The First Read: Who deserves respect after 3 games? Plus, most intriguing Week 4 matchup, MVP rankings

In The First Read, Jeffri Chadiha provides a snapshot of the hottest stories and trends heading into Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season, including:

• Top risers/sliders from Week 3.
• Sunday’s biggest surprise.
• Games to revisit on NFL+.
• Most intriguing game in Week 4.
• Way-too-early MVP rankings.

But first, a look at who deserves your R-E-S-P-E-C-T …

The old adage about respect is that nobody gives it to you. It takes a lot to earn respect, and once you have it, there’s plenty of work that goes into keeping it. The NFL is a perfect example of that. We spend an ample amount of time in the offseason talking about who’s going to do what, based on new coaching hires and personnel moves in free agency and the draft. Then we actually get to witness what happens when the games are real, which is the only way we can decide if those opinions carried any merit in the first place.

Three Sundays into the 2023 campaign, it’s time to start talking about who really is legit — or more specifically, who deserves that high level of respect. We know there were a fair number of surprise teams that jumped out to 2-0 starts and wanted to keep the good vibes going. There also were plenty of players and coaches who were thrust into positions to prove themselves, either because of high expectations or the need to rebound from rough beginnings. This is what comes with this league. Every week is a testament to who you really are.

That isn’t to say there won’t be more to discuss on this topic as we move deeper into the season. It’s just to note that there are some folks who have done plenty to open the eyes of this particular writer. So give them your respect today. They’ve damn sure earned it thus far.

1) Mike McDaniel: Seventy points??? The Dolphins have been doing crazy things with their offense already this season, but that number is both mind-boggling and further evidence of how scary Miami has become under its second-year head coach. The Dolphins surrendered 20 points to Denver on Sunday, won by 50 and easily could’ve broken the league record for points in a regular-season game (72) had McDaniel played his starters for the entire contest. The narrative in Miami once revolved around whether quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could stay healthy for an entire season. It’s quickly moved to a more telling conversation about who’s going to slow this team down in the AFC. The Dolphins didn’t even have wide receiver Jaylen Waddle available for Sunday’s win. They won’t have star cornerback Jalen Ramsey on the field until some time in December, as he’s recovering from knee surgery. Yeah, we know — the Dolphins aren’t perfect. But when you’re averaging 43.3 points per game, that doesn’t really matter. McDaniel has turned this team into a monster.

2) Brock Purdy: It’s impossible to doubt the guy now. Purdy has come too far, overcome too much and continues to play as if he is the quarterback head coach Kyle Shanahan has coveted for this offense all along. It felt like Purdy was along for the ride when the 49ers won the first seven games he started at the end of the 2022 season, before that elbow injury in the NFC title game loss to Philadelphia crushed San Francisco’s Super Bowl dreams. However, Purdy hasn’t missed a beat since returning from offseason surgery. He’s still benefitting from the best supporting cast in football — this team has stars all over the offense and defense — but he’s playing with even more confidence and efficiency. The best thing about Purdy last year was that he always played within himself. He still does that (he hasn’t thrown an interception through three games), only it feels like he believes he can make more plays when called upon. The 49ers compete as if they’re out to prove a point every week, and the quarterback is leading the charge on that front.

3) Steve Spagnuolo: As brilliant as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been in Kansas City, one fact that often gets overlooked is that this core won both its Super Bowls when the defense was playing at a high level. That comes back to Andy Reid’s decision to hire Spagnuolo as his defensive coordinator, a move that continues to pay huge dividends this year. The Chiefs’ defense, simply put, has never been this good during the Mahomes era. Spagnuolo’s unit has allowed just 33 points through three games — the only other score generated by a Kansas City opponent came on an interception return for a touchdown in a season-opening loss to Detroit — and it’s getting stronger with each passing week. Spagnuolo has so much versatility and athleticism in this bunch that he can dream up imaginative options to frustrate opposing quarterbacks and stifle their best weapons. He also has his top defender back in the mix, as All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones ended his holdout after missing that Lions defeat. If that isn’t bad enough for the opposition, Spagnuolo is still waiting on defensive end Charles Omenihu, a major free-agent acquisition, to return from a six-game suspension. A lot has been made of the Chiefs’ slow start on offense (even though they just enjoyed a 41-10 win over the Bears). It really hasn’t been that big of an issue because the other side of the football is doing more than enough to help this team win.

