With the help of the Opta supercomputer, we’re revealing the predictions for the Week 3 games of the 2026 NFL season.
In the NFL, each week presents new challenges with new opportunities. That is certainly the case in Week 3, as we expect to see five and maybe even six teams start a different quarterback from last weekend. We’ll get the first look at a new signal-caller on Thursday night, when the Atlanta Falcons visit the Green Bay Packers. Here are the predictions, as of Wednesday morning, and previews for the entire Week 3 slate.
Thursday, Sept. 24
Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Packers 70.5% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Packers 17-15 Last Meeting: Falcons 25, Packers 24 (Sept. 17, 2023)The Green Bay Packers managed to quiet some critics last weekend. Rather than blowing a fourth-quarter lead like they’ve been accustomed to doing, they managed to rally from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit to win in overtime and end a six-game losing streak. It’s been an ugly start to the season for the Atlanta Falcons, but the team is hopeful another change at quarterback can give the offense a jolt.
The Falcons dropped to 0-2 with Sunday’s 34-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers in a game in which an ineffective Cooper Rush was pulled in favor of undrafted rookie Jack Strand, who promptly threw a pick-6 on his first NFL pass. Neither will be under center when Atlanta steps on the field Thursday, with Michael Penix Jr. set to make his season debut after recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee in Week 11 of last season. The Falcons went 3-6 in Penix’s starts in 2025 with the QB throwing nine touchdowns and three interceptions while posting an 88.5 passer rating – leaps and bounds better than Rush’s 2026 QB rating of 42.5 and Strand’s 35.1.
Packers fans can breathe a bit easier heading into their home opener after the team beat the New York Jets 20-17 in overtime after trailing 17-7 with less than 10 minutes to go. There are still plenty of things for Green Bay to work on after totaling just 199 yards, going 1 for 9 on third downs and being flagged 14 times for 133 yards. (Since 1991, only one other team has won a game despite totaling fewer than 200 yards, converting only a single third down and having at least 10 penalties, and that was the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 7-6 victory over the Denver Broncos in 2004.) Jordan Love is off to a sluggish start, completing an NFL-worst 52.1% of his passes and his open-target percentage of 69.1 is the second worst among qualifiers. Good news for the Packers is they’re facing a Falcons team that allowed Bryce Young to throw for 287 yards, three touchdowns and a 116.3 passer rating.
The last meeting between these teams followed a similar script for the Packers to what they endured during their recent losing streak. In Week 2 of 2023 in Love’s third career start, Green Bay blew a 24-12 fourth quarter lead in Atlanta, losing 25-24 on Younghoe Koo’s 25-yard field goal in the final minute. The Packers, though, have won the last four games against the Falcons at Lambeau Field dating to a 27-24 loss in 2008.
Sunday, Sept. 27
Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Commanders
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Seahawks 67.3% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Commanders 13-8 Last Meeting: Seahawks 38, Commanders 14 (Nov. 2, 2025)The Seattle Seahawks have opened their Super Bowl title defense with a pair of victories thanks to their backup quarterback. The winless Washington Commanders will now turn to their backup QB after losing their starter to injury last time out.
Since replacing an injured Sam Darnold in the NFL season opener, Drew Lock engineered a fourth-quarter comeback victory and followed that up with a three-touchdown performance in Sunday’s 31-7 beatdown of the Arizona Cardinals. Don’t look now, but his 127.3 passer rating leads all signal-callers. It helps to have the 2025 Offensive Player of the Year at his disposal. Lock threw 11 passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Sunday, and he caught nine of them for 155 yards with three touchdowns. He has been targeted on 22 of 48 routes run, or a rate of 45.8 %, and Lock has compiled a 157.2 passer rating on throws to Smith-Njigba, compared to an 85.1 QB rating on passes to all other Seahawks.
It’s possible Darnold returns this week from his soft tissue glute injury, but if he’s still on the mend, Lock seems to have a good grasp of the offense, or at least knows to just throw it in Smith-Njigba’s direction.
The Commanders are officially handing the keys to their offense to Marcus Mariota after Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow in Sunday’s 37-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Daniels got stepped on by left guard Chris Paul, used his non-throwing arm to break his fall and it bent awkwardly. It is a similar injury to one Daniels sustained against Seattle in Week 9 of last season. In that one, Daniels dislocated his left elbow midway through the fourth quarter, and he ended up missing Washington’s next three games. The Seahawks won that game 38-14, with Darnold completing his first 17 passes and totaling four touchdowns before throwing his first incompletion in the third quarter. He finished with 330 passing yards with Smith-Njigba catching eight passes for 129 yards.
Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Texans 54.8% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Colts 32-15-1 Last Meeting: Texans 38, Colts 30 (Jan. 4, 2026)We’ve just experienced the Autumnal Equinox, but it might as well be playoff time for the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. These AFC South foes are both 0-2, and the loser of this matchup faces a laborious road to the playoffs. It can be done, however; just ask the Texans, who started 0-3 last season before earning a wild-card spot. Still, not a good place to be.
Houston ranked third in the NFL last season with 29 takeaways but has yet to force a turnover this year, and the offense has been disjointed. C.J. Stroud has thrown for 627 yards but only has two TD passes and has been sacked seven times. He was sacked 23 times all last season. The offensive line also failed to open many holes for their running backs in Sunday’s 20-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, as David Montgomery rushed for just 10 yards on six carries, which was somehow more productive than Woody Marks, who ran for eight yards on the same number of attempts. Montgomery’s longest run went for four yards, and Marks’ went for three.
A matchup with the Colts could be just with the Texans need considering Indianapolis ranks 30th in opposing rushing yards at 5.36 per carry and has surrendered 10 runs of 10+ yards, which is tied with the Detroit Lions for the most in the NFL. On the other side of the ball, Jonathan Taylor rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the passing game took a hit with Alex Pierce suffering a left heel injury in the second quarter as the Colts’ losing streak extended to nine games.
That stretch includes a pair of defeats to the Texans. These teams last met in Week 18 of last season, with Houston pulling out a 38-30 home win with the playoff-bound Texans pulling their starters at halftime. That victory pushed Houston’s winning streak over Indianapolis to five games, which marks the Texans’ longest active winning streak against any single opponent. Houston has also won its last four trips to Indianapolis after winning only three of its first 20 games there.
Tennessee Titans vs. New York Giants
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Giants 60.2% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Giants 7-6 Last Meeting: Giants 21, Titans 20 (Sept. 11, 2022)After an impressive win in their season opener, it’s hard to imagine Week 2 going much worse for the New York Giants. The Tennessee Titans are coming off a difficult loss of their own, though at least they escaped without any major injuries. They’ll be in the Meadowlands for Week 3 facing what will likely by a short-handed Giants team as they look to avoid a third straight 0-3 start.
New York is expected to be without Jaxson Dart after he injured his left knee on his team’s first series in Monday’s 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Jameis Winston came on and struggled mightily, completing just 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with an interception for a 37.7 passer rating – nearly 100 points less than the 134.2 rating Dart recorded in a 28-20 season-opening win over the Dallas Cowboys. Adding to New York’s injury woes, Malik Nabers injured his right shoulder and finished with just one catch for a single yard. The defense also regressed, allowing 481 yards after limiting the Cowboys to 244 yards. The defense has an opportunity to bounce back with a matchup against a Titans team that is averaging 243.0 yards – slightly better than the NFL-worst Minnesota Vikings at 242.5.
Despite their offensive struggles, Tennessee was still in position to beat the Eagles on Sunday until permitting Jalen Hurts to march Philadelphia down the field and score the winning touchdown with 9 seconds remaining, to hand the Titans a 24-20 loss. Tennessee allowed Philadelphia to convert a pair of third-and-6s on the final drive and go 11 for 18 on third downs after holding the New York Jets to 2 for 12 on third downs in the opener. Cam Ward showed some improvement with his passing in Week 2, averaging 9.15 yards per attempt and recording a well-thrown rate of 77.8 after averaging 4.38 yards per throw with a well-thrown rate of 67.9 in the opener.
These teams haven’t met in more than four years, last playing win Week 1 of the 2022 season, with New York scoring a touchdown and converting a two-point conversion with just over a minute to play to rally for a 21-20 victory. The Giants, however, haven’t defeated the Tennessee franchise at home in more than 30 years, losing the last three matchups in the Meadowlands since a 24-20 win over the then-Houston Oilers on Dec. 21, 1991.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Bengals 57.6% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Steelers 70-41 Last Meeting: Steelers 34, Bengals 12 (Nov. 16, 2025)The undefeated Cincinnati Bengals head into Week 3 with their offense and defense showing signs of improvement. The Pittsburgh Steelers, meanwhile, are coming off an underwhelming performance and their offense has looked sluggish through two weeks.
