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The Biggest Question for Every NFL Game In Week 3

Eva Geitheim|
The Texans and Colts face off in a critical divisional matchup this Sunday.
The Texans and Colts face off in a critical divisional matchup this Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Just two weeks into the 2026 NFL season, the pressure is already mounting for a number of squads entering Week 3 as they look to avoid falling to 1–2 or even 0–3. This begins with this week’s Thursday night matchup, which features a Falcons team looking to make its first trip into the red zone and a Packers squad trying to convincingly defeat an opponent again. 

As a critical week of games approach, here is one question for every matchup in Week 3. 

Falcons at Packers: How will Michael Penix Jr. look in his first game back? 

After the Packers eked out an overtime win against the Jets, all eyes in this game will be on Michael Penix Jr., who is returning from a torn ACL. Penix likely will be better than the Falcons’ quarterback play the first two weeks—which is not a high bar to clear—but he could need time to adjust back to the game. Penix was still developing as a young quarterback when he went down with the injury in Week 11 last season. In his nine games (all starts) in 2025, his accuracy was inconsistent as he ranked 33rd in bad throw rate, per Pro Football Reference. Since he was limited throughout the offseason due to his recovery, it will be interesting to see if he was able to improve as a passer.

Bengals at Steelers: Can Aaron Rodgers get going again? 

The Steelers’ offense has been ugly to start the season. They have scored just one touchdown through two games, while Aaron Rodgers has completed 59.5% of his passes for 408 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He has been sacked six times and has averaged only 5.2 yards per pass attempt. Between drops, some inaccurate passes and a lack of a run game, the Steelers’ offense has failed to get into a rhythm thus far. If Rodgers and the offense can’t become more effective, Pittsburgh is in for another long, middling season.

Patriots at Jaguars: Can Drake Maye return to his 2025 form? 

The Patriots got the win on Sunday, but quarterback Drake Maye has yet to snap back to MVP contender form. Through two games, he has thrown for 386 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions while completing 67.3% of his passes. Maye began the season against a pair of great defenses in the Seahawks and Steelers, but the Jaguars also boast a good defense. After shining in large part thanks to his accuracy last season—especially on downfield throws—Maye has underthrown a number of passes and has half as many interceptions as he did in all of 2025. 

Titans at Giants: How will the Giants handle the loss of Jaxson Dart? 

After defeating the Cowboys in Week 1, the Giants were in good position to start the season 2–1 or better. That might not be the case anymore after quarterback Jaxson Dart sustained a season-ending knee injury in the Giants’ loss to the Rams. Backup Jameis Winston did not play well while filling in for Dart, going 11-for-27 (40.7%) for 111 yards, no touchdowns and a pick, but he’ll look to put in a better showing after a full week of practice. The Titans are not as good as the Rams, but after nearly upsetting the Eagles, they could take advantage of a Giants squad missing its star quarterback. 

Seahawks at Commanders: Can anyone stop Jaxon Smith-Njigba?

The Commanders’ short-term prognosis isn’t very good after losing Jayden Daniels to another dislocated elbow. While Daniels is out, the Commanders still have the opportunity to show improvement, particularly on defense under new DC Daronte Jones. That starts with slowing down Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year who has begun 2026 on a tear, leading the league in receiving yards (277) and touchdowns (four) through two weeks. If the Commanders can slow him down, that will be at least a silver lining coming out of this game even if they lose to the reigning champs.

Jets at Lions: Can Geno Smith expose the Lions’ secondary? 

As Josh Allen showed on Thursday Night Football last week to the tune of 248 yards and three touchdowns, the Lions’ secondary is an issue. Detroit has already given up 621 passing yards, second-most in the NFL. Jets quarterback Geno Smith has had a good start to the year in his first two games back with the Jets—completing 70.8% of his passes for 462 yards, a touchdown and no picks over two games—but has yet to have a standout day passing. It’s early in the season, but the Jets’ best chance at pulling off an upset against Detroit might be Smith taking advantage of the Lions’ banged-up secondary.

Panthers at Browns: How will Deshaun Watson’s first home start since 2024 go? 

For the first time since Oct. 20, 2024, Deshaun Watson will start a home game at Huntington Bank Field. Despite speculation that Watson could be benched before the Browns’ first home game if he struggled through the first two weeks, he will indeed start after leading Cleveland to a Week 2 victory over the Buccaneers. The last time Watson took the home field in the preseason, he was booed relentlessly as he struggled against the Bills’ backups. Watson, who was originally traded to the Browns after facing allegations of sexual misconduct by 22 women, then spoke critically after the game about the fan base booing and saying he doesn’t regret anything in life. Though Watson played well last Sunday, the Browns shouldn’t expect a warm reception in their home opener.

“The biggest thing is I never try to go to war with the fans,” Watson said Wednesday. “The biggest thing is ready for support, ready to feel their energy, ready to get this big dub for the city of Cleveland and continue this great thing that we have this week.”

Chiefs at Dolphins: Can the Dolphins make life tough on the Chiefs? 

