The week of Sept. 19 through 23 of football had many surprises compared to the previous two: the Saints’ loss to the Eagles, the Vikings, Steelers and Seahawks advancing to 3-0 and the Bengals continuing their series of losses, 0-3. Here are five key takeaways from Week 3.

Josh Allen is just that good.
The rare double header the night of Sept. 23 turned into a blowout for the Bills Mafia, who ran up the score 47-10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quarterback Josh Allen took the spotlight in the Bills’ teardown of the Jaguars. According to the NFL, Allen’s performance was “easily one of the most impressive individual showings and team wins for a club this young season.” The Bills’ offense took 70 yards in just 10 plays, with running back James Cook earning the touchdown. In the first half, Allen was 22-of-28 for 247 yards, 22 rushing yards, a 143.0 rating and four touchdowns.

The Vikings are on a roll.
The Minnesota Vikings notched a win streak in the opening two weeks — and it continued for a third. This week is the second beatdown for the Vikings on the Texans, 34-7. Quarterback Sam Darnold left the game due to a knee injury, but later returned to finish out regulation. A precautionary MRI was taken but only revealed a bone bruise, and he is not expecting to miss any play.

The Eagles outperformed the Saints offensively when they needed to.
The New Orleans Saints took their first loss of the season to the Philadelphia Eagles Sept. 22. Ranking second for defense entering the matchup, the Saints’ defense allowed the Eagles to take 175 yards on 25 carries. It was the battle of the defenses as Philadelphia contained New Orleans to an “average just 3.1 yards per carry,” according to the NFL. The Eagles’ offense notched some key runs that secured their win. Running back Saquon Barkley scored on a 65-yard run and tight end Dallas Goedert caught a 61-yard reception. These plays came after star wide receiver Devonta Smith was taken out of the game for a concussion and right tackle Lane Johnson left due to a concussion in the first half.

Aaron Rogers is making a difference in the Jets offense.
The New York Jets are surprisingly 2-1 — and some are crediting a healthy Aaron Rogers. Rogers boosted his performance against the New England Patriots Sept. 19 with 27-for-35 for 281 yards. He even managed to secure two touchdowns. Jets running backs Breece Hall and rookie Braelon Allen have been working well together this season, earning two and one rushing touchdowns, respectively. As for defense, they were able to keep the Patriots out of the end zone, one letting in one field goal.

Jayden Daniels is exactly what the Commanders need.
The Washington Commanders were absolutely correct in drafting rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels as the second overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, and he proved it Sept. 22. He completed 21 out of 23 passes, the “best single game by a rookie in NFL history,” according to the NFL. These passes were for 254 yards and two touchdowns, including his first touchdown pass to offensive tackle Trent Scott. And don’t worry, Daniels can run too. He kept several drives alive and was the Commanders’ leader in rushing with 39 yards. The most notable part of Daniels’ game was his “rainbow strike” to wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a 27-yard touchdown, silencing the Bengals’ home crowd.

Week 4 Predictions: Who should you start and sit?

This season has been surprising for a few reasons, most notably the reemergence of emphasis on the run game. We’ve seen scores drop lower and lower as quarterbacks play dips compared to the past several years. How does this affect fantasy football? Some quarterbacks who would’ve normally been seen as top-end options, like the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, are getting off to slow starts. Wide receivers and tight ends seem to be failing to produce, while running backs are doing better than expected, with the caveat that consensus first overall pick, 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey, has still yet to play a snap due to injury. That being said, here’s a look at Week 4 and predictions for who you should start and sit.

Start:
Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins (WRs, HOU) (Home vs JAX)
Starting this off with some honesty: The Jaguars’ defense looked terrible against the Bills Sept. 23. It gave up 47 points, including over 260 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air. Playing on a bit less rest in Houston, against a wide receiver trio better than anyone the Bills have, this feels like a must-start. Either Nico Collins or Stefon Diggs could reasonably score touchdowns and get over 15 points this week. When considering the fact that their other starting wideout, Tank Dell, is unlikely to play after not practicing midweek, Diggs and Collins could see a good amount of targets and ultimately have great games. The Texans are looking for a bounce-back win after their disappointing performance against the Vikings Sept. 22, and this could be the perfect opportunity for it.

Rhamondre Stevenson (RB, NE) (Away vs. SF)
So far this season, the San Francisco 49ers have had trouble stopping the run. Playing a Los Angeles Rams team missing their two best receivers — Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua — Rams running back Kyren Williams exploded for over 30 points. Additionally, star defensive tackle Javon Hargrave looks to be out for the remainder of the season, meaning San Francisco will have an even tougher time stopping the run. Because the 49ers are missing some of their best offensive weapons, it feels unlikely that this game will succumb to a shootout. Plus, the Patriots do not have a great passing offense, leaning heavily on their run game thus far this season. There is noo reason this should change against the 49ers, making Stevenson an easy start.

Diontae Johnson (WR, CAR) (Home vs. CIN)
The sample size is incredibly small, but the Panthers looked like a completely different animal with Andy Dalton starting at quarterback instead of Bryce Young. There was no greater beneficiary of this than wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who had by far his best performance of the season with almost 35 points last week over the Raiders. There’s a reason that the Panthers traded for him from the Steelers; they view him as their WR1 and a potential focal point of their passing attack. More so, they’re playing a Bengals secondary that got diced up by a not-great Commanders offense, who didn’t turn the ball over or punt once in their entire game last week. Coupling that with the fact that Adam Thielen was placed on injury reserve and will be out for four weeks, as long as Dalton is starting, Johnson is an easy play.

Sit:
J.K. Dobbins (RB, LAC) (Home vs. KC)
This matchup does not bode well for the Chargers. They’re expected to miss their two starting offensive tackles, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, meaning running the ball will be harder than normal. Los Angeles will also likely be playing from behind against a solid Chiefs team, leading to a game script that is likely less run-focused. Kansas City has quite a strong front seven and has done a great job slowing down its opponents’ primary options so far this season. All of these factors ultimately add up to this not being a great game to start J.K. Dobbins, and he should be someone who probably stays on your bench.

Colts Players, notably Anthony Richardson (QB, IND) (Home vs. PIT)
After a very good first game, quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Colts’ passing attack have not looked good. Richardson is averaging less than a 50% completion percentage for the season and is making plenty of mental mistakes. Now, they’re playing a Steelers team that hasn’t given up more than ten points this season and plays a run-heavy, slow-the-game-down style of offense. This in and of itself makes Richardson a risky start, and since you can’t trust him, it’s hard to trust any of his pass catchers, most notably Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and AD Mitchell.

Tyreek Hill (WR, MIA) (Home vs. TEN)
If you have Tyreek Hill, you probably want to play him most weeks he’s active, but the fact of the matter is, he does not play well with quarterback Skylar Thompson. Plus, Thompson left the game against the Seahawks early, so if third-string quarterback Tim Boyle is starting, Hill’s prospects bode even worse. Tua Tagovailoa looks to be out for a considerable amount of time, making Hill a player who does not have the brightest short-term outlook. The Titans are also a team that looks to establish the run, so this game will likely be slow and low-scoring, meaning Hill will get fewer opportunities than he used to.

This season has been full of surprises, with games overall being lower scoring and less passing-focused than before. This has had a demonstrated impact on fantasy, with some receivers and quarterbacks becoming less valuable than they had been previously — a running back renaissance. There are still takeaways to be learned from the season thus far, promising players to start at each of these positions and some disappointments who might have a role on fantasy benches this week.