A concern for Bengals fans after the team’s Week 1 win, was the lack of All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s involvement in the offense. Cincinnati made sure he was a bigger part of the game plan in Week 2, and it showed. After being targeted just four times in the season opener, Joe Burrow threw to Chase nine times on Sunday, with Chase catching seven of them for 75 yards – including 32-yard and 18-yard touchdowns in a 20-6 road win over the Houston Texans. The defense also kept the Texans out of the end zone a year after ranking 30th in scoring defense (28.9 points per game). The Bengals are tied with the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings for the league lead in sacks with eight – nearly a quarter of the way to last year’s total of 35.
The defense now looks to frustrate Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked four times in Sunday’s 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Through two games, the Steelers are averaging a league-worst 3.81 yards per play and they only had one play go for more than 20 yards against the Patriots. Rodgers averaged 4.79 yards on his 39 pass attempts against New England and his well-thrown rate of 69.0 beats out only the Minnesota Vikings’ Carson Wentz (60.5) among qualifying QBs.
The Bengals, who are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2015, split their two meetings with the Steelers last season, with each team winning on the road. Burrow missed both matchups in 2025 but has won his last three games at Pittsburgh, throwing eight touchdowns – with three going to Chase – while compiling a 105.0 passer rating.
Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: 57.6% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Panthers 4-3 Last Meeting: Browns 26, Panthers 24 (Sept. 11, 2022)There were plenty of concerns for both the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns following Week 1 losses, but both teams managed to get their seasons back on track with victories last weekend.
The Panthers were gashed for 552 yards and lit up for 59 points in a season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears before yielding 286 yards while keeping their opponent out of the end zone in Sunday’s 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Sure, the defense was lining up against third-string quarterback Cooper Rush, but it was able to limit Bijan Robinson to 81 scrimmage yards – 92 fewer than he had in Week 1.
For the Browns, Deshaun Watson led Cleveland to a 23-19 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, throwing two touchdown passes – including a go-ahead 17-yarder to Blake Whiteheart with less than four minutes to go. It was a much-needed win for Watson, who had been hearing plenty of jeers from his own fanbase and calls for Shedeur Sanders to take his job. His Carolina counterpart, Bryce Young, is second in the NFL with 648 passing yards and averaging 8.88 yards per attempt – an improvement of 2.58 from 2025. He also has back-to-back games with a passer rating of higher than 110 – after having three such games all of last season.
These teams haven’t met since Week 1 of 2022, with the Jacob Brissett-led Browns pulling out a 26-24 victory over Baker Mayfield and the Panthers in Mayfield’s first game against his former team.
New York Jets vs. Detroit Lions
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Lions 70.0% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Lions 8-7 Last Meeting: Lions 20, Jets 17 (Dec. 18, 2022)The Detroit Lions and New York Jets enter their Week 3 matchup with identical 1-1 records, and both teams are looking to bounce back from difficult losses.
For the Lions, they’re coming off last Thursday’s 41-31 defeat to the Buffalo Bills – a game that wasn’t actually as close as the final score indicated. Detroit trailed 21-0 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, and the defense was shredded by 2024 MVP Josh Allen a week after allowing unheralded New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough to throw for 410 yards in a 31-30 OT win. Already with both starting safeties, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, beginning the season on the PUP list, the Lions have now lost safety Avonte Maddox to a season-ending foot injury. The Lions have surrendered 658 passing yards – the second most allowed by the team through two games in franchise history, two fewer than the 660 permitted by the 1985 team.
Offensively, Jared Goff has targeted Amon-Ra St. Brown a league-high 27 times despite the fact the Pro Bowl receiver hasn’t been open at a particularly high rate. St. Brown has registered an open percentage of 55.6 – the fifth lowest among the 42 receivers targeted more than 10 times. This comes after St. Brown’s open percentage of 78.4 ranked sixth among the 38 receivers targeted at least 90 times in 2025.
Goff, St. Brown and company now face a Jets team allowing 4.67 yards per pass – second only to the Seattle Seahawks’ average of 4.48. New York arrives in Detroit after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in losing to the Green Bay Packers 20-17 in overtime on Sunday with coach Aaron Glenn making some questionable decisions down the stretch. The Jets held the Packers to 199 total yards after allowing just 195 yards to the Tennessee Titans in a 23-10 season-opening win. This is the first time in franchise history the team has opened the season yielding fewer than 200 yards in each of the first two games, and the first time any team has done it since the 2008 Baltimore Ravens.
