Week 3 of the Sunday afternoon slate is jam-packed with 13 games, nine in the 1 p.m. ET window and four in the 4 p.m. portion. Five divisional matchups that include Colts at Titans, Falcons at Panthers, Texans at Jaguars, Broncos at Chargers and an NFC West showdown for first place with the Cardinals at 49ers.
The early afternoon slate also includes a big NFC clash between the Rams and Eagles in a battle to stay undefeated. Coming into Week 3, 10 teams remain undefeated with two matchups involving teams who have yet to fill the loss column.
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Two playoff teams from last season are already fighting to stay alive, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans looking to avoid starting the year 0-3. Division winners from a year ago are currently pulling up the rear in the AFC’s West and South divisions.
Since 1990, only four teams out of 162 have made the postseason after starting a season 0-3. Eight other NFL teams are on the brink of watching the season slip away in Week 3 with a third consecutive loss to start the season, including the Dolphins, Bears, Browns and Jets.
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A few of these afternoon slate matchups on Sunday will be missing some major quarterback star power. Cincinnati and Minnesota will feature two backup quarterbacks. Joe Burrow will miss at least the next three months’ worth of action with a turf toe injury, having undergone a successful surgery on Friday, with Jake Browning starting in his place. It was a rough start for Browning, who threw a pick-six on the second offensive drive of the game in Week 3. He threw three interceptions in Week 2 after entering the game in the second quarter following Burrow’s injury.
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Other veterans who got the start in Week 3 in place of injured quarterbacks include Carson Wentz, starting for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, out with an ankle injury, Tyrod Taylor starting in place of Justin Fields (concussion) and Marcus Mariota, who started in place of Jayden Daniels (knee).
In the afternoon window, Mac Jones will make his second start with the San Francisco 49ers in place of Brock Purdy, who is dealing with a shoulder sprain and a case of turf toe suffered in Week 1. The Niners will also be without All-Pro tight end George Kittle (on IR with a hamstring injury) and WRs Brandon Aiyuk (PUP list) and Jauan Jennings (shoulder and ankle injuries).
Week 3 NFL scores (early window)
Steelers 21, Patriots 14
Panthers 30, Falcons 0
Browns 13, Packers 10
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Still in progress:
Texans vs. Jaguars
Bengals vs. Vikings
Rams vs. Eagles
Jets vs. Buccaneers
Colts vs. Titans
Raiders vs. Commanders
Week 3 NFL schedule (afternoon window)
New Orleans Saints vs. Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. ET
Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears, 4:25 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers, 4:25 p.m. ET
NFL Week 3 Sunday live blog
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from the Sunday game slate in Week 3 of the NFL season: