Week 3 of NFL action is here, and fans have another exciting lineup of Sunday games to watch. In the early window, the Bills look to bounce back after losing their first game of the season against the Dolphins last week, plus the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence take on the only undefeated team remaining in the NFL: like we all expected at the start of the season... the Eagles. Pressure is on for the Raiders later in the afternoon as they try to avoid a 0-5 start to the year, followed by the hyped-up Sunday Night Football matchup of Bucs vs. Chiefs.
Full Week 4 Primer: Read here.
Games to Watch
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1 p.m. window
Jaguars at Eagles: The headline on this one is Doug Pederson Returns Home … but there’s a lot more to it than just the ex-Eagles coach and quarterback coming back to the city he brought a Lombardi to. Believe it or not, Jacksonville (plus-46) and Philly (plus-36) come into this one with the second- and third-best point differentials in the NFL. The former, led by Pederson, has pumped life into Trevor Lawrence, who looks like what everyone thought he’d be in the spring of 2021. The latter has emerged as one of the league’s most complete teams, and it’s happening with Jalen Hurts jumping to a new level and a bevy of young guys, DeVonta Smith among them, breaking through. This should be a fun one. — Albert Breer
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Bills at Ravens: The Bills go from an exhausting game in Miami to a matchup against the Ravens where, I wouldn’t call them vulnerable, but I would recognize how serious the heat was in Miami and how taxing that was for Buffalo. Now a banged-up defense has the unenviable task of chasing Lamar Jackson for four quarters. — Conor Orr
4:25 p.m. window
Broncos at Raiders: Josh McDaniels faces the Broncos for the first time as Raiders coach, and in a weird way it feels like there’s a lot on the line for both teams. For his Raiders, it’s obvious: Las Vegas is 0–3, having lost three nail-biters, and travels to Arrowhead for a Monday nighter next. So the Raiders lose this one, and they’re staring at an 0–5 start. For the Broncos, they’re 2–1, but some progress from an offense seemingly stuck in neutral, and figuring out how to best unleash Russell Wilson, would be awfully nice. — A.B.
Patriots at Packers: We’ve gone from billing this game as “Aaron Rodgers vs. Bill Belichick” to, I kid you not, “Bill Belichick visits a legendary location,” which is what I heard on my TV at some point last weekend. It shows how comically far we’ve gone from still recognizing Belichick as one of the best head coaches of all time. Possibly minus Mac Jones (or featuring Mac Jones with a high-ankle sprain, which isn’t ideal), the potential success of this game rests on Belichick’s ability to control Rodgers. Let’s give Belichick the benefit of the doubt, that despite Rodgers playing some efficient football, the Patriots can make this game interesting. — C.O.
Sunday Night Football
Chiefs at Buccaneers: We discussed this on the MMQB podcast earlier this week. I don’t think I could hate a promotion for a game more than Beck covering Neil Young’s “Old Man” backing slow motion pictures of Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes looking at each other. Nothing against Beck (Morning Phase was a really cool record). Mahomes just happens to be really good right now. We have no idea how long he’s going to play football or whether he possesses any desire to place his life on hold until age 46 to chase football history. Why are we comparing them anyway? Why are we bringing Beck and Neil Young into this? Also, Brady was nothing like Mahomes when Brady was 27. Anyway, this should be a fun game if the Chiefs can score points, forcing the undermanned Buccaneers to keep pace offensively. Mahomes and Andy Reid have learned much about their need to incorporate more organic protection after the Super Bowl loss. — C.O.
Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
Team to Watch
It’s already post-hype to say the Eagles, right? We’re already talking about the Eagles? If that’s the case, then it’s time to start riding the Dan Campbell hype train. This offense is putting up points and gutting people in the running game. The Lions have a winnable matchup against the Seahawks and could put up some style points along with a W. — C.O.
The Packers, whose passing game, I think, will come alive against a very solid Patriots defense—which will validate Matt LaFleur getting his rookie receivers reps and his veteran tackles rest in September. Throw in a Green Bay defense that should smother a Patriots offense that’ll be shorthanded, and maybe the plan some of us have seen playing out the past few weeks will become clearer for everyone else. — A.B.
