NFL Week 3 Winners and Losers: Drake Maye Looks Nothing Like the 2025 MVP Runner-Up

Sunday’s Week 3 slate of NFL football was yet another great one. The afternoon gave us 11 one-score games that went down to the wire, including a barn-burner in Brazil between the Ravens and Cowboys, while the nightcap between the Rams and Broncos started slow before Denver mounted a 16-point comeback in the second half to come away with a 30–26 win over Los Angeles.

The 14-game marathon gave us plenty to chew on as the season’s contenders and pretenders begin to take shape.

So, here are our winners and losers from Week 3.

Loser: Drake Maye

Through the first three weeks of 2026, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye looks like a shell of the MVP runner-up we saw last season. The worst of it came in New England’s 29-point loss to the Jaguars in Week 3.

While leading his team to only six points, Maye was 14-of-25 passing for 199 yards, threw two interceptions and fumbled while attempting to hit wide receiver Kyle Williams down the sideline.

Oh no Drake Maye 🫣

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/iCqZh9o1Kl
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 27, 2026

Maye’s seven turnovers through the first three weeks of the season lead the NFL.

“It’s disappointing," Maye told reporters after the loss. “I think the ball starts rolling like that and we can’t get out of our own way, and [I] can’t get out of my own way. I gotta look at myself in the mirror and take this as a turning point. You know, it’s Week 3, but at the same time, we gotta have some fuel and realize that what we’re doing out there offensively is unacceptable. It’s been unacceptable for three weeks.”

The road only gets tougher for the Patriots next weekend, as they’ll head to undefeated Buffalo (3–0) for an in-division matchup with the Bills.

Winner: Travis Hunter

There were several winners on the Jaguars as they took down the reigning AFC champions, including Travis Hunter. After Hunter played only 58% of the Jaguars’ defensive snaps during the first two weeks of the season, his usage, or lack thereof, came into question. With Hunter playing a limited role offensively and expected to see a much larger snap count on defense, many were surprised to see him not line up at corner full time through the first two games as the Jaguars rotated their corners.

Just as an addendum to my @NBCSBoston hit—I wouldn't be worried too much about Travis Hunter's lower snap count. They're bringing him back from an LCL tear, like their depth at corner, and are trying to play the long game with the group.

That said, the @Jaguars have a little…
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 27, 2026

Against the Patriots, Hunter quieted some of the noise, logging his first career interception while defending Efton Chism III in the red zone. He impressively got both feet down in bounds in the back of the end zone to give the ball back to the offense and help Jacksonville earn the win.

TRAVIS HUNTER INT ALERT 🚨@NEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/wILwED2EBi
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Loser: Chargers

Jim Harbaugh. — The Chargers are 0–3 to begin the 2026 season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chargers are back for their weekly appearance in the “losers” section in this column after falling to the Bills 24–16. Early on, Los Angeles was on track to secure an upset over the 2–0 Bills as they forced five turnovers. They started the game by forcing a James Cook fumble on Buffalo’s first drive and scoring a touchdown to go up 7–0. Despite forcing two more fumbles and two interceptions, the Chargers only scored three more off of turnovers.

Once again, the Chargers couldn’t get out of their own way. Between drops, penalties and an ill-timed interception, not even the Bills could out-“Charger” the Chargers.

Winner: Raiders

Al Davis said it best: Just win, baby.

A mere offseason removed from a 3–13 campaign that landed them the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, the Raiders have defied expectations. After their come-from-behind win over the Saints, Las Vegas is 3–0 for the first time since 2021. Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns while notching a passer rating of 100.5; tight end Brock Bowers returned to the lineup, tallying 10 catches for 116 yards and a score, and linebacker Nakobe Dean paced the defense with 12 tackles while forcing a fourth-quarter fumble by tight end Juwan Johnson.

RELATED: The Best Play From Every Game of Sunday’s Week 3 NFL Slate

Still, Klint Kubiak is taking this thing step by step.

“We’re not taking anyone’s flowers at this time,” the first-year head coach told reporters after Sunday’s win in New Orleans. “It’s one game at a time.”

Speaking of which, Las Vegas sits tied atop the AFC West standings with the Chiefs—who they’ll welcome to Las Vegas in Week 4 for an intradivision showdown.

Loser: The Titans’ offense

Cam Ward. — Cam Ward and the Titans scored just seven points on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Brian Daboll “revenge” game was a no-show as the Titans’ offense struggled mightily in a 12–7 loss to his former team, the Giants. The Titans had a golden opportunity to take down a Giants team that lost starter Jaxson Dart for the season and secure their first win. Instead, they failed to score in the first three quarters, including coming up short on fourth down from the Giants’ seven-yard line.

