NFL Week 3

-Two teams that disappointed in 2009, the Steelers and the Chiefs, are among the three remaining undefeated franchises this season (in addition to the winner of the Bears-Packers Monday night contest). The fact that both teams have made it this far has to be considered a surprise. It was widely assumed that the Steelers would have to weather the storm resulting from the suspension of their franchise quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, while the Chiefs were coming off their third consecutive losing season.

Pittsburgh has relied on its defense this year, dominant once again thanks in no small part to the return of its All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu from injury. They've forced turnovers (7 in a single game against the Titans) while giving up only 11 points per game and 4.3 yards per play (best in the NFL in both categories).

Meanwhile the Chiefs are fast becoming one of the storylines of the season. They have a host of talented young athletes on both sides of the ball, while head coach Todd Haley has been showing creativity and guts in his decision-making. They already have a two game lead in their division and will be a handful for most of the teams who visit Arrowhead Stadium.

-A well-fought, exciting game in Miami. The Dolphins had owned the Jets in recent times, winning three straight against New York. But the Jets responded on Sunday night, led by another strong performance from quarterback Mark Sanchez.

After being run out of town by the Ravens physical defense in Week 1, Sanchez has looked like a different player in Weeks 2 and 3. His two touchdown throws to Dustin Keller in the first half against Miami showed just how accurate he can be as a pocket passer, and though he only completed 54 percent of his passes on the night, he avoided the costly turnover that may have flipped the game on its head.

I have to say I was also impressed with Miami's passing game. Sure, the Jets didn't have their best cornerback Darelle Revis on the field, but the Dolphins moved the ball through the air with ease, collecting 363 passing yards. This forced Rex Ryan to neglect his normally ferocious pass rush and drop more and more defenders into pass coverage; a move which paid dividends on the game's final drive when Miami couldn't get the ball into the endzone.

With the Jets, Dolphins and Pats all sitting on 2-1 records and playing good football, the AFC East division race might end up being one of the tightest and most exciting in the league this season.

-The NFL's two most dominant running backs doing what they do best. Tennessee's Chris Johnson scored twice against the Giants while rushing for 125 yards on 32 carries. Not a huge yard per carry average (3.9), but far more impressive when you take into account that New York repeatedly loaded the box, with 8 defenders near the line of scrimmage, to stop him.

Adrian Peterson outdid Johnson with a performance reminiscent of his first two seasons in the league. He rushed for 160 yards on 23 carries (in case you're keeping score at home, that's almost 7 yards per carry) and a couple touchdowns. The most encouraging thing for Vikings fans about Peterson's game at the moment is that he seems to have put his fumbling issues behind him. He coughed up the ball 9 times in '08, and 7 times in '09, but hasn't had a fumble on 70 carries this year.

-There's a lot of things wrong with San Francisco's offense right now, but the performance of rookie offensive tackle Anthony Davis must be near the top of that list. The Niners drafted Davis 11th overall in the 2010 draft to shore up the right side of their offensive line in the present, and potentially the crucial left side in years to come. But Davis has gotten off to a slow start in the City by the Bay.

Already known as a frequent false start offender throughout the preseason and first two regular season games, Davis struggled with two other aspects of his game against the Chiefs. He allowed two sacks of Alex Smith, including a play where Kansas City sent only four rushers, one of which – Tamba Hali – ran around Davis as if he wasn't there and took Smith down, causing a fumble. Davis also showed mental weakness: he was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty for aiming a punch at Chiefs DT Shaun Smith's midriff, a mistake that ultimately ended a promising San Francisco drive.

-Going 3 for 3 on 40+ yard field goals in the Superbowl will give you a couple free passes, Garrett Hartley, but don't push your luck. Saints kicker Hartley missed a 29 yard chip shot in overtime while Drew Brees was fist pumping on the sideline. Atlanta then ran the ball down the field, and hit their kick to seal the surprise victory. Hartley had been close to a 90 percent kicker in his first two seasons in New Orleans, but has missed two of five this year.

-Rookie Performance of the Week: Seahawks safety Earl Thomas came up big against San Diego, picking off one of the league's best quarterbacks, Philip Rivers, twice. Oh, and did I mention, both of his interceptions came in fourth quarter? And the second one was in the end zone and effectively ended the game?? That's just studly from the former Texas man.

-Play of the Week: Everyone loves a good trick play.

-Ridiculous Play of the Week: Funny thing is, this could have been Aqib Talib's second pick of the day.

-Five Quick Hits:

1/ Your prayers have been answered, Joe Flacco. You have your go-to receiver, and his name is Anquan Boldin.

2/ For all the preseason talk of improvement in New York, these 2010 Giants look a lot like the 2009 version, don't they?

3/ Peyton Manning seems to throw a touchdown pass to a receiver that I've never heard of every other week. Against Denver, that man was Blair White, a rookie out of Michigan State. Welcome, sir, to the NFL's best franchise to be a receiver.

4/ First win of Sam Bradford's professional career, and a well-deserved one (and here's a bonus cheap giggle).

5/ See you in a couple years, Kevin Kolb.