Three weeks in, the map is already upside down
Three weeks is enough. That was the verdict from the power rankings on Monday morning, and it's hard to argue. Three games is no longer a small sample in the NFL — it's nearly a fifth of the season, and the results so far have rearranged almost every preseason assumption. The Las Vegas Raiders are 3-0 and sitting atop the AFC West. The Houston Texans are 0-3. The Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Kansas City Chiefs are unbeaten, while the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans are winless.
Sunday's slate tied the single-day record with 12 one-score games. Week 3 delivered a rookie phenom's first interception, a backup quarterback's redemption story, a dislocated thumb that could reshape a division, and a Sunday night thriller decided by a controversial flag. Here is what a wild week taught us about the 2026 season.
The surprise of the season: Raiders 3-0
Nobody — nobody — had the Raiders as an undefeated contender when the season began. Yet here they are, 3-0 in the powerhouse AFC West, mentioned in the same breath as the Bills, 49ers, and Chiefs. Their latest win came against the New Orleans Saints, sealed by a disputed fumble call that went against Saints quarterback Tyler Shough. Fortune favors the bold, and so far it is favoring Las Vegas.
The mirror image is Houston. The Texans, expected to contend, are 0-3 and sharing the basement with the Dolphins and Titans. Three weeks is enough to stop treating results as flukes, and the Texans' start has gone from concerning to alarming. The season is long, but the hole is real.
Jacksonville 35, New England 6: Hunter's arrival
The Jacksonville Jaguars' 35-6 demolition of the New England Patriots at EverBank Stadium was the week's most emphatic statement, and it belonged to the defense. The Jaguars bent at times but never broke, keeping the Patriots out of the end zone entirely — and New England quarterback Drake Maye contributed several head-scratching mistakes to the cause.
The underlying story was the interior defensive front, led by veteran DaVon Hamilton. Hamilton, arguably the team's lone defensive bright spot in the previous week's 20-13 loss at Denver, delivered five tackles, collaborated with Bryan Thomas Jr. on a sack, and recovered a bizarre fumble by Maye. It was a throwback performance from a player who understands that games are won in the trenches.
But the moment everyone will remember belonged to Travis Hunter. The two-way star snagged his first NFL interception during the first half — a milestone play years in the making — and then, characteristically, refused to savor it. He had to stay ready in case his number was called on offense before halftime, and he needed to make sure he allowed no explosive plays in the second half.
"It felt great, but I was on to the next play, you know? That happened in the second quarter, so I had to finish the game." — Travis Hunter, after his first NFL interception
That quote tells you everything about Hunter's mindset. The interception was historic; his reaction was to get back to work. The Jaguars, now 2-1, look like a team finding its identity on defense — and with Hunter patrolling the secondary, that identity is only getting more dangerous.
Buffalo 24, Los Angeles Chargers 16: the Bills survive themselves
The Bills are 3-0 for the third straight year, but this one required survival. Buffalo overcame a 10-point deficit and a sloppy performance — five turnovers — to beat the Chargers 24-16 at Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen and James Cook III scored fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns to complete the comeback, while C.J. Gardner-Johnson's fourth-quarter interception at the goal line and a late fourth-down stop highlighted a defense that refused to lose the game even as the offense tried to give it away.
The Chargers' defense deserves credit: it forced five takeaways and kept Buffalo off the scoreboard in the first and third quarters. But moral victories don't count in the standings, and Los Angeles fell to 0-3. Buffalo, meanwhile, is 3-0 for the fifth time in nine years with Allen — a mark of a program that knows how to win ugly.
San Francisco 36, Arizona 30: Purdy's shootout
Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes, including one on a hook-and-ladder with Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel Sr., to fuel a 36-30 victory over the Cardinals. San Francisco led by as many as 17 points but was clinging to a two-point lead before Purdy found George Kittle for a 20-yard touchdown with 91 seconds remaining.