They began mounting a fourth-quarter comeback by scoring their first touchdown with 5:35 remaining and receiving the ball back in the final minutes with the opportunity to take the lead and win the game. Instead, Cam Ward threw a game-sealing pick. Daboll was hired primarily to help with Ward’s development, yet Ward looks no better than he did as a rookie.

Winner: Aaron Rodgers

After the Steelers’ offense failed to score a touchdown against the Patriots in Week 2, with Rodgers averaging only 4.8 yards per attempt, they rebounded by defeating the Bengals 30–27. Rodgers played a major role in the win. He has previously been criticized for not throwing the ball downfield more since joining the Steelers, but he did exactly that to help them earn the win. After failing to complete a single pass of 20 or more yards downfield in Weeks 1 and 2, Rodgers threw two deep touchdowns against the Bengals, according to Next Gen Stats. It wasn’t a perfect outing for Rodgers, who completed 55.9% of his passes, but he made the proper plays to win and proved he’s still willing to challenge defenses downfield.

The Steelers’ defense came away with the game-sealing fumble to secure the win, but it was Rodgers who helped Pittsburgh get in position to have the opportunity to win the game.

Loser: Cowboys

Brian Schottenheimer. — The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker to the Ravens in Brazil. | REUTERS

That one’s going to sting. After missing out on a go-ahead touchdown but making a game-tying field goal in the final 10 seconds of regulation, the Cowboys appeared to have forced overtime. Not quite. The Ravens got the football back with seven seconds remaining, and Lamar Jackson quickly completed a pass to Zay Flowers to put Baltimore in field goal range with one second remaining. Tyler Loop successfully hit a 56-yard field goal to give the Ravens a win and the Cowboys a nightmare loss. The Cowboys not only fall to 1–2, but will have a 10-hour flight back home, haunted by all the defensive and clock management mistakes that led to such a heartbreaking loss.

“I’m frustrated as hell,” Dak Prescott said after the game. “Embarrassed. … It just sucks. Not a lot of words or full explanation of it. Defense shouldn’t have even been in that position. Those guys are saying, ‘It’s on us.’ Absolutely not. We should have put the game away.”

Dak Prescott’s initial thoughts after the Cowboys’ 34-31 loss to the Ravens in Brazil pic.twitter.com/zWbcBR38HY
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 28, 2026

Winner: The Vikings’ defense

Minnesota’s defense was relentless in its win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. Not only did it hold Tampa Bay to 16 points and force two turnovers, but it also sacked Baker Mayfield six times and gave up only 57 rushing yards on 21 carries, 2.7 yards per attempt.

According to Vikings PR, this was Minnesota’s sixth consecutive game recording at least four sacks—the longest such streak since the Giants did so from Weeks 3–8 in 2001.

The Vikings are allowing only 13.7 points per game, the second-fewest in the NFL, and should continue to have success next Sunday when they host the Dolphins at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Loser: The Dolphins’ offense

Mailk Willis. — Mailk Willis and the Dolphins are averaging just 12 points per game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Speaking of the Dolphins, their offense has been abysmal through the first three weeks of the season. While completing only 58% of his passes and accounting for two total touchdowns, free-agent signing Malik Willis has led Miami to a league-low 12 points per game.

To add insult to injury, star running back De’Von Achane left Miami’s loss to the Chiefs on Sunday with a knee injury and did not return.

“Still gathering information, and hopefully, I'll have more for you tomorrow,” coach Jeff Hafley said after the game about Achane’s injury. “To be very honest with you, it does not sound very optimistic at this moment, but I can’t give you any other details until I have them.”

Winner: Commanders

The Commanders heartbreakingly saw Jayden Daniels go down with a dislocated elbow again last week as they fell to 0–2 on the season. It would have been easy for Washington’s season to feel over already, but they rallied behind Marcus Mariota to take down the defending champion Seahawks. Even after the Seahawks tied the game, the Commanders did not fold. Instead, Kain Medrano came up with a pick-six on Sam Darnold, and Rachaad White and Marcus Mariota garnered a pair of crucial first downs to seal the win. Rookie Sonny Styles also shined, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass during the game.

Sonny Styles was EVERYWHERE in Washington’s win over Seattle.

4 TKL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FF, 1 QBH vs Seahawks

The rookie came away with his first career interception and forced a fumble against the defending champs. https://t.co/UMG5nOAliR pic.twitter.com/H3zRDCHDxE
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) September 27, 2026

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