NFL: 5 things we didn’t see coming in Week 3

Week 3 of the 2014 NFL season is almost complete, with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets playing on Monday night, but there was plenty of surprising action from the other 15 games played this week.

How about the rematch of Super Bowl XLVIII, which saw the Seattle Seahawks again beat the Denver Broncos, but this time a much closer contest.

From the Arizona Cardinals’ big win against the San Francisco 49ers to the Dallas Cowboys’ improbable comeback against the St. Louis Rams, we take a look at the five biggest things that we didn’t see coming this week.

Let’s dig in.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Getting Blown Out That Bad

We knew the Atlanta Falcons had a gaudy offense with the likes of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, but I don’t think any of us could have expected what we witnessed on Thursday night.

Even without Roddy White, the Falcons still put up 56 unanswered points through three quarters, with Ryan not even having to make an appearance in the fourth quarter.

I think what was more surprising was just how bad the Bucs were. They turned the ball over five times, highlighted by two fumbles lost by running back Bobby Rainey. It was one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen, as I noted on Twitter.

Atlanta was averaging 23.5 points coming into Thursday Night Football, but no one could have predicted 56 straight points put up by the Falcons in Week 3.

The Green Bay Packers Only Scoring 7 Points

Whether you view it as great defense by the Detroit Lions or poor offensive execution by the Packers, Green Bay only mustering a touchdown against the division rival Lions was a surprise.

Detroit came into the game with the No. 2 defense in the NFL in terms of opponent yards per game, but you’d think Aaron Rodgers and the Pack’s offense could break through that defense that let up 24 points to the Carolina Panthers in Week 2. As Randall Cobb (via Packers News) highlighted, it wasn’t the defense that failed on Sunday.

It’s not like Green Bay didn’t have its chances either. The Packers forced three Detroit turnovers, but still only put one touchdown–a 10 yard pass from Rodgers to Andrew Quarless–on the board.

It was another rough day for Eddie Lacy, which certainly factored into the tough loss for GB, but for a Packers team that was averaging 23.5 points per game through the first two weeks, this was certainly a surprise.

The Cowboys Needing To Overcome a 21-Point Deficit

It’s no secret that the Dallas Cowboys’ defense is horrible, but I didn’t see Austin Davis completing 71% of his passes while throwing for 327 yards and three scores in a near win for the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

This was a game that I thought the Cowboys should have won fairly easily. Dallas has an explosive offense with DeMarco Murray on the ground and a guy like Dez Bryant hauling in passes from Tony Romo.

That’s why it should come as a pretty big surprise that the Cowboys had to overcome a 21-point deficit to take down the now 1-2 Rams against a QB who had never thrown an NFL pass until last week. For Dallas, it was one of the biggest comebacks in team history, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Luckily the Cowboys’ offense stepped up for them when they needed it to, but that defense has to get better for the Cowboys to do anything in the NFC East this season.

Arizona Being 3-0 After Beating San Francisco

Would you have believed me if I had told you before the season started that the Arizona Cardinals would be 3-0 to start the season, with Carson Palmer only playing in one of those games? I didn’t think so.

Drew Stanton has done an excellent job filling in for the injured Palmer, getting the ball to stars Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd as well as an emerging big play talent in John Brown.

A big reason for Arizona’s success has been its defense, which has allowed just 15 points per game through three weeks, including only 14 points against a solid San Francisco 49ers’ offense in Week 3.

I figured the 49ers would be able to take advantage of Stanton’s inexperience and force some turnovers and turn them into points, but it looks like the Cardinals may be more legit than a lot of us thought.

With Palmer predictably returning soon, Arizona is only going to get better and more difficult to beat, especially inside University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Chiefs Taking Down Miami On The Road Without Jamaal Charles

Even with a healthy Jamaal Charles, I still would have probably put my money on the Miami Dolphins, especially at home.

Charles wasn’t able to go against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday due to a high ankle sprain, according to ESPN’s Adam Teicher, but that didn’t stop KC.

Instead, Knile Davis took the running back reigns on Sunday and ran with them, to the tune of 132 yards and a score on 32 carries.

And it wasn’t just the Chiefs taking down the Dolphins–they did it with ease. Kansas City’s defense reached Ryan Tannehill four times for sacks, and Alex Smith threw for three touchdowns on the day in what turned out to be an easy 34-15 road win for the Chiefs.

Yahoo Sports had Miami as four point favorites entering play on Sunday, and it was definitely a surprise to see Kansas City win with such ease, especially without its Pro Bowl back.

More from FanSided.com

NFL Power Rankings Week 3: Seahawks, Broncos flip-flop; Cardinals crack top 5
Seahawks CB DeShawn Shead proposed to girlfriend after win over Broncos
South Park takes on Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder (Video)
FanSided College Football Top 25 Poll: Week 4
Ravens player does LeBron James chalk toss to celebrate touchdown, trolls Browns (GIF)