The Jets and Lions last met in 2022, with Detroit rallying for a 20-17 victory. The Lions, however, haven’t defeated the Jets at home since a 13-10 victory in 1997, though, they’ve only met in Detroit three times since then.
New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Jaguars 60.4% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Patriots 8-2 Last Meeting: Jaguars 32. Patriots 16 (Oct. 20, 2024)After piling up the points against a seemingly overmatched opponent in Week 1, the Jacksonville Jaguars got a dose of reality when facing a far superior defense in a Week 2 loss. It won’t get any easier in Week 3, when they line up against another stout defense in the New England Patriots in a matchup of division winners from a year ago.
Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdowns and posted a Week 1-best 150.6 passer rating in a 34-10 trouncing of the Cleveland Browns before the Jaguars scored just one touchdown with Lawrence recording a 63.7 rating in Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos. He threw his first interception but leads the league with five pickable passes. Jacksonville now faces a Patriots team that has posted a league-best defensive burn percentage of 35.0 and has generated a pressure rate of 52.1 – third highest in the NFL.
New England limited Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers to 144 passing yards and sacked him four times in last Sunday’s 20-3 victory, but Drake Maye had another shaky showing. He was sacked three times and picked off once after his three-interception fourth quarter in the season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He has a well-thrown rate of 73.1 – ninth lowest among qualifiers – after having the ninth-highest rate last season at 85.0.
In the last meeting between these teams in Week 7 of 2024, the Jaguars held a 171-38 advantage on the ground, rolling to a 32-16 victory. Lawrence threw for 193 yards with a TD while Maye passed for 276 yards and two scores as neither team turned the ball over.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Chiefs 74.3% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Chiefs 16-13 Last Meeting: Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7 (Jan. 13, 2024 – Wild-Card Round)Through two games, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are looking like the Chiefs of old, or at least, circa 2022. The Miami Dolphins, meanwhile, look like a mess.
The Chiefs go on the road for the first time after opening with a 21-point win over the Denver Broncos and a 33-30 overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. Against the Colts, the Chiefs racked up 523 yards – their most in a game since 2022 – and Kennth Walker had 178 yards from scrimmage after totaling 191 yards in the opener to become the first player to open a season with consecutive games with at least 175 scrimmage yards since 1980, when Billy Sims did it for the Detroit Lions, as well as Paul Hofer of the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs have already racked up 372 rushing yards, the franchise’s most through two games since 1978, when it had 528 yards on the ground.
They’ll go up against a Dolphins defense that allowed the San Francisco 49ers to score touchdowns on each of their first five possessions in last Sunday’s 35-13 loss. Opposing teams are registering a success rate of 57.1 on pass plays – the worst in the NFL. Things aren’t much better on the other side of the ball, as the Dolphins have totaled 13 points and 13 first downs in each of their first two games and didn’t find the end zone until less than three minutes remained against the 49ers. De’Von Achane had 20 carries in Week 2 – nine more than he had in the season opener – but only averaged 0.95 yards after contact. He averaged 2.13 yards after contact last season – sixth highest among qualifiers.
These teams last met in a 2023 wild-card game in what would go down as the fourth-coldest game in NFL history. With the thermometer reading minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, Mahomes threw for 262 yards with Rashee Rice catching eight passes for 130 yards with a TD as the Chiefs outgained the frozen Dolphins 409-264 in a 26-7 victory. Including that win, Kansas City has won five straight in the series dating to a 31-3 loss in 2011.
Los Angeles Chargers vs. Buffalo Bills
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Bills 73.4% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Chargers 24-12-2 Last Meeting: Bills 24, Chargers 22 (Dec. 23, 2023)Vibes are sky high right now in Buffalo, where Josh Allen and the Bills offense are already in mid-season form in reeling off a pair of impressive victories under new coach Joe Brady. More than 2,000 miles away on the opposite side of the country, the sky is falling for the Los Angeles Chargers, who became the second team in NFL history to lose consecutive homes games by double digits against teams that had sub-.200 winning percentage the previous season. The other being the 1926 Racine Tornadoes. A team that folded after playing one more game.