The 49ers are 3-0, but the win came at a cost: Evans and left tackle Trent Williams were both banged up. In a season this long, health is currency, and San Francisco just spent some of it. Still, a road division win in a shootout is the kind of result that builds a contender's confidence.
Kansas City over Miami: the Dolphins' nightmare deepens
The Chiefs kept pace at 3-0, but the story in Miami was darker. The Dolphins fell to 0-3, and star running back De'Von Achane limped off in the first quarter with a knee injury after being grabbed on his helmet and taken to the ground hard. He entered the medical tent, then walked to the locker room with team medical staff, considered questionable to return.
Backup Ollie Gordon II responded with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to cap a 17-play, 91-yard drive, briefly tying the game at 7-7. Patrick Mahomes answered with a 5-yard touchdown pass, and Kansas City never looked back. The Dolphins' pass defense has been unable to stop anyone through three games, and now their most explosive offensive weapon is hurt. For Miami, this season is threatening to slip away before October.
Denver 30, Los Angeles Rams 26: Sunday night controversy
The Sunday night thriller delivered everything except a clean ending. Bo Nix threw two touchdown passes and converted two two-point attempts as the Broncos stormed back, but the game swung on a late pass interference call on the Rams that negated an interception — a flag that will be debated all week. Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga's sack of Matthew Stafford forced a late Rams field goal attempt, and Denver held on for the 30-26 win.
The loss continued a painful personal trend for Stafford: the pick-six he threw was the 33rd of his career, the most in NFL history. The Rams fell to 1-2, while the Broncos improved to 2-1 in a wide-open AFC West suddenly lorded over by the Raiders.
Thursday night: Penix's stunning debut
The week actually began on Thursday at Lambeau Field, where Michael Penix Jr. made his first start in ten months — his first since tearing his ACL last November — and the Atlanta Falcons routed the Green Bay Packers 35-14. It was Atlanta's most lopsided win in years, and the market never saw it coming.
Penix went 18-of-25 for 256 yards with a touchdown and an interception, posting a 101.4 rating. Around him, the Falcons were dominant: 498 total yards, 242 of them on the ground on 41 carries, with Bijan Robinson running for three touchdowns and the offense holding the ball for over 37 minutes. Consider the contrast: a Cooper Rush-led Atlanta offense had managed just 16 points across its first two games combined. Penix's Falcons matched that total by early in the second quarter alone.
Green Bay, without Josh Jacobs, couldn't run at all — nine carries for 17 yards — leaving Jordan Love to throw 53 times. He finished 28-of-53 for 312 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw a pick, took a sack, and had a field goal blocked. It was a sobering night for the Packers and a revelation for the Falcons.
The injury that could reshape the NFC South
In Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand, and the winless Buccaneers were awaiting MRI results as the week ended. At 0-3, Tampa Bay's season is already in trouble; losing its starting quarterback, even temporarily, could be devastating. The NFC South remains wide open, but the Buccaneers' margin for error has vanished.
Elsewhere: Ravens edge Cowboys
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Dallas Cowboys on Tyler Loop's clutch 56-yard field goal — a kick that helped atone for the kicker's rough end to last season. Coaching mistakes in the final seconds cost the Cowboys, who fell to 1-2. In the NFC East, the Eagles sit at 2-0 while the Giants are 2-1, and Dallas is already playing catch-up.
What Week 3 really means
As the old Bill Parcells line goes: you are what your record says you are. The Raiders are an undefeated contender. The Texans are a winless pretender. The Bills, 49ers, and Chiefs look like the class of their conferences, while the Dolphins, Chargers, Buccaneers, and Titans are searching for answers.
But the deeper lesson of Week 3 is about volatility. Twelve one-score games in a single day. A backup quarterback routing a playoff team at Lambeau. A rookie's first interception coming in a 29-point blowout. A dislocated thumb changing a division's trajectory. The NFL remains the most unpredictable league in sports — and three weeks in, the only safe prediction is that next Sunday will surprise us again.
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