Around the AFC
Silver and back — so back? Kansas City off to a 3-0 start? That can’t be a big surprise even after last season. Now, Las Vegas off to a 3-0 start? That’s wild, considering the Raiders won just three games last year. Klint Kubiak and Andy Reid square off for the first time with an early AFC West lead in the balance. The Raiders have a chance to become the league’s best early story.
Maye-day Maye-day. On the other side of the ledger from Vegas is New England. The Patriots lost three games last year. Now they’re 1-2 and traveling to Buffalo. Ouch. Drake Maye, an MVP candidate in his second season, has been really bad so far this year. Bad decisions abound, including a handful of truly baffling ones. He’s got no A.J. Brown for now and not much help, but man, it’s not far from a slow start turning into a bad situation.
No mistake by the lake. The Cleveland Browns are 3-1. Repeat. The Cleveland Browns are 3-1. They held on to knock off Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Todd Monken is off to a good start as a head coach. Deshaun Watson looks better, though he’ll have to continue making strides. Look down this schedule and, outside of division games against Baltimore and Cincinnati, it’s nothing but fairly winnable games. We’re not talking playoff threat just yet, but maybe they can make it interesting over the next month.
Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Atlanta Falcons stands at the line of scrimmage against the Green Bay Packers in the third quarter at Lambeau Field on September 24, 2026 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Around the NFC
Up and comers. There’s no surer bet in the NFL than that the NFC South will be a wide-open race. That’s the case again early this year — nobody’s better than 1-2 — but there are at least some fun, young quarterbacks in the division. Monday night features New Orleans’ Tyler Shough and Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr. Penix made his season debut last week and played well against Green Bay, while Shough looks like a potential long-term answer for the Saints and is second in the NFL in passing yards so far.
Case on point. How about Case Keenum? In a matchup of former Broncos, the 38-year-old started for the Bears and cooked Philly defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Ben Johnson has a rising power in the NFL and he showed it by continuing to win without quarterback Caleb Williams. Will Keenum get another shot at it this week at home against the Jets? Or will it be back to Tyson Bagent while Williams rehabs?
Jameis and J-Mac. The Giants have had one of the worst injury starts of any team this season, losing QB Jaxson Dart and star edge Brian Burns back-to-back weeks. After Jameis Winston struggled, the Giants traded for Minnesota’s struggling 2024 first-round draft pick, J.J. McCarthy. Can he salvage a brutal start to his career? Even if he does, he’ll then have to find a team to start for once Dart returns. Still, it’s an interesting experiment and N.Y.’s decision-making in the coming weeks will be fascinating.
Game of the Week
Jacksonville at Cincinnati: It’s a terrific quarterback matchup on the Ohio River between Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow. Each team is 2-1 and the Bengals (-2.5) could easily be undefeated but for a shootout loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday. Still, both teams are expected to be factors in the AFC playoff picture. Lawrence got the Jags there last year while Burrow missed the second half of the season after starting 5-3. Jacksonville has the more well-rounded roster, but Burrow has Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, plus plenty of other offensive options. There’s a reason this game is tied for the highest point total on the weekend at 51.5.
Bengals 27, Jaguars 24
Lock of the Week
L.A. Chargers at Seattle: There are multiple contenders, but the Chargers are a comfortable pick for the most disappointing start to the season. Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel are on the verge of having a full-blown disaster on their hands, Justin Herbert doesn’t look right and they are just setting out on a brutal stretch of the schedule. After a visit to Seattle (-7), the Chargers play Denver, at Kansas City, at the Rams, Houston and at Baltimore. Mike Macdonald will have his team’s attention after last week’s let-down against Washington.
Seahawks 27, Chargers 13
Upset of the Week
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia: The Los Angeles Rams are 1-2, but they’re 3-point favorites despite a tough upcoming cross-country road trip to Philadelphia this weekend. How about the Rams’ early-season travel schedule? They opened in Australia, then got a nice break before their Monday night home opener in Week 2. Then, a short-week trip to Denver and now a long flight to Philly. They’ve certainly got the talent to win and they could get Puca Nacua back, too, but this is a tough part of the schedule for Sean McVay’s team.
Eagles 23, Rams 22
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