The Chargers won’t face that same fate, but things haven’t been pretty under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Justin Herbert is completing 59.3% of his passes and has two touchdowns to three interceptions and only three pass plays of 20+ yards. Omarion Hampton has also only had three rushes go for more than 10 yards and is averaging 1.74 yards before contact with the NFL average being 2.39. Buffalo’s James Cook, meanwhile, averages 4.53 yards before contact – second highest among running backs with more than 10 carries.
As a team, the Bills are averaging an NFL-best 7.07 yards per play and lead the league with 13 plays of 20+ yards. Josh Allen is averaging a career-high 9.70 yards per attempt and has already targeted Dalton Kincaid 14 times with the tight end ranking third among all players with 225 receiving yards – almost half of the 571 he had in 2025. Among the 26 tight ends with more than five targets, Kincaid’s 16.77 burn yards per target tops the NFL. The last time these teams met in Week 16 of 2023, Allen threw for a 57-yard touchdown pass and ran for two short TDs and the Bills escaped with a 24-22 victory, winning on Tyler Bass’ 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining.
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: 49ers 75.3% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: 49ers 38-31 Last Meeting: 49ers 41, Cardinals 22 (Nov. 16, 2025)Through the season’s first two weeks, Brock Purdy has been exceptional in leading the San Francisco 49ers to a pair of lopsided victories. None of this comes as a surprise to Arizona Cardinals fans. Purdy and the 49ers will look to open 3-0 for the second year in a row when they host a Cardinals team Purdy has routinely tormented.
In San Francisco’s 35-13 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Purdy had the same number as touchdown passes (two) as incompletions in going 20 for 22 for 287 yards with a 149.1 passer rating. Just for good measure, he also had a two-yard touchdown run as the Niners scored on their first five drives. He leads the NFL in completion percentage at 80.4 and his well-thrown rate of 89.1 also tops all qualifying QBs.
The Cardinals are used to seeing performances like these from Purdy over the years. The San Francisco signal-caller is 4-1 in his career against Arizona, totaling 11 touchdowns to zero interceptions and a 146.0 passer rating in those four victories. In the last matchup in Week 11 of last season, Purdy threw for three touchdowns with two going to George Kittle and the other going to Christian McCaffrey, who also rushed for a pair of scores in San Francisco’s 41-22 victory. The 49ers swept the season series from the Cardinals in 2025 and have won six of the last eight meetings.
The Cardinals came back down to earth last Sunday, losing to the Seattle Seahawks 31-7 at home after pulling off a surprising 26-14 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1. They totaled 151 yards and averaged 3.2 yards per play against the Seahawks – down from 393 and 5.5 a week earlier – with Jacoby Brissett completing 17 of 28 passes for 95 yards with not a single pass play going for more than nine yards. Brissett now faces a defense that last Sunday held Malik Willis to 103 passing yards through three quarters before garbage time.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: 52.0% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Vikings 33-24 Last Meeting: Buccaneers 20, Vikings 17 (Sept. 10, 2023)The undefeated Minnesota Vikings are atop the NFC North and are about to make a change at quarterback. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meanwhile, are winless and the quarterback they gave a mega extension to earlier this month isn’t playing up to his new contract.
The Vikings are turning back to Kyler Murray after their QB1 cleared concussion protocol from his injury in the season opener. Carson Wentz rallied the Vikings to a win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, and quarterbacked Minnesota to a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Bears last Sunday, but overall the offense has struggled to find any rhythm. Granted the win over the Bears came in a steady downpour at Soldier Field, but Minnesota’s successful play-rate of 32.1 beats out only the Miami Dolphins at 30.2 for the worst in the NFL, and Wentz’s well-thrown rate of 60.5 is the worst among qualifying quarterbacks.
Brian Flores’ defense has been the biggest key to the Vikings’ 2-0 start, racking up four sacks in each of its first two games – with Dallas Turner recording three and Andrew Van Ginkel notching 2 ½ – and their pressure rate of 52.3 trails only the Las Vegas Raiders at 61.8 for tops in the NFL. The defense now sets its sights on Baker Mayfield, who has already been sacked seven times. Mayfield, who received a $165 million, three-year extension just two weeks ago, threw for 182 yards with a touchdown and an interception in Sunday’s 23-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns after losing three fumbles in a season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. His favorite target from last season, Emeka Egbuka, only caught three passes for 16 yards against the Browns. Mayfield and company will now try to help the Bucs avoid their first 0-3 start since 2014.
