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live Updated 29s ago What to watch for in Week 3 Welcome to The Athletic 's live experience covering all things Week 3 in the NFL . This week, nine teams look to start 3-0, which includes a pair of dates between unbeatens in the Houston Texans vs. the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers vs.
Pittsburgh Steelers . Conversely, nine NFL teams enter Sunday winless, hoping to avoid the dreaded 0-3 start. That list includes a few shockers, such as the Baltimore Ravens , Cincinnati Bengals or Los Angeles Rams .
Baltimore in particular travels to Dallas to face a Cowboys team today coming off a deflating loss at home to the New Orleans Saints . What will Week 3 bring in the NFL? Stay tuned here to find out. Required reading Week 3 schedule, scores and stats Week 3 standings Latest power rankings QB stock report Streaming NFL games: Fubo (try for free) Subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here .
Find the best ticket deals on StubHub . NFL playoff projections 2024: Where does your team stand in The Athletic’s model? (Getty Images) Welcome to our 2024 NFL projections, where you will find each team’s probability of conquering its division, advancing through the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl. The projections are based on 100,000 simulations of the remainder of the season, which factors in each team’s projected strength, current health as well as its remaining schedule.
All projections and probabilities are rounded to the nearest whole number. The projections will be updated regularly throughout each week. GO FURTHER NFL playoff projections 2024: The Athletic’s model predicts the field Advertisement Hail Murray Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray jumped 10 spots in this week's NFL QB stock report , by far the biggest move from any QB early in the season.
He produced a perfect passer rating Sunday against the Rams, a team many around the league believed would be in the playoffs this season, and Murray had the Cardinals close to pulling off a major upset in Buffalo in the opener. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft has been outstanding through two games, completing 73.
1 percent of his passes for 428 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 122.9 rating. He’s also rushed for 116 yards.
Murray was decent last season when he returned from a torn ACL. Now fully healthy with an entire offseason in Drew Petzing’s highly regarded offense, Murray might be on the verge of the best season of his career. And remember, he was in the MVP conversation at times in 2020 and 2021.
Murray does have a history of starting strong and fading down the stretch, but there’s reason to believe this is more sustainable. Former head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offense had been criticized by rival executives for stalling due to a lack of evolution as the season progressed. Murray’s play suffered as a result.
A growing number of injuries also impacted him late in seasons, so that’s certainly still going to be a concern. Before the season, numerous coaches and executives raved about Petzing’s scheme in 2023. It’s one of the key reasons the Cardinals were selected in the preseason as the team most likely to overachieve in a poll by The Athletic.
Many predicted Petzing would get head coaching interviews this offseason. The Cardinals are better this season. The level of Murray’s play will determine just how much of a threat they could be in potentially contending for a playoff spot.
GO FURTHER Marvin Harrison Jr., after underwhelming debut, breaks out for Cardinals in Week 2 Who improves to 3-0? (Getty Images) Nine of 32 teams remain unbeaten entering Week 3. The esteemed group: The Bills, Buccaneers, Chargers, Chiefs, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, Texans and Vikings.
At least two of these teams will have their perfect records soiled this weekend, because the schedule features two games between undefeated teams: Texans at Vikings and Chargers at Steelers. The Texans, led by second-year quarterback C.J.
Stroud and coach DeMeco Ryans, displayed grit and resilience in their first two games of the season. They held off the Colts for a 29-27 road win in Week 1, then weathered challenges from a stout Bears defense at home last Sunday night. Now they take on a Vikings squad that has been one of the early season surprises.
Many expected Kevin O’Connell’s team to take some steps backward following Kirk Cousins' departure for the Falcons. Instead, new starting quarterback Sam Darnold looks like a man reborn. Deemed a bust after awful experiences with the Jets and Panthers, Darnold (the third pick of the 2018 draft) spent last season as a backup in San Francisco, then was signed by Minnesota as an insurance policy for the rookie quarterback it planned to draft.
But after J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in August, the Vikings turned to Darnold, and he has delivered two strong performances to help Minnesota take an early lead in the NFC North.
Can Darnold continue his resurgence against a Texans defense that ranks third-stingiest in yards allowed and second in sacks through two games? (Speaking of sacks, Minnesota has 11, so Stroud and Houston’s line better buckle up.) Meanwhile, Chargers-Steelers should have a throwback feel. New coach Jim Harbaugh has guided L.
A. to back-to-back victories while leaning heavily on a strong run game (running back J.K.
Dobbins leads the NFL with 266 rushing yards) and dominant defense (227.5 yards and only 6.5 points allowed).
The Chargers could need that rushing attack and stout defense more than ever Sunday, because quarterback Justin Herbert (three touchdown passes, one interception through two games) is questionable with a high ankle sprain. Interestingly, Pittsburgh utilizes a similar approach. Through two weeks, Mike Tomlin’s Steelers defense also has dominated, allowing 260.
5 yards and just 8.0 points per game. That defense and a rushing attack that averages 139 yards per game has helped ease pressure on Justin Fields, who is expected to start his third game in place of a hobbled Russell Wilson.
It may not be sexy, but this approach has served both teams well. Which bruising squad will stay unbeaten?.
