When put side-by-side, the Bills’ and Rams’ records formed a palindrome before the beginning of Sunday’s direct matchup: 3-0 and 0-3. After the game ended, it only read worse for the Rams and better for the Bills. The Buffalo Bills (now 4-0) have continued to baffle the critics and experts again this week en route to their 31-14 victory over St.Louis.

There was no need for their 4th quarter heroics this week, however. At least, no need for the dire, last-second heroics that past weeks have required. It was on the first play of the 4th that Buffalo Jabari Greer picked off a Trent Green pass and ran it back 33 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. That defensive touchdown would be the catalyst for an 18-point, unanswered run on the Bills’ part. The gutsy Rams, who had been extremely competitive with the Bills through 3 quarters, lost the lead and basically fell apart in the 4th.

Now Buffalo is 4-0 for the first time in 16 years, the team that held NFL greats and Hall of Famers like Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, and Andre Reed. That team was a unit that went to four straight Super Bowls, unfortunately losing every one of them. Now the Bills seem to have that multi-facet offense that propelled them 16 years ago. A solid quarterback (Trent Edwards), a versatile running back (Stephen Jackson), and even a deep threat (wide receiver Lee Evans). The Bills are definitely not thinking Super Bowl just yet. They do, however, expect to have a lot more respect from the pundits who seem to exclude them in every talk of “who is the best in the NFL right now?”

Perhaps the greatest mismatch of Week 3 was the Patriots versus Miami Dolphins game. The Dolphins were no match for the New England Patriots who easily won…wait. Wha? Oh yeah, that’s right. It was the other way around. The game went harshly against the grain and shocked the nation when the Dolphins thoroughly trounced the Patriots 38-13. It was an amazing offensive output by a team that nearly went completely defeated last year (1-15) and a poor defensive showing from a team that was unbeaten in its last 22 regular season games.

How did they do it? Answer: Wildcat formation. Simply put, the Wildcat formation stacks its best and biggest blockers along the right side of the line to create more running angles to that unbalanced side. Additionally, QB Chad Pennington and running backs Ricky Williams and Patrick Hobbs lined up as wide receivers as other running back Ronnie Brown became the shotgun QB for the package. Then, as the play begins, Ricky Williams starts into a violent, full speed motion that crosses in front of Brown just as the ball is snapped. This play (which is based in misdirection) has three choices at this point: Hand off to Williams, Brown runs with it through a stacked line of blocking, or Brown throws to a receiver.

The misdirection was a rousing success against the Patriots. The Dolphins ran the Wildcat package 6 times for 118 yards and 4 touchdowns. Williams ran the ball twice for 30 yards, Brown ran 3 times for 69 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Brown also threw for a 19 yard touchdown completion. Without a doubt, the Wildcat package dismantled the Patriots defense. Now it remains to be seen: Are the Dolphins to employ this tactic regularly, or was it specially designed for the Patriots game?

The Green Bay Packers stressed complete coverage on Dallas Cowboys’ receiver Terrell Owens for Sunday night’s prime time game and boy did it ever work. In the entire game, Owens was limited to only two catches for a total of 17 yards. Basically, Green Bay shut him down.

But they seemed to have forgotten about every other offensive weapon that the Cowboys have. While Owens was attracting double (and sometimes triple) coverage from the Packers’ secondary, backup receiver Mike Austin caught two huge passes totaling for 115 yards and what would prove to be the game winning touchdown.

In addition to his spectacular output, running back Marion Barber ran for 142 yards (career high) and a touchdown, and the secondary running back Felix Jones added  a 60-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

So at least for now, Dallas remains the team to be beaten in the NFC. This matchup between the Packers and Cowboys had experts predicting the winner to be the best team in the NFL. So, according to them, that’s the Cowboys. But then again, it is only week 3 and there are several other unbeaten teams in the NFL such as the Bills, Titans, and (defending Superbowl champions) New York Giants.

It’s only the third week of the season and already the Jacksonville Jaguars are staring down the barrel of the shotgun. After two weeks and two games, the Jaguars have dug themselves into a hole with a 0-2 record. After losing a close one to the Tennessee in week one (17-10), the Jaguars were seemingly in control of their week two game versus the Buffalo Bills. However, the game slipped away before they had realized what happened and the Jaguars were left to recount their mistakes.

After leading the game 16-10 in the closing moments of the fourth quarter, Jacksonville was unable to control the game clock effectively and failed a third-down conversion. A punt and nine Bills offensive plays later, Jacksonville allowed a 74-yard drive for a touchdown. In the end, Buffalo won 20-16.

Now they play divisional rivals Indianapolis (1-1) in perhaps the most important game of their season. They need to perform well or fall to an embarrassing 0-3 record. Head Coach Jack Del Rio acknowledges this fact and stresses the importance of utilizing the one-two punch of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor. Additionally, quarterback David Garrard needs to step up and lead his offense against an ailing Indianapolis Colts defense. The Colts-Jaguars game begins at 4:15 ET this Sunday.

With a 10-3 deficit at halftime and about as many total offensive yards as yards penalized, the Carolina Panthers’ situation seemed pretty bleak. Things worsened shortly into the 3rd quarter when the Bears’ offense widened the gap with another touchdown. The sunny day in Carolina seemed to be able to do little for the gloomy faces of the Panthers’ fans.