When these teams last met in the 2023 season opener, the Buccaneers pulled out a 20-17 home win in Mayfield’s first game for Tampa Bay. The Bucs have won eight of the last 10 matchups dating back to 2001, when these teams both played in the NFC Central.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. New Orleans Saints
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Saints 60.3% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Raiders 8-7-1 Last Meeting: Raiders 25, Saints 10 (Dec. 29, 2024)Two of the league’s biggest surprises through two weeks meet in the Superdome, when the Las Vegas Raiders visit New Orleans in the Saints’ home opener.
The Raiders won three games all of last season, but Kirk Cousins has led the team to the franchise’s first 2-0 start since it opened with three straight wins in 2021. With a second straight three-touchdown performance in last Sunday’s 26-14 road win over the Las Angeles Chargers, Cousins joined Ken Stabler in 1976, as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to start a season with back-to-back three-touchdown games. The defense has also played a huge role in the undefeated start, generating an NFL-best pressure rate of 61.8 while recording eight sacks – tied with the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings for the most in the league.
Tyler Shough has been sacked eight times but also leads the NFL with 662 passing yards with seven pass plays of 25+ yards. He got the Saints within a point of knocking off the Detroit Lions in Week 1, and then rallied the team to a stunning 24-17 win at Baltimore in the Ravens’ home opener on Sunday. Now it’s time for their first game in New Orleans, and Saints fans would probably like to see their offense get off to faster starts after they’ve sputtered through the first two quarters before turning it on after halftime.
The Saints and Raiders haven’t played since Week 17 of 2024, when Las Vegas won 25-10 in New Orleans – their third victory in the last four matchups.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Ravens 55.8% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Ravens 6-1 Last Meeting: Ravens 28, Cowboys 25 (Sept. 22, 2024)After a one-week hiatus from international games, the NFL will stage another game outside the United States this Sunday, when the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys square off in the league’s first game in Rio de Janeiro. There have been concerns about the field conditions at Maracana Stadium after the area has been hit with heavier rains than normal over the last several weeks, leaving soccer players who play their home games at the 78,000-seat stadium to criticize the soaked grass surface. Despite some concerns, the game will go on as scheduled.
The Ravens are looking to bounce back after a brutal fourth-quarter collapse in losing last Sunday’s home opener to the New Orleans Saints 24-17. After racking up 506 yards in a season-opening win over the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore finished with 312 yards – with only 43 coming in the fourth quarter – allowing the Saints to storm back from a 17-9 deficit with less than 10 minutes to play. The defense also allowed New Orleans to convert two fourth downs on its go-ahead drive. On the season, the Ravens are permitting an NFL-worst open-allowed rate of 88.5.
Baltimore’s suspect secondary now will try to contain Dallas’ dangerous wide receiver tandem of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. In Sunday’s 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders, Lamb had 153 receiving yards and two touchdowns – his second, the fourth of the day for Dak Prescott, who broke Tony Romo’s team record for touchdown passes with his 249th on that throw. Prescott has six passing TDs and a 117.1 passer rating, and the Cowboys’ successful play-rate of 54.8 on passing plays trails only the San Francisco 49ers at 67.2.
In the last matchup between the Ravens and Cowboys in Week 3 of 2024, Derrick Henry rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns and Lamar Jackson threw for 182 and ran for 87, scoring one touchdown through the air and one on the ground in Baltimore’s 28-25 win at Dallas, improving the Ravens’ all-time record against the Cowboys to 6-1. This is Baltimore’s best record against any single opponent and Dallas’ worst record against any team.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Denver Broncos
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Rams 54.7% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Rams 10-5 Last Meeting: Rams 51, Broncos 14 (Dec. 25, 2022)After forgettable season openers by last season’s conference title game also-rans, the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos returned to their winning ways in Week 2 and will look to build on those victories when they meet in primetime this Sunday.
The Rams rebounded from their Australian flop by rolling to a 28-6 win over the New York Giants on Monday night in game they played without injured All-Pros Puka Nacua and Myles Garrett. With no Nacua on the outside, reigning MVP Matthew Stafford targeted Davante Adams 10 times, and he finished with eight receptions for 195 yards with two touchdowns. Stafford threw four TDs in all, and completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards for an average of 10.55 yards per attempt after averaging 6.20 yards per pass in the opener. On the defensive side of the ball, Aaron Donald played 33 snaps and was in on three tackles, including one for loss in his first NFL game in 32 months. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was not credited with a QB hit or knockdown, but the Rams generated a pressure rate of 40.0 after being at 36.1 in the season opener.
