The Patriots, Broncos and Bills produced gold-star performances, but the Texans and Steelers must do better. Read on for our week three grades...

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens (W 17-16 @ Jacksonville)
The Ravens move to 3-0 for the first time since 2009, after Joe Flacco threw 21 clean passes - a franchise record. The Jaguars had their opportunities to win the game late in the fourth quarter, but Justin Tucker's field goal with a minute remaining saw them through. The Ravens have been given a favourable start to the schedule, and have managed to take full advantage. Grade: B-  

Cleveland Browns (L 30-24 @ Miami) 
It was shaping up to be the dream start for Browns rookie quarterback Cody Kessler. Coming back from 24-13 down in the fourth quarter, Cleveland fought back to 24-24 before Cody Parkey missed a field goal as time expired which would have given them the win. Instead, Jay Ajayi snatched the win for the Dolphins in overtime but there were positives for the Browns as Terrell Pryor ran, caught and threw for a combined 200 yards. Grade: C

Cincinnati Bengals (L 29-17 v Denver)
Like last week Andy Dalton relied heavily on A.J Green, due to a lack of other options. Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu left the organisation in the summer, while tight end Tyler Eifert continues his recovery from an ankle injury sustained in the Pro Bowl. The Bengals defence missed Vontaze Burfict, who should return for week four, as the secondary couldn't deal with the impressive Siemian. Grade: D

Pittsburgh Steelers (L 34-3 @ Philadelphia)
Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offensive line must take the blame for the worst Steelers defeat since 1989. Roethlisberger was sacked four times, threw an interception and consistenty overthrew to his receivers, and on the ground DeAngelo Williams and co had a total of 29 yards. Marcus Wheaton dropped three comfortable catchdowns and the defence failed to pressure Wentz into making mistakes. Terrible game all round. Grade: F

AFC East

New England Patriots (W 27-0 v Houston) 
Not only did rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett hold his own, he ran for a 27-yard touchdown, the longest by a New England QB since 1977. Jamie Collins forced three turnovers as his team dominated Houston from start to finish on both sides of the ball. Grade: A

Buffalo Bills (W 33-18 v Arizona) 
It was a big week for the Bills. After losing the first two games of the season, Greg Roman was dismissed from his role as offensive coordinator and the move appears to have paid dividends, as LeSean McCoy ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns. However, the Bills defence should take a lot of credit for this victory, closing out the game with four straight interceptions. Grade: B

Miami Dolphins (W 30-24 v Cleveland) 
This was a must-win game for Miami but they could have, and should have, lost it. Cleveland missed a field goal with the last action of regulation time, and it took a Jay Ajayi touchdown run to give the Dolphins their first win of the season. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a mixed game, throwing two first-half interceptions and fumbling to hand Cleveland the game winning opportunity. The Dolphins defence, led by Cameron Wake, did a good job of unnerving Kessler with four sacks and continual pressure throughout. Grade: C

New York Jets (L 24-3 @ Kansas City)
From hero to zero, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw six interceptions, four in the last quarter as the Jets undid all their good work from the previous week against Buffalo. Forte was held to 65 yards, as Eric Berry and Marcus Peters led the Chiefs in shutting down every New York play. Grade: D-

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts (W 22-20 v San Diego)
The Colts got off the board against a wounded chargers team that missed the presence of Keenum Allen and Danny Woodhead. Yet it was Andrew Luck that threw the touchdown when it mattered, connecting with T.Y Hilton for a 63-yard score. Indianapolis have injury concerns of their own, and their defence still looks thoroughly suspect, but this is a positive performance going into their divisional game against the Jaguars at Wembley. Grade: B

Tennessee Titans (L 17-10 v Oakland)
Despite gaining 114 yards from running back DeMarco Murray, the Titans offence sturggled to move the ball, with quarterback Marcus Mariota throwing two interceptions and fumbling deep in Tennessee territory. The AFC South still look to be without a dominant team and if the Titans want to become that team, Mariota is going to have to learn to trust his receivers. Grade: D

Jacksonville Jaguars (L 19-17 v Baltimore)
Another error strewn loss for the much-hyped Jaguars and pressure mounts on head coach Gus Bradley going into the Jaguars' 'home' game at Wembley next week. Jacksonville had every chance to win this game, and the defence looked much improved on the team that was torn apart by San Diego, but three interceptions from Blake Bortles cost his team dearly. Grade: D-

Houston Texans (L 27-0 @ New England)
2-0 and facing a rookie quarterback, J.J Watt, the Texans defence sensed an opportunity to take advantage and claim a healthy lead at the summit of the AFC South. However, the promise of an upset failed to materialise as Brock Osweiler looked overawed at Gillette Stadium. Grade: F

AFC West

Denver Broncos (W 29-17 @ Cincinnati) 
Four touchdowns and no interceptions for Trevor Siemian proved that the 2015 seventh round pick has the ability to lead the Broncos without relying solely on their defence. The Bengals set up to force Siemian to throw and the quarterback called their bluff, throwing 55 and 41 yard touchdown throws to Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders respectively. Grade: B+

Kansas City Chiefs (W 24-3 v New York Jets) 
The defence took control of this game with two touchdowns, six interceptions while recovering two fumbles, not to mention restricting a solid Jets offence to just three points. Travis Kelce looked like a top-five tight end, but this was the defence's day. Grade: B+

Oakland Raiders (W 17-10 @ Tennessee) 
The offence scored all their points in the first half, before relying on first-round rookie Karl Joseph and the Raiders' defence to see out the win. Conerback David Amerson had three tackles and five pass break-ups in Oakland's best defensive performance this season. Grade: B

