NFL Week 3 Film Review: Herbert, Lamar and Denver’s Defense

Week 3 did not offer much clean football, but it delivered the kind of late-game drama that keeps the NFL impossible to ignore. Three games in particular turned on defining fourth-quarter moments: Justin Herbert’s crushing interception against Buffalo, Lamar Jackson’s laser to Zay Flowers to set up Baltimore’s winner over Dallas, and Talanoa Hufanga’s game-changing takeaways in Denver’s win over the Rams.

Herbert’s mistake was the most damaging because it reflected a larger issue. On the interception, he appeared to read a middle-field safety rotation and expected the deep middle to open. Instead, C.J. Gardner-Johnson baited the throw, briefly showing movement toward the sideline before driving back inside. Herbert failed to hold him with his eyes and launched a ball into a closing window. The result was not just a turnover, but another sign that the Chargers’ vertical passing game remains disjointed.

That is the real concern for Los Angeles. The offense can move the ball, but explosive plays have been scarce, and the deep passing concepts are not consistently stressing safeties. When route structure does not create space and receivers are not separating, the margin for quarterback error disappears. Herbert is pressing, and the Chargers are paying for it in the most important parts of the field.

Baltimore capitalized where Dallas collapsed

Jackson needed only seven seconds to move the Ravens into field-goal range, and the throw to Flowers was a perfect example of arm talent meeting defensive confusion. The ball traveled with elite pace and placement, but Dallas made the play possible with poor situational execution.

The biggest problem was underneath help. Marquise Bell, working as the robber, jumped Mark Andrews on a route that was too short to be truly dangerous with so little time left. That left Caleb Downs responsible for gaining depth and helping on deeper in-breaking routes, but he lingered too shallow. Cornerback Reddy Steward expected inside help and played accordingly, only to be stranded when Flowers broke open behind the coverage.

The failure belongs to more than one defender. It also points back to coaching. In that situation, a more conservative coverage call likely makes more sense than aggressive man principles with limited deep support. Through three weeks, Dallas has looked too vulnerable in high-leverage moments for that to be dismissed as bad luck.

Denver’s defense thrives on chaos

Hufanga’s pick-six against Matthew Stafford came on a play that looked risky even before the snap. Denver brought pressure and left Hufanga in a difficult numbers situation, essentially trusting instinct and anticipation to solve the problem. He delivered by reading Stafford’s likely answer to the blitz and breaking on the quick out.

He did it again late, peeling off his assignment to intercept a pass intended for Davante Adams and seal the game. Those are aggressive, high-variance plays, but they also capture what Denver’s defense can be when its personnel matches Vance Joseph’s pressure-heavy style. Zach Allen starred a week earlier; this time Hufanga became the closer.

Elsewhere, Week 3 offered a few strategic reminders. Lateral concepts remain underused despite producing explosive gains in obvious passing situations. Protection rules still decide games, as the Jets learned on a sack-fumble created by one breakdown in communication. And in Washington’s upset of Seattle, Marcus Mariota showed how pre-snap recognition can be just as valuable as arm strength, checking into the right call at the exact right time.

Week 3 was messy, but it was revealing. The Chargers need answers downfield, the Cowboys need cleaner structure on defense, and the Broncos look increasingly capable of winning with disruption. In a league defined by a handful of snaps every Sunday, those details are everything.