The undermanned Dolphins will not be expected to defeat a 2–0 Chiefs team that has been rolling, but can they do anything to make life tough on Patrick Mahomes and company? The Dolphins stopped the 49ers’ running game, but Brock Purdy had an effortless day through the air, completing 20 of his 22 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, the 49ers’ receivers created 4.84 yards of separation per target, which ranked first in the league in Week 2. Jeff Hafley told Stephen A. Smith before the season that success wouldn’t be measured in wins and losses and that they’d be focused on player development, but if they allow offenses to dominate this easily, it will be hard to feel good about any development. 

Chargers at Bills: Can the Chargers play a clean game on offense? 

The NFL’s most disappointing team will take on one of the league’s hottest squads in this Week 3 matchup between the Chargers and Bills in Buffalo. The Chargers won’t be expected to win and there aren’t any moral victories in football, but can they at least put together an effort that doesn’t feel discouraging? Through two weeks, they’ve committed five turnovers, converted only 31.8% of their third downs and fallen well short of the machine they were expected to be under new OC Mike McDaniel. They likely won’t transform into an offensive juggernaut in one week, but avoiding shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly would be a step in the right direction. 

Texans at Colts: Who wins in the trenches? 

The Colts’ offensive line vs. the Texans’ defensive line will be a battle of strength-on-strength, but the more monumental matchup toward the outcome of the game could be that between the Texans’ O-line and Colts’ D-line. Through two weeks, the Colts have generated the lowest pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the league, per NFL researcher, pressuring opponents only 28.4% of the time. They’ve also been beat up in the running game, allowing 177 yards per game through two weeks. In contrast, the Texans’ revamped offensive line has struggled to block in the run game, ranking 30th in ESPN’s run block win rate. They’ve also given up seven sacks thus far, putting pressure on quarterback C.J. Stroud to carry the offense.

Cardinals at 49ers: Can the Cardinals get Marvin Harrison Jr. more involved?

Through two games, Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has been targeted just four times and caught one pass while going viral for a perceived lack of effort. Coach Mike LaFleur is not going to force “easy completions” to Harrison unless it’s what’s best, but are they able to get him some more targets and catches? There were a couple instances on Sunday in which Harrison got open, but the protection for quarterback Jacoby Brissett didn’t hold up. Will they be able to protect better or find some intermediate targets they can hit him on? If not, the calls that Harrison needs a fresh start could grow louder. 

Vikings at Buccaneers: How will Kyler Murray’s return go?

After sustaining a concussion early in Week 1, Kyler Murray is slated to return for the Vikings against the Buccaneers. Now it’s time to see what Murray officially looks like in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, which is a different style than Murray became accustomed to in his first seven seasons in Arizona. In Week 1, Murray threw just five passes in his debut as a Viking, completing three of them for 18 yards and an interception.The good news is Carson Wentz and the Vikings’ defense has proved that Murray doesn’t have to be perfect for them to win. They just need competence—and someone to deliver the ball to Justin Jefferson.

Raiders at Saints: Can the Saints show up in the first half? 

The Saints have made an early bid to become this year’s Cardiac Cats. In Week 1, they rebounded from an ugly first half by scoring 24 second-half points and forcing overtime against the Lions. This past week in Baltimore, they scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Ravens. The Saints have been on the rise to start the year, but can they get things going earlier when they take on the 2–0 Raiders this week? 

Ravens at Cowboys: How will the field hold up? 

The Ravens and Cowboys are headed to Brazil for their Week 3 matchup, and there are already concerns about the field conditions. The NFL previously dealt with field issues when the Eagles and Packers played at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo in September 2024, with multiple players slipping during the game. The matchup between the Ravens and Cowboys is taking place at a different location in Brazil, at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. In recent weeks, several soccer players have complained about the field conditions, with Flamengo goalkeeper Agustín Rossi telling AtoZ Sports, “You don’t even need to talk about the field. The way we play, it’s unbelievable that we’re playing on a field like this. Both penalty areas are bad as [expletive]. If you look at it, there are bumps everywhere.”

NFL Field Director Nick Pappas does not have any concern about the conditions, telling ESPN, “What we’ve seen in Rio is a significant amount of rainfall, a record kind of rainfall over the last six weeks. And that obviously poses challenges just from a management perspective, but nothing that we're not capable of managing or prepared to take.”

Rams at Broncos: What version of these juggernauts will show up in Week 3?

The Rams and Broncos will provide a potential Super Bowl LXI preview when they face off on Sunday Night Football—depending on which version of these teams show up. Both teams had messy debuts in Week 1 in prime time, as the Rams struggled in a loss to the 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, and the Broncos got dominated by the Chiefs. Both teams rebounded in Week 2, but it’s still hard to gauge how they’ll look against another contender this week. The Rams beat up on a Giants team that lost its starting quarterback early in the game while the Broncos’ offense (and defense) didn’t really get going until the second half.

Eagles at Bears: Can the Eagles stop the run?

The Eagles could face veteran third-string quarterback Case Keenum after both Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent sustained injuries this past week. Philadelphia should be able to stop Keenum, but can they limit the Bears’ rushing attack from beating them the way it did last season? In Week 13 last year, the Bears rushed for 281 yards against the Eagles, with running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combining for 255 of those yards.The Eagles’ run defense has not been stout to start 2026, ranking 26th in rushing success rate allowed and 24th in rushing yards allowed (127 per game).

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.

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