Good heavens. Madness is probably the only word that could possibly describe the start of this NFL season, as we’ve seen playoff hopefuls underperform (Bengals, Chargers, Vikings), an unfortunate plethora of running back injuries (Nick Chubb, Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler—we’re not gonna name more, but it’s a lot), and absolutely insane game scores (the Dolphins dropped 70, the Cowboys lost to the…Cardinals??). If you somehow missed the last three weeks, no fear! We’re here to break it all down and give you five stories you need to follow as the season continues. 

The Fascinating Case of Puka Nacua

If you asked 100 NFL fans two weeks ago if they knew who Puka Nacua was, 99 of them would say no. Nacua is a fifth-round rookie from Brigham Young University. He had a solid collegiate career but it was nothing special; he tallied only 1749 yards over four seasons. Nacua is on pace to fly over that mark in this season alone. The BYU product has 25 receptions for 266 yards so far this season, both marks top two in the league.

So how did a mediocre college receiver become one of the best receivers (production wise) in the NFL through three weeks? Having a hall of fame quarterback in Matthew Stafford throwing to him certainly helps, but the chief reason for Nacua’s success is Sean McVay and his schemes. McVay, more than anyone in the league, likes to utilize his wideouts for run blocking. While this doesn’t necessarily benefit the rushing attack, it allows for the Rams to dial up play action where the receivers pretend to block before disengaging and entering their route. McVay also loves bringing his receivers in motion to create stacks that allow them to beat zone coverage more easily. And the best part about McVay’s offense is the route concept he designs. McVay’s concepts have so many intricacies, so many moving pieces, that most coaches cannot even fully explain. That is how good McVay is. Now Nacua himself does deserve credit: To succeed in McVay’s offense you need to be able to block, settle in zones quickly, and be good at hand fighting, and so far Nacua has excelled in those aspects.

Will the young star keep up this production? This question rides a lot on the status of Cooper Kupp. Nacua’s role this season is what Kupp has been doing for McVay the past couple of years, so if/when the all-pro receiver returns, he will likely eat into a lot of Nacua’s workload. Still, if Nacua continues to excel in the areas McVay’s offensive schemes demand, the rookie will still produce. 

Tua Nation, Stand Up!

A few months ago, much of the media was calling for Tua Tagovailoa to retire after the Dolphins QB suffered three concussions in the 2022 season. And it wasn’t preposterous to suggest this, as the rate at which Tagovailoa was taking hits was unsustainable. It’s also worth noting that Tua struggled in the back half of last season, including a Christmas day debacle where he threw three interceptions. That combined with his unimpressive arm strength meant much of the conversation regarding Tua this off-season was negative.

But Tua has thrived this season, silencing all the haters and establishing himself as one of the elite QBs in the NFL. Tagovailoa has thrown for eight touchdowns and 1,024 yards, which leads the NFL, all while leading the Dolphins to three impressive wins over the Chargers, Patriots, and Broncos. The Dolphins’ success cannot be attributed solely to Tua’s play, as the Alabama product has the privilege of throwing to the best wide receiver in football in Tyreek Hill and another top-15 guy in Jaylen Waddle. Tagovailoa is also fortunate enough to have Mike McDaniel calling the plays for the Dolphins offense. McDaniel has cemented himself as one of the brilliant offensive minds in the league with his creative schemes and trick plays. Still, Tua deserves an abundance of credit (and apologies from his doubters), and for those of us who always believed in him, rejoice, because the world is finally seeing how elite Tua Tagovailoa is.

Chicago in Shambles (Again) 

You’ve got to feel for Bears fans at this point. They spent nearly two decades being the little brother to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. With Rodgers departing for Green Bay, and with Justin Fields showing flashes of being elite last season, Bears fans thought as long as Fields made some progressions as a passer, they would run the division. Then Chicago went out and traded the first overall pick for a haul of picks and an elite receiver in D.J. Moore. Bears fans were ecstatic, and they had their sights set on the playoffs. Now, three weeks into the season, Chicago fans are miserable after watching their team start the season 0–3 with a league worst -59 point differential. So what happened?