Momentum, however, switched dramatically when Jake Delhomme scrambled for a 6 yard run that setup a field goal in the closing minutes of the 3rd quarter. It wasn’t so much the run itself that sparked the momentum shift, but rather the hit Delhomme took from Lance Briggs while sliding down. Instead of taking the hit and becoming fearful of the Bears’ defense, Delhomme instead used that to invigorate his team and go into full-attack mode.

It worked.

The Panthers became a new team. Both the offense and defense clicked. The defense forced a critical fumble from the normally sure hands of Greg Olsen, subsequently leading to a Panthers offensive touchdown. The offense, led by rookie running back Jonathon Stewart, picked apart the stoic Bears “mug” defense en route to a 20-17 victory. This makes two come-from-behind victories for the Panthers this season.

 Both the Vikings and Colts want to avoid going 0-2 to start out the new season. The only problem is, one of them will. This Sunday the two squads will face each other at 1:00 pm ET in Minnesota. For two teams that were projected to be division leaders, one of them will fall to an embarrassing start.

Maybe it will be worse for the Colts who have started out at least 7-0 in the last three seasons of NFL play (an NFL record). Under the leadership of Peyton Manning, the Colts have been a powerhouse in the AFC South for as long as one can remember. But the sloppy offensive output last week against the Bears, compounded by the equally (if not worse) defensive play, has many Colts fans worried. The Colts’ defense was unable to stifle the Chicago Bears running game…something that needs to fixed before they face the electric Adrian Peterson of the Vikings.

But the Vikings also looked poor in their first start against the Packers. Aside from Adrian Peterson (who rushed for a touchdown and 103 yards), the Vikings offense was all but absent from the field. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson threw a substandard 16-35 and often failed to move the chains for the offense. Their defense had a hard time containing the passing attack of new Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Imagine what a veteran like Peyton might do…

It’s ultimately going to be disappointing for one of the teams but expect a hearty battle from both sides.

Week 1 of NFL regular season definitely entertained fans with some huge moments and some downright shocking plays. From the Bears’ impressive upset of the Indianapolis Colts to the “He-done-it-again” winning performance of Jets QB Brett Favre, Sunday did not disappoint. That is, unless you’re a New England Patriots fan.

The New England win margin was low this past Sunday, only topping the Kansas City Chiefs by a touchdown in their 17-10 win. The reason for the low margin? The injury to Tom Brady. With the leader of the Patriots sidelined, the potent Patriots turned their trust to Matt Cassell who ultimately led the Patriots to victory.

But fans and players are concerned about the extent of the Brady injury. After Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard collided with Tom Brady’s knee in the first quarter, Brady left and never returned. Word about the injury in the Patriots’ locker room is guarded at the moment, but NFL Network’s Adam Schefter reports that the injury is season-ending. It is not confirmed at the moment, but it is believed that Brady may have torn his ACL, a particularly bad type of leg injury to any football player. However, Brady will undergo MRI scans on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.

For the Patriots and Cassell, on the other hand, the show must go on and the players will need to find leadership in Cassell.

So there were doubts about the capabilities of the New York Giants this year after losing some key players. Last night, those doubts were smashed into thousands of pieces, pounded into dust, melted into liquid, and then heated until evaporation. The Giants played a phenomenal game last night against the Washington Redkins at their home stadium, thrilling fans with a 16-7 victory. Sure, the score may not impart the grand sense of domination I’ve created, but their play certainly did.

The offense. No Shockey, no problem. New York had plenty of firepower from their three main weapons: Manning, Burress, and Jacobs. Eli Manning played well last night going 19-35 for 216 yards and a rushing touchdown. Plaxico Burress had 10 receptions for 133 yards. Brandon Jacobs ran 21 times for 116 yards, averaging over 5.5 yards per carry and bulldozing Washington Safeties in the process. The offense seems to have proved itself as capable of doing their part.

The defense. That’s where the Giants really won this game.  Aside from holding the Redskins to only 209 total yards and 7 points, they also tallied numerous pass deflections, a forced fumble, and a sack. This, without Strahan and Umenyiora.

The Giants have thus far proved that last year they were no fluke Superbowl team; that they can come back and still play solid all around ball…at least against the Redskins.

They played (and won) the last game of the previous season and now they get to kick off the new year of NFL season play. The returning Superbowl champs will play the Washington Redskins this Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET and need to put their best foot forward against this divisional rival. But most pundits don’t believe the Giants have what it takes to do it again.

So why aren’t the Giants getting any love? Well, for starters the Giants have lost two key players since last year: Jeremy Shockey and Michael Strahan. Shockey, who has since been traded to the New Orleans Saints, was a huge component of the offense for the Giants last year, despite being injured late in the season and being unable to play in the Superbowl. Michael Strahan was a Pro bowl defensive end whose presence was incredibly intimidating to opposing quarterbacks. He retired after the Superbowl win. Additionally, defensive end Osi Umenyiora recently suffered a season ending injury.

So the Giants’ defense, which was a crucial component of last year’s success, has now been severely hindered. As has their offense with the loss of Jeremy Shockey. But take another look at the situation. Shockey, as said before, wasn’t able to compete in the Superbowl and the Giants did just fine, just as they did when Tiki Barber retired a couple of years ago. As for the defense, it wasn’t just those two powerful ends. The Giants had a strong defense all around and have plenty of willing substitutes for the vacant Umenyiora spot.

But making predictions about a team’s ability before the season begins is foolish. The Giants may be a solid team still but will they play as one? It’ll be fun to watch and find out.