4) Shane Steichen: You can probably fit the number of people who expected the Colts to start 2-1 into a decent-sized closet. That’s exactly where they sit after three weeks, largely because of the work of their first-year head coach and his staff. The Colts just went into Baltimore and produced a 22-19 overtime win despite rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson not playing because of a concussion. They’ve played the entire season without disgruntled star running back Jonathan Taylor. Steichen also has done a nice job of preparing Richardson in Year 1, as the young quarterback who only made 13 college starts has been able to make plays with his arm and his legs. Of course, nobody is sitting here saying the Colts are about to make a run at the Super Bowl. But they have a feisty defense, a lot of energy and a schedule that is breaking in their favor. Over the next three weeks, they’ll see the Rams, Titans and a Jaguars team that they give fits to in the season opener. Yes, they got a nice break in Baltimore by playing a beat-up Ravens squad. But this team also is better than advertised, which says something about Steichen.

5) The marriage of Kellen Moore and Justin Herbert: The Chargers have started slow once again — they currently sit at 1-2 — but offense isn’t the problem. They hired Moore to be their offensive coordinator because he had a proven track record in Dallas, and Herbert needed somebody to help elevate his game. Nobody can argue with the results so far. Herbert is creating more explosive plays and producing more impressive numbers (he’s averaging 313 passing yards while completing 74.4 percent of his throws with no interceptions). Moore is assisting him with a balanced approach to play-calling that gives Herbert more of a rushing attack than the quarterback ever had in his first three seasons. Sure, the Chargers are battling the same injury bug that inexplicably hits this team every year: Running back Austin Ekeler didn’t play in Sunday’s win over Minnesota, while wide receiver Mike Williams was carted off with what is feared to be a serious knee injury. (UPDATE: NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported after publishing on Monday that Mike Williams tore his ACL and is done for the season.) However, the hope always has been that Herbert would develop into the kind of quarterback who could offset significant setbacks around him. That’s what stars like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow do. Moore has put Herbert in a great position to show that side of himself this year, especially if the Chargers can rebound from another slow start.

THREE UP

THREE DOWN

SUNDAY’S BIGGEST SURPRISE

Disappointing Jaguars. Jacksonville was supposed to be a no-brainer pick to run away with the weak AFC South. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence seemed like a trendy MVP candidate. Nobody is talking about that right now — not after the Jaguars dropped to 1-2 with a blowout home loss to Houston. There’s still plenty of time left for head coach Doug Pederson to fix the problems — which start with an offense that has generated just 26 points in the last two weeks — but this isn’t a good look. Jacksonville feels like the most overrated team in the league after three weeks.

THREE GAMES TO REVISIT ON NFL+

1. Chargers-Vikings: If you want to see high-level quarterback play and explosive highlights, this is your jam.
2. Colts-Ravens: This was a huge overtime win for Indy, even against a Baltimore team battling several injuries.
3. Saints-Packers: New Orleans suffered a huge blow in losing Derek Carr to injury, but Jordan Love continues to build his legacy with an impressive comeback victory.

MOST INTRIGUING GAME OF WEEK 4

SCOUT’S READ

One question answered by an unnamed front office source.

A lot of offenses have struggled through the first three weeks of the season. Is that more about defenses playing at a higher level or offenses starting slow?

ANONYMOUS NFC PERSONNEL DIRECTOR: “It’s usually like this early in the season and then it changes once teams have a few games on tape to see what their identity is. The better offensive teams will go on their runs mid- to late-season, while a couple who started fast face injuries or get figured out and fizzle out. A lot of the better quarterbacks don’t play a lot in the preseason, so those first few weeks are essentially the preseason for them. Plus, defensive coaches talk to their buddies, especially those in the same divisions or conferences, to see what schemes and personnel work best against certain opponents. There is always a ton of information getting passed around in the offseason. The better offensive units and players start to take off once they get oiled up.”

MVP WATCH

A simple ranking of the top five candidates, which will be updated weekly, depending on performance. Here is how it stands heading into Week 4 (with Caesars Sportsbook odds as of 8 a.m. ET on Sept. 25):

EXTRA POINT

My slowly evolving Super Bowl pick, which also will be updated each week, depending on performances: 49ers over Dolphins.

Previous picks …

• Week 2: 49ers over Bills
• Week 1: 49ers over Dolphins

Back to top