The truth is that this Bears roster was never that good; there are serious holes in their offensive line, their secondary is weak, and their coaching staff is below average. Even with these shortcomings, the Bears had hope if Justin Fields made the progressions that many thought he would. Unfortunately he has not; Fields still struggles to see the field, has trouble going through his progressions, and has shaky accuracy. Things are drastic in Chicago, and if the Ohio State product does not take a drastic step forward this season, the Bears may have no choice but to look to replace him in the upcoming draft.

Despite the draft being six months away, any other name being called #1 than Caleb Williams will be an utter shock. Williams, who began his collegiate career at Oklahoma before transferring to USC, is an elite pocket passer with a natural ability to make a play when escaping the pocket. It would be unfair to compare him to Patrick Mahomes, but the truth is that Williams’ game is as close to Mahomes as any prospect we have seen in the past five years. It is only three weeks into the season, so the Bears and Fields still have plenty of time to turn it around, but if their season stays on this course, we could see drastic changes in Chicago this offseason.

Has Burrow Lost His Aura? 

The Cincinnati Bengals came into the 2023 season with lofty expectations after a AFC championship appearance last year and a Super Bowl appearance in 2021. Led by star quarterback Joe Burrow and a remarkable assortment of weapons like Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon, their offense was supposed to continue to shine as their underrated defense again terrorized opposing teams. But everything has gone wrong in the early parts of this season. First, Burrow hurt his calf in training camp and missed the entire preseason, depriving him of valuable practice time and reps. This rust was evident in the season opener, as Cincy’s quarterback looked awful in a 24–3 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Chase, Higgins, and Mixon struggled, and the offense couldn’t get anything going at all. The defense was alright, but definitely not good enough to win them the game. But no big deal! The Bengals are used to starting slow (they were 0-2 at the beginning of last year), so everyone expected them to rebound and take down the Ravens in Week 2. 

Except then they lost 27–24 to be right back at 0–2. Burrow looked a little better—still not at the level we’re used to seeing from him—and while Higgins rebounded with a great game, Chase still struggled. To make matters worse, Burrow re-aggravated the calf injury that kept him out of training camp and the preseason; he’s now questionable for tonight’s Week 3 matchup against the surprising Los Angeles Rams. To be clear, we don’t think it’s quite time to panic—the Bengals are too talented and have accomplished too much for us to rule them out entirely. But they now have little room for error, which is a dangerous spot to be in in today’s NFL. 

The Niners Look Terrifying 

Within three weeks, the San Francisco 49ers have cemented their case as the most talented team in the NFL. After annihilating the Steelers and Giants and winning comfortably against the Rams, we’re beginning to wonder if this might be the year for Kyle Shanahan’s crew. Quarterback Brock Purdy looks as confident as ever with almost a full year under his belt as the starter, putting the ball exactly where it needs to be for San Francisco’s ridiculous weapons. And those weapons—Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle—are absolutely cooking. McCaffrey looks like the best running back in the league, Samuel is beginning to regain some of his 2021 form, Kittle is as reliable as ever, and Aiyuk (despite a recent injury) has continued to blossom.

And the other side of the ball might be even scarier. Nick Bosa and Fred Warner lead a frightening defense that has given up just 42 points in three games, and almost half of those were in garbage time, when the Niners had already won. Everyone just seems to be on the same page in San Francisco, and it’s a frightening sight for the rest of the league. They will have more challenging opponents later in the year—the Cowboys, Bengals, and Eagles await down the stretch—but the Niners have so much talent that they can beat anyone. If Purdy stays healthy and continues to produce, San Francisco might be headed back to the Super Bowl; here’s to hoping Shanahan can finally exercise his big game demons. 

 

That’s all from us! Be sure to tune in to the rest of the NFL season—it’s only gonna get crazier. We’ll send you off with four predictions for the coming weeks: 

1. The Jets sign/trade for a quarterback in the next month (sorry Zach Wilson) (Kirk Cousins?)
2. The Lions win their next three games 
3. Jaguars leave New Orleans (week seven) with a 2–5 record                                                         
4. Steelers win three of their next four

Until next time! 

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu. 

Teddy Benchley can be reached at tbenchley@wesleyan.edu.