Denver’s defense also stiffened in Week 2 after being run over by the Kansas City Chiefs in a 21-point loss in Week 1, limiting the Jacksonville Jaguars to 268 yards in a 20-13 win last Sunday. Malcolm Roach and Que Robinson each sacked Trevor Lawrence once, but defensive tackle Zach Allen was the workhorse up front. Among the 41 defensive tackles with more than 20 pressures this season, Allen has an NFL-best 31.4 pressure rate and league-leading 11.4 adjusted-sack rate. On the other side of the ball, Bo Nix got in sync with Jaylen Waddle, throwing him 10 passes with the new Denver receiver catching eight of them for 138 yards. This came after Nix targeted him three times in Week 1 with Waddle catching one for two yards.
These teams haven’t met since Christmas Day 2022, with the Rams intercepting three Russell Wilson passes in rolling to a 51-14 rout. The Broncos have lost five straight to the Rams dating to a 23-16 win in the 2002 season opener, making this Denver’s longest active losing streak against any single opponent.
Monday, Sept. 28
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chicago Bears
Opta Supercomputer’s Win Probability: Eagles 63.3% All-Time Regular-Season Meetings: Bears 29-14-1 Last Meeting: Bears 24, Eagles 15 (Nov. 28, 2025)The Philadelphia Eagles are undefeated, though neither of their wins over seemingly overmatched opponents were particularly convincing. The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, were the talk of the NFL with a record-setting performance in Week 1 but their fanbase was sent into panic-mode by what transpired at a soggy Solider Field this last weekend. The NFC East-leading Eagles will look to improve to 3-0 for the fourth time in five years against a Bears team that might be starting Case Keenum at quarterback.
Bears fans held their collective breath Sunday when Caleb Williams fell to the turf short of the goal line on a scramble and needed to be helped off the field and carted to the locker room. Coach Ben Johnson calmed Bears fans who were fearing the worst, saying Monday that Williams avoided serious injury, and is considered “week to week” with a hamstring injury. A day later, though, Bears fans were once again put on edge when it was reported that backup Tyson Bagent was placed in the league’s concussion protocol, meaning it’s possible Keenum could see his first NFL action since 2023. Bagent went 5 for 9 for 54 yards after replacing Williams on Sunday. He nearly rallied Chicago to a win over the Vikings, driving to the Minnesota 12-yard line, but took a sack on the game’s final play and the Bears lost 9-3 – failing to reach the end zone seven days after scoring eight touchdowns in a 59-point outburst against the Carolina Panthers. The game was played in a steady downpour, however, and neither team was able to move the ball much, with the Bears outgaining the Vikings 297-246.
With the QB situation in question, expect a heavy dose of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who is averaging a league-best 5.30 yards before contact. The two led the Bears in the last matchup with the Eagles on Black Friday of last season, with Monangai rushing for 130 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and Swift running for 125 yards and a score on 18 rushes in Chicago’s 24-15 victory at Philadelphia. Monangai averaged 6.85 yards on 13 outside zone runs and Swift averaged 6.63 yards on eight inside zone carries.
The Eagles arrive at Soldier Field after rallying for a 24-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday. This came after they held on for a two-point win over the visiting Washington Commanders in Week 1. At Tennessee, Hurts led a nine-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds remaining to rescue Philadelphia. While Hurts was 6 of 8 for 61 yards on the game-winning drive, he had two prior interceptions and was sacked three times, bringing his season total to six. On the season, Philadelphia’s successful play-rate of 36.8 is the sixth lowest, and the ground game has struggled to get going, with Saquon Barkley having only one run go for more than nine yards. Bad news for Eagles fans is Dallas Goedert is expected to miss several weeks after the veteran tight end suffered an MCL sprain on Sunday. Good news, though, is DeVonta Smith got more involved in the offense after catching only three passes for 53 yards in the opener. In Week 2, he was targeted 13 times, catching 10 for 117 yards with one TD and seven receptions going for a first down. Among the 42 receivers targeted more than 10 times, Smith is averaging a league-best 16.99 burn yards per target. He’ll now face a Chicago secondary that has a burn-allowed percentage of 60.8 – just a tick better than the NFL-worst Los Angeles Chargers’ 60.9.
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2026 Week 3 NFL Predictions Opta Analyst.
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