The 32 things we learned from Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season:
0(-3). That would be a reference to the league's winless teams, of which there are five (Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans) now saddled with that weighty record − one only seven teams in league history have overcome to make the playoffs. The Texans managed to do it in 2025, but no club has ever pulled it off in successive seasons. (But worth noting that Houston is the only team in the 21st century to surmount the 0-3 challenge, also pulling it off in 2018.)
1. Back to that familiar question that’s pervaded the early part of the 2026 season: Who’s No. 1? It’s now a tough case to make for the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks
after they lost at Washington to a team without its starting quarterback. The Buffalo Bills were fortunate to survive the winless Chargers, QB Josh Allen playing a terrible game in a terrible uniform … more on those fronts later. The undefeated San Francisco 49ers? Can they field a functional team next week? Ready to make a case for the Las Vegas Raiders or Minnesota Vikings, who are also 3-0? Ready to re-anoint the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs ... despite a fairly ugly win at feckless Miami? Check nfl.usatoday.com on Tuesday morning once the dust has fully settled … and our next batch of power rankings are out of the oven.
1a. Prior to Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro, the Dallas Cowboys had appeared in one international game – the fewest in NFL history. But they may have also participated in the best international game in league history. Keep reading ...
(QB)2: Kudos to backups Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, who led the Commanders and New York Giants, respectively, to wins Sunday – a week after both teams lost their starting quarterbacks, the Giants’ Jaxson Dart expected to miss the rest of the season. Next up? Chicago Bears veteran backup Case Keenum, who is expected to start Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles in place of injured Caleb Williams.
3(-0). Five teams currently sport that spotless record (49ers, Bills, Chiefs, Raiders and Vikings). Philly can join their ranks Monday night with a win at Soldier Field.
4. The number of consecutive seasons an 0-2 team knocked off a 2-0 team, which happened Sunday when the Commanders ambushed the Seahawks, who won 38-14 at Northwest Stadium last November. And the upset came amid Seattle QB Sam Darnold's return from his Week 1 gluteal injury − and he played his butt off Sunday with 379 yards and four TDs through the air.
5. The number of turnovers committed by the Bills on Sunday, three courtesy of Allen. It was Buffalo’s first win with that many giveaways since 1997. Good thing Buffalo's defense finally showed up, even if the Bolts offense didn't ... again.
5a. Ugly a game as he had, Allen became the first QB in NFL history with multiple rushing TDs in three consecutive games.
6. The number of TD receptions by Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who’s excelling, per usual, no matter which of his quarterbacks is throwing to him. The 2025 Offensive Player of the Year is on a very early pace to shatter Hall of Famer Randy Moss’ single-season record (23 TD grabs in 2007).
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has had 120+ receiving yards and 1+ receiving TD in each of his team's first 3 games 🫨
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 27, 2026
The only other player to accomplish that in NFL history is HOF Jerry Rice@Seahawks | #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/nVNt719IkI
7. However it appears the Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs is going to give JSN a run for his money when it comes to capturing 2026 OPOY honors. Gibbs, who posted 164 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage in Sunday’s 31-24 defeat of the New York Jets, is off to a historic start.
.@Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs is the first player in @NFL history to produce the following statistics through the first 3 games of any season:
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) September 27, 2026
- 300 rushing yards
- 4 rushing TDs
- 150 receiving yards
- 2 receiving TDs#OnePride pic.twitter.com/YGj3AZSIMe
8. The jersey number of four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who passed for at least 290 yards (292) and multiple TDs (3) for the first time as a Pittsburgh Steeler in Sunday’s 30-27 escape from the Cincinnati Bengals, who still haven’t started 3-0 since 2015.
9. Number of consecutive games lost by the Indianapolis Colts, the longest skid in the league going back to last season … prior to Sunday’s narrow victory over Houston.
10. Weird zero stat of the day: Cleveland Browns backup QB Shedeur Sanders completed his only pass of the day for 0 yards. That translates to a passer rating of 79.2, which is significantly better than Carolina Panthers counterpart Bryce Young’s on Sunday (70.7, even though Young completed 26 of 48 passes for 291 yards, a TD and an INT). Sanders’ 79.2 would have even led the league back in the old, pre-Super Bowl era (before 1966) days.
11. Weirdest zero stat of the day: Niners WR Deebo Samuel had 80 receiving yards and a TD in Sunday’s win … despite finishing with zero receptions. Explanation? He scored the game’s first touchdown on a hook-and-lateral with WR Mike Evans, who was credited with a 2-yard catch on the play.
HOOK-AND-LADDER TD 🤯
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 27, 2026
Deebo Samuel traveled a total distance of 110.35 yards and reached a max speed of 20.39 MPH on this 80-yard touchdown, per @NextGenStats @AZvsSF on FOX/FOX One
Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/88dsZtSZum
11a. Samuel also iced San Francisco’s 36-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals with another uncredited catch.
Deebo ices it on the hands team 👏@AZvsSF on FOX/FOX One
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/t32MJ70YM6
12. Number of consecutive games won by the Seahawks, the longest heater in the league going back to last season … prior to Sunday’s loss to the Commanders. Seattle failed to become the third consecutive Super Bowl champion to begin its title defense with a 3-0 start.
13. Alternate uniforms < throwback uniforms.
It’s merely a rule of thumb, not an immutable law. But if you saw the Bills (“Nickel City”) and Colts (“Anvil Strike”) unis on Sunday, then you’d probably agree that gray is a good color for baseball roadies … not so much for NFL uniforms.
