly fourth-quarter mistake deep in Ravens’ territory. The overpowered defense was equally culpable for this defeat, however. Lamar Jackson threw two of his three touchdown passes to Mark Andrews.
What looked like an easy victory at the start of the fourth quarter became a roller-coaster ride that ended in a last-second 29-27 win against the Jets. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired — his fifth make on six attempts to compensate for the one blocked and returned for a touchdown. Baker Mayfield threw for 233 yards.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Chiefs finally got in the win column by outlasting the Giants, 22-9, on a quiet night for Travis Kelce. Patrick Mahomes hit a couple big strikes to Tyquan Thornton — one for a touchdown and another to the 1-yard line. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo — a Giants legend — drew up a stifling game plan against his former team.
Huh? If it wasn’t bad enough that the Packers only scored 10 points against the Browns, they somehow managed to cough up a 10-point lead in the final four minutes of a 13-10 loss. Jordan Love threw an interception and Brandon McManus had a field goal blocked. Josh Jacobs’ streak of 11 straight games with a rushing touchdown is over.
Jonathan Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns as the Colts beat up the Titans, 41-20, to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2009. The Colts jumped in front on the third play of the game, when Kenny Moore had a 32-yard pick-six. Turnover-free Daniel Jones continued his hot start with 228 passing yards and a touchdown.
The 49ers overcame the NFL’s first tiebreaking safety in the fourth quarter in 11 years to beat the Cardinals, 16-15, on Eddy Pineiro’s 35-yard game-winning field goal on the final play. Filling in for Brock Purdy, Mac Jones completed five passes for 59 yards on the game-winning drive. Nick Bosa suffered a season-ending injury.
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Tyrod Taylor threw a pick-six and lost a fumble that the Buccaneers turned into three points during a listless first half. But then Taylor threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a laser that Allen Lazard juggled, and Will McDonald IV blocked a field goal for a go-ahead touchdown. But the defense couldn’t get one last stop in the walk-off loss.
In prime time against the Chiefs, Malik Nabers (two catches for 13 yards) had his first career game with less than four receptions. Russell Wilson was booed while Jaxson Dart was cheered. Cam Skattebo scored a touchdown, but the Giants essentially played without a kicker because of an early game Graham Gano injury for the second time in two years.