There are plenty of reasons for fans to worry as the NFL hits Week 3. Here are 5 things to watch
By Kyle Feldscher, CNN
(CNN) — It’s the third week of the NFL season and some issues are becoming blatantly apparent as teams start to figure out their identities.
In some places, injuries are piling up and threatening to derail teams before the season gets out of its first month. In others, there are clear personnel issues that are flashing warning signs about what the future may hold.
And in Atlanta, everyone’s just mad.
Here are five things to watch in Week 3 of the NFL season.
How will the Giants, Commanders and Bears cope with backup QBs?
It was a tough Week 2 for the New York Giants, Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears as each team saw their starting quarterback knocked out of their games with injuries.
It seems like it’s only going to be worse this week.
The Bears host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night and might be playing with their third-string quarterback. Caleb Williams left Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a hamstring injury (he’s week-to-week) and backup Tyson Bagent is in concussion protocol and also could miss Sunday’s game. That leaves Case Keenum as the next man up to face a ferocious Philly defense in a primetime game. It’s a brutal early season situation for a team that was widely seen as favorites in the NFC North this year.
The Commanders and Giants will also face difficult situations as Jayden Daniels (dislocated left elbow) and Jaxson Dart (knee injury) are both out.
Daniels dislocated the same elbow that he injured in 2025, causing him to miss about half the season, just before halftime of Sunday’s loss against Dallas. He’ll miss Week 3 against Seattle with Marcus Mariota taking over starting duties against the defending Super Bowl champions. It’s unclear when Daniels might return as he is seeing specialists about his elbow and the Commanders aren’t working on a specific timeframe.
Dart and the Giants face a similar situation. While initial signs were good after Dart took a big hit to his left knee on the opening drive of Monday’s game against the Rams – he walked off under his own power and returned to the sidelines in street clothes – Tuesday brought devastating news for his team. Dart’s injury is feared to be worse than initially thought and he could end up missing significant time, if not the whole season.
The Giants were hoping for a big turnaround under head coach John Harbaugh and Dart was a big part of those plans. They take on the lowly Tennessee Titans on Sunday in New Jersey, giving Jameis Winston a chance to get his feet under him as the new starter in the Meadowlands.
The Lions’ defense is a mess taking on a familiar face
Detroit Lions fans at Ford Field on Sunday might look across at the opposing sideline and long for the face they see there: New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.
Glenn was Detroit’s defensive coordinator under head coach Dan Campbell from 2021 to 2024 and a key part of a coaching staff that led a massive turnaround in fortunes in the Motor City as the Lions became Super Bowl contenders. The defense under Glenn was never lockdown, but it was serviceable.
Since he left to take the Jets’ head coaching job, Detroit’s defense has been shambolic.
The Lions allowed more than 24 points per game in 2025, 22nd in the league. Big plays abounded, the team struggled to get off the field on third down and injuries hurt the unit. It all led to a 9-8 record and the Lions missing the playoffs.
So far, things aren’t much better this year.
Through two games, the Lions have the second-worst defense in the league – though facing Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on a short week seven days ago didn’t help their stats. The Lions are struggling to stop the pass, struggling to stop the run, are allowing lengthy drives and are – once again – facing injuries to key players.
The Jets aren’t exactly setting the world on fire offensively, but quarterback Geno Smith has feasted on the Lions defense in the past during his time in Seattle. Sunday’s game could be a sign of where Detroit is headed this year; the team’s offense looks supercharged once again behind Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, but they’ll only go as far as the defense allows them to go.
Misery in Atlanta is about to play out on national TV
Things in Atlanta are … not great.
The Falcons’ quarterback situation is abysmal. Michael Penix Jr. missed the first two games of the season while recovering from last year’s torn ACL. Tua Tagovailoa was slated to start the season and then started having oblique spasms days before the opener and also missed those two games. Cooper Rush filled in and proceeded to throw four interceptions and never going over 150 yards in losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. Jack Strand came in against Carolina and he was bad too, throwing another pick.
The team is 0-2, getting blown out in its home opener to boos from the Atlanta faithful. Vibes are bad, and the future doesn’t exactly look promising.
So, of course, the Falcons are going to be on national TV for their next three games.
Thursday night’s game against the Packers starts the stretch as the Dirty Birds head to Lambeau Field with Penix expected to make his first start of the season. Then after a week off, the Falcons will head to New Orleans to face their NFC South rivals on October 5 before hosting the Baltimore Ravens in the Sunday night game on October 11.
Falcons fans have been dreading the start of the season ever since the decision to pick up Tagovailoa in the offseason, which immediately created a quarterback controversy with Penix as two often-injured players would compete for the starting job. Those low expectations have been justified by the poor start to the season and it seems like the misery is about to go national.
The NFL’s weekly international sojourn begins
A record-breaking nine NFL games will be played out of the US in 2026, and the international schedule really gets going in earnest this week.
The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers got their seasons started in Australia, but when the Ravens and Cowboys kick off in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, it will mark the start of eight straight weeks of international action.
Sunday’s showdown at the famous Maracanā Stadium in Rio is the first time the NFL has played a game at one of the most legendary venues in all of global sport. The Maracanā has hosted two World Cup finals, saw Brazil men’s soccer win an Olympic gold medal during the 2016 Rio Games, where it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, held countless major concerts and soccer matches, and is generally one of the most celebrated venues in the world.
It’s nice that the NFL sent two teams that could put on an exciting game for the Brazilian fans, one that could match the prestige of the venue.
The Ravens and Cowboys are expected to compete for the top spots in their divisions, and the quarterback matchup of Lamar Jackson vs. Dak Prescott is pure box office. Prescott has started this season hot and leads the league in passing touchdowns, and Jackson is off to a similarly blistering start after torching the Saints and Indianapolis Colts in the first two games.
Following this week’s game in Brazil, the NFL heads to Europe for three games in London then individual games in Paris, Madrid and Munich. The international slate wraps up with that game in Germany on November 15 when the Cincinnati Bengals and Lions face off.
Someone’s 0 has got to go (probably)
The AFC South is not good this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 1-1 and are the only team in the division with a win. The Titans, Houston Texans and Colts are all 0-2.
That most likely will change on Sunday.
The Texans and Colts will face off in Indy in a game that, theoretically, one team has to win (a tie is possible and would make life worse for both teams).
The stakes are particularly high for the Texans, a team that was expected to compete for a playoff spot this year but have so far been unable to stop two of the top teams in the AFC in losses to the Bills and Bengals.
The Colts suffered a heartbreaker in Kansas City in Week 2, losing in overtime to the Chiefs. Indianapolis hopes to take another major step after finishing 8-9 last year, including challenging the Texans for the top spot in the division and returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.
The odds for a playoff berth will be stacked against whoever loses this game on Sunday – only seven teams in NFL history have made the playoffs after starting 0-3. And two of those teams happens to be the 2018 and 2025 Houston Texans, so there’s still always hope deep in the heart of Texas.
Full Week 3 schedule
Thursday
Atlanta Falcons @ Green Bay Packers, 8:15 p.m. ET
Sunday
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET
New England Patriots @ Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans @ New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. ET
New York Jets @ Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers @ Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET
Kansas City Chiefs @ Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Chargers @ Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4:05 p.m. ET
Las Vegas Raiders @ New Orleans Saint, 4:25 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens @ Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams @ Denver Broncos, 8:20 p.m. ET
Monday
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m. ET
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