The @BuffaloBills' "Nickel City" uniforms are ready for their debut. @LACvsBUF on FOX/FOX One
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/SWjFLvF6Jw
14. However the Jacksonville Jaguars’ throwbacks? Sweet. Can we get those back as the primaries?
The Jaguars "Prowler" throwbacks should be their primary uniforms. I will die on this hill without regrets. pic.twitter.com/7b7Sj2Kyhq
— FB_Helmet_Guy (@FB_Helmet_Guy) September 27, 2026
15. Speaking of bad looks, what’s the tougher watch on TV: Indy's Lucas Oil Stadium with the roof open on a sunny day – like Sunday – or AT&T Stadium with the sun streaming through its western end-zone windows?
16. The Cowboys didn’t have to deal with any glare – or even a bad field – Sunday while facing the Ravens at Maracanã Stadium in the league’s first foray into Rio. But their problematic defense sabotaged them yet again – surrendering a 27-yard completion to Zay Flowers on the game’s final game from scrimmage … before Ravens K Tyler Loop drilled the game-winning 56-yarder to secure a 34-31 victory. Still, this was a fantastic game and, who's to say, perhaps a Super Bowl 61 preview based on how this unpredictable season has unfolded so far.
17. Congratulations to Jaguars CB/WR Travis Hunter, who notched his first career interception Sunday … albeit on a – another – terrible throw by New England Patriots QB Drake Maye. Ten games into his career, Hunter, the insanely hyped dual-threat, Heisman Trophy-winning star from the University of Colorado, has one career pick and one career TD. I’ve been as skeptical as anyone about his pro prognosis, but good to see a player – and a great young man by many accounts – have a highlight moment.
TRAVIS HUNTER FIRST CAREER INT ‼️@NEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 27, 2026
Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/tZFgPtUIf4
18. Did you know Jacksonville has a Brian Thomas Jr. and Bryan Thomas Jr. on its roster? Brian, the better-known wideout, had one catch for 8 yards in the Jags’ 35-6 rout of the Patriots. Bryan, a defensive end, was credited with a tackle and half-sack of Maye.
19. Jaguars K Cam Little, who hit a 70-yard field goal in preseason last year and also broke the official record with a 68-yarder in the regular season last November, nearly hit a 70-yarder that counted right before halftime Sunday … but was wide right by inches. It’s coming, though.
Cam Little attempts a record-breaking 70-yard field goal but it is no good.#NFL pic.twitter.com/obwBsaikJF
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 27, 2026
Cam Little thought his 70-yarder was good against the Patriots:
— Action Sports Jax (@ActionSportsJax) September 27, 2026
“Out of the 67, the 68, and the 70 that I’ve attempted, I by far hit that ball the cleanest by a mile.”#Jaguars #DUUUVAL @BrentASJax pic.twitter.com/3t6bA9wCZm
20. “Browns are gonna Browns?” Admittedly, I poked fun at first-year Cleveland coach Todd Monken for getting worked up about NBC analyst Mike Tomlin’s dig prior to the Browns’ win at Tampa last week. But maybe it’s a positive phrase? Whatever you think of QB Deshaun Watson on a human level, he’s got his team off to a 2-1 start after engineering Sunday’s fourth-quarter win over the Panthers.
21. “Kinda poetic that I get this highlight,” Tomlin said, the longtime Steelers coach, said on “Football Night in America,” while breaking down the Browns’ second consecutive win.
22. Watson, who’s been a reviled figure in Cleveland essentially since his disastrous 2022 acquisition, was actually cheered Sunday, including when he returned after missing a play on a roughing penalty that preceded his game-winning TD pass to TE Harold Fannin Jr.
23. “I got a little teary-eyed feeling that energy because I put so much work to get back here, to be in this moment, to show that I can finish these games and get W’s for the city and this organization,” Watson said following the win.
24. The undefeated Raiders have already matched last season’s win total (3), which is what allowed them to draft QB Fernando Mendoza atop the 2026 draft.
25. Not that Las Vegas has needed the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner as veteran Kirk Cousins has tossed three TDs in all three of the Silver and Black’s victories, including Sunday’s come-from-behind effort in New Orleans.
26. That’s because the Saints had been dominant in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 25-3 in the final period over the first two weeks. But the Raiders outpointed them 13-0 in the fourth in Sunday’s 35-27 win at the Superdome.
27. And while second-year Saints QB Tyler Shough threw four TD passes Sunday, he also turned the ball over three times, giving Cousins and the Raiders the margin for error they needed to snatch the victory.
28. Call the Raiders’ start fluky if you want, but remember that Sunday was the first game this season in which they had, arguably, their best player – TE Brock Bowers making his 2026 debut to the tune of 10 catches, 116 yards and a TD. He missed the first two weeks after undergoing a meniscus trim.
29. Call the Vikings’ 3-0 start fluky if you want – especially in light of injuries to QB Kyler Murray, WR Justin Jefferson (Sunday) and others. They also needed a punt return for a TD in their 23-16 win at Tampa on Sunday. But that Minnesota D is vicious – racking up six sacks and 12 QB hits Sunday while knocking Bucs QB Baker Mayfield from the game.
30. If you didn’t know, Mayfield’s backup is undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who threw a pick among three incompletions in his pro debut. The Bucs’ ship sure appears to be sinking fast while going to the bottom of the NFC South standings, especially after Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand.
31. A reminder to all NFL players, officials and writers: “You guys better get your (expletive) together” … which is what referee Ronald Torbert told his crew (on a hot mic) during Sunday’s game in Indianapolis, per the Associated Press.
32. Last and, sadly, least – the Dolphins. Not only are the Fins winless, they haven’t come closer than 14 points to a victory. Perhaps worse, RB De'Von Achane, their best player, suffered a knee injury that seems to be serious, coach Jeff Hafley admitting a lack of optimism about Achane’s prognosis. Could we be witnessing the first 0-17 outfit in NFL history?
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 32 things we learned in NFL Week 3: Bills don't look good, literally or figuratively
