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.

Picking NFL Week 3

How I did last week: 10-6

The 2009 Cincinnati Bengals. I'll settle for that, though I've been kicking myself all week for not going with my gut and picking the Bears upset of the Cowboys like I wanted to.

Record on the season: 18-14

Pulling into the black.

Bills at Patriots: The Texans already got their longtime monkey, the Colts, off their back this season, but the Bills seem to be a million miles away from overcoming their own personal divisional nemesis, the Pats, who they have lost 13 straight to. Maybe C.J. Spiller has a breakout game, maybe Patrick Chung and the frustrated Donte Whitner each pick off a Tom Brady pass leading to the Bills pulling off a tremendous upset. But at Gillette Stadium, where New England hasn't lost a regular season game since November 2008... I wouldn't bet on it. Patriots.

49ers at Chiefs: Heartbreaking. That's the only way I can describe San Francisco's loss to the defending Superbowl champs Monday night on a last second field goal. However, turnovers aside, the Niners proved they could move the ball on offense and score touchdowns against the Saints, something that the Chiefs, despite being 2-0, has struggled with so far (two offensive touchdowns in two games). I still like San Francisco to win the NFC West (also known as the NFL's worst division by a country mile) but they can't afford to fall to 0-3. 49ers in a defense-dominated battle.

Titans at Giants: The Giants couldn't stop the Colts from running the ball on them last Sunday. This week they welcome Chris Johnson, who now needs 166 rushing yards per game to reach his 2,500 yard goal. New York will load the box to stop CJ2K and that will allow Vince Young to kickstart Tennessee's anemic passing game. Titans.

Browns at Ravens: Joe Flacco may have had his worst outing as a pro last week (17 of 39 passes completed and 4 interceptions), but unless he decides Sunday morning to throw all his passes left-handed, I wouldn't even contemplate picking the Browns (who've lost to both the Bucs and Chiefs so far) to win in Baltimore. Ravens.

Bengals at Panthers: If there's one team that I've proved entirely incapable of deciphering during my time as an NFL progniscator, it's the Cincinnati Bengals. I underestimated them at the start of last season, then overestimated them in the season's last few weeks and playoffs. Nothing's changed in 2010: I'm 0-2 on Bengals picks. That's why it worries me that this pick seems so cut and dry. The Panthers are 0-2, haven't been able to run the ball this season, and are giving a rookie quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, his first NFL start. Cincinnati should devour them. Bengals.

Steelers at Buccaneers: If Josh Freeman wants to prove to the world that he can continue to play mistake-free ball (he has a 95 passer rating through two games), then doing so against a defense that's forced 10 turnovers in two games would be a great place to start. Tampa Bay's improved defense shouldn't give up too many points to Charlie Batch, but Pittsburgh's D will keep them on the field for much longer that they'd like. Steelers.

Falcons at Saints: Atlanta is probably the only team that could challenge New Orleans' dominance of NFC South this season, and beating the Saints in the Superdome would certainly send out a strong message that the divisional race is on. But until Matt Ryan shows a little more clutch in one of these big games, I refuse to pick the Falcons to win. Come on, Matty Ice, live up to that nickname and prove me wrong! Saints.

Lions at Vikings: I'll give you one more chance Mr. Favre. Vikings.

Cowboys at Texans: For the second straight game, Tony Romo will pass for over 300 yards in a Cowboys' loss. Why? Because Dallas can't run the ball, Houston's explosive offense can score points in bunches and, most importantly, the Texans have newfound belief in themselves. Texans.

Eagles at Jaguars: The total about-face of Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid (usually legendary for his stubbornness) with regards to the Eagles quarterback controversy (documented adeptly here by SI.com's Peter King), should tell you one thing. Michael Vick's performances on the last two Sundays weren't flukes. Reid must believe that Vick can get back to the level he was performing at prior to his run-in with the law. If you believe in Vick's supposed maturation process, perhaps even better. Either way, he should be able to rain points on Jacksonville. Eagles.

Redskins at Rams: The two happiest men that the Redskins front office moved for Donovan McNabb this offseason? Tight end Chris Cooley and receiver Santana Moss. McNabb's passing ability has given new life to both Moss, who has 16 catches for 166 yards through two games, and Cooley, who is averaging 72 receiving yards per game and 16 yards per catch (both career highs by some distance). Redskins.

Colts at Broncos: A tragedy in Denver this past week reminded us of the over-the-top importance that as a society we attach (thanks in part to columns like this one) to what is ultimately just a game. In light of Kenny McKinley's death, a player who couldn't imagine a life without football, any attempt to try and analyze this matchup seems a little too frivolous. Colts.

Raiders at Cardinals: A game both teams will really want, given that the loser could be staring 1-4 square in the face (Raiders play Chargers and Texans in Week 3 and 4, while Cardinals play the Saints and the Chargers). Aside from both squeaking past the Rams, neither team has shown us much this season, so I'll go with the home team. Cardinals.

Chargers at Seahawks: So which one is the real Seahawks team? The one that blew out San Francisco in Week 1 or the one that committed three turnovers and gave up 17 unanswered points in the first half to Denver in Week 2? History suggests the latter, and I'm inclined to agree. Chargers.

Jets at Dolphins: There are a lot of factors in Miami's favor for this matchup. They beat the Jets twice last season, they're playing at home, and they're full of confidence coming off back-to-back wins. However, in New York's impressive fightback against New England last week (sans Darelle Revis), I saw a glimpse of the team Rex Ryan has been talking about to anyone who would listen for the last six months. Jets.

Packers at Bears: Games played on Monday nights always seem to be closer than you'd thought they'd be. I think Chicago, in front of its home fans, gives the Pack a hard-fought, close game. Ultimately, however, this will also be the game where the Bears finally face the music for their disaster of an offensive line. Packers.