San Diego Chargers (L 22-20 @ Indianapolis) 
The Chargers missed their main offensive weapons but should have done more against one of the worst defences in the league. Melvin Gordon only managaed an average of 2.2 yards per carry, but the Chargers were ultimately undone by a failed blitz on Luck, which gave Hilton the space to run in for the game-winning touchdown. Grade: C-

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles (W 34-3 v Pittsburgh)
How can you not give the Eagles anything other than an A+ after they moved to 3-0 on the year with an emphatic 34-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had a 19-2 against rookie quarterbacks since 2004. Make that 19-3, as Carson Wentz is no ordinary rookie. Grade: A+

Dallas Cowboys (W 31-17 v Chicago)
Dak Prescott threw a first NFL touchdown pass and earned a second straight win for Dallas, doubling the number of victories the Cowboys had in 14 games without injured quarterback Tony Romo over three seasons before the rookie fourth-round pick showed up. Grade: A

Washington Redskins (W 29-27 @ New York Giants)
Not a perfectly polished performance by any means, but the Redskins are starting to click on both sides of the ball - Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdowns; passes of 44 yards to DeSean Jackson and 55 to Jamison Crowder, while the defence picked off Eli Manning twice in the second half. Grade: B

New York Giants (L 27-29 v Washington)
Their grade is a D, in a pointed reference to the reason for their defeat, a considerable lack of discipline. The Giants gave up 128 yards on 11 penalties, and an emotional Odell Beckham Jr was once again led to distraction during his duel with Josh Norman. Grade: D

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings (W 22-10 @ Carolina)
Sam Bradford's dream start to life in Minnesota continued via a Carolina detour at the weekend. Bradford's statistics - 171 yards and one TD - may not be hugely eye-catching but they played a part in ending the Panthers' 14-game home winning streak, and leading the Vikings to a 3-0 start. Grade: A

Green Bay Packers (W 34-27 v Detroit)
So much for the fuss over the Packers' struggling offence. Eddie Lacy tallied his first 100-yard game of the year, and Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns, two of which were to Jordy Nelson, with the pair's telepathic understanding seemingly back. Grade: A-

Detroit Lions (L 27-34 @ Green Bay)
Talking of telepathic partnerships, the Lions benefitted greatly in the same game with one of their own, as off-season addition from the Cincinnati Bengals; Marvin Jones' chemistry with Matthew Stafford continues. A 205-yard two touchdown game for Jones very nearly rallied Detroit to a staggering comeback win, but they ultimately left themselves with too much to do. Grade: B-

Chicago Bears (L 17-31 @ Dallas)
Chicago's poor season start continues as they slipped to 0-3 on the season - all three defeats coming to teams with a starting quarterback in their first year. Dallas' Prescott followed in the footsteps of Philadelphia's Wentz and Houston Texans' Brock Osweiler. Grade: F

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons (W 45-32 @ New Orleans)
Matt Ryan and the Falcons offence ran all over the sorry Saints defence, who could not cope with the power of Atlanta's attack. Tevin Coleman scored three touchdowns off just 44 yards and Devonta Freeman rushed for 152. The Falcons defence was not much better than the Saints', but a 90-yard interception from linebacker Deion Jones was enough to separate the two. Grade: A-

Carolina Panthers (L 10-22 v Minnesota)
A real mixed-bag of a day for the Panthers, who only led 10-8 at halftime despite bettering the Vikings 205 yards to 34 in the first half. The failure to turn yardage into points came down largely to league reigning MVP Cam Newton's three interceptions and eight sacks. Grade: C-

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (L 32-37 v Los Angeles)
Despite a 400-yard day for Jameis Winston, conceding five touchdowns to a Los Angeles Rams side that had failed to get into the endzone in the first two games of the season, represents a disappointing day for the Bucs. Grade: D

New Orleans Saints (L 45-32 v Atlanta)
The defence let Drew Brees down here. Brees threw over 100 yards and a touchdown more than his opposition number Matt Ryan, but the D allowed Atlanta to score on six straight possessions, five of which were touchdowns. If defences win championships, the Saints are not anywhere near one. Grade: E

NFC West

Los Angeles Rams (W 37-32 @ Tampa Bay)
When will Todd Gurley get going? That was the question being asked after two quiet - near on silent - games for the reigning rookie of the year running back. Well, the answer was emphatic in week three with Gurley notching 85 yards and two touchdowns as the Rams won their second straight game. Grade: A

Seattle Seahawks (W 37-18 v San Francisco)
A win worthy of an 'A' but knocked down ever so slightly due to the injury of Russell Wilson with about 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. Until that point, Wilson had finally got the Seattle offence firing after a sluggish first two weeks. Christine Michael (2 TDs), Doug Baldwin (1 TD) and Jimmy Graham (1TD) all scoring and tallying 100-yard games. Grade: A-

Arizona Cardinals (L 18-33 @ Buffalo)
The Cardinals' see-saw start to the season continues. An emphatic win over the Buccaneers followed a disappointing opening day defeat to the New England Patriots, but the Cards were back to being sloppy in Buffalo - Carson Palmer savaged for four interceptions by a rampant Bills defence. Grade: D-

San Francisco 49ers (L 18-37 @ Seattle)
The 49ers suffered their yearly shellacking in Seattle, but this one made for particularly painful viewing until Carlos Hyde ran in for a couple of garbage time scores to paint over some of the cracks. The play of Blaine Gabbert - 119 yards and an interception off 25 attempts - is one pretty seismic crack. Grade: E