Every Sunday, we cut through the noise to spotlight the NFL's most important developments and break down why they matter moving forward.
The Commanders pulled off the biggest upset of the season so far
Just last week, the Commanders struggled to put up points against the Cowboys with or without Jayden Daniels in the lineup. So Marcus Mariota and 0-2 Washington hosting the 2-0 Seahawks had all the warning signs of a blowout. Instead, the Seahawks were handed their first loss of the young season.
There's no reason for Seattle to panic. With Sam Darnold back in the lineup, the Seahawks racked up 437 yards of offense and held the Commanders to 258. But bad things happen if you turn the ball over three times and can't get takeaways of your own.
For the Commanders, the most exciting part of the victory has to be the impact Sonny Styles is already making on defense. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft raised eyebrows in Week 1 when he trucked Saquon Barkley en route to a sack, but it was his coverage skills that shined against the Seahawks. Not only did he record the first interception of his career, Styles also ran step for step with running back Jadarian Price to knock away a pass that would've been a huge gain (and maybe even a touchdown) for Seattle.
Drake Maye and New England's offense are a disaster right now
An ugly start to the year for the Patriots' offense only got worse in Week 3 with an awful showing against the Jaguars. Drake Maye turned the ball over three times, including an ill-advised throw into the back of the end zone that was intercepted by Jacksonville's Travis Hunter.
Maye simply has to be better for the Patriots to get on track, but the lack of weapons around him isn't helping at all. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson combined for only 45 rushing yards on 15 carries, and neither managed to record a single rush for more than 5 yards. Mack Hollins was the only consistently reliable threat down the field for Maye, with Demario Douglas and Romeo Doubs rarely making an impact.
A.J. Brown will be out until at least Week 6, so the Patriots will need to find some other offensive solutions and fast.
The Chargers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory
Buffalo handed over a win on a silver platter, but the Chargers spiked that gift into the floor. Not only did the Bills finish with five turnovers, they had double the penalty yardage and were out-gained by the Los Angeles offense. So how did the Bills end up stealing a 24-16 win? The Chargers only have themselves to blame.
They settled for field goals on three of their four trips into the red zone, including one after halftime that was set up with a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line. The Chargers false-started twice on the next few plays and settled for a 21-yard field goal instead of trying to go for it on fourth down from the 3-yard line. Those wasted red zone trips don't include Justin Herbert firing into double coverage from the Bills' 23-yard line, spoiling another opportunity to score points.
The Chargers seem to be a talented and capable football team that just doesn't know how to win games.
Miami isn't going down without a fight
The Dolphins are a long way from being a good football team, but you have to tip your cap to the effort they've put forth during their 0-3 start. In a 24-10 loss to the Chiefs, Miami struggled to slow Patrick Mahomes and Kenneth Walker, and Malik Willis couldn't do enough to turn lengthy drives into points. But what the Dolphins did show was a pretty impressive ability to run the ball that allowed them to control the time of possession and convert eight third-down tries.
It isn't going to make the Dolphins a contender anytime soon, especially with De'Von Achane seemingly suffering a serious knee injury. But they're plenty capable of grinding out at least a couple wins this season against any team that doesn't take Miami seriously.
Bengals vs. Steelers turned the early-season narratives on their head
Perhaps the football watching world was a little too quick to praise Cincinnati's defense and bury the Steelers' offense. After two strong outings to start the year, the Bengals looked a lot like their 2025 selves against Pittsburgh. And after scoring the fewest points in the NFL in the first two weeks, the Steelers offense suddenly looked dangerous.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the 30-27 win. Jaylen Warren took on bell-cow duties with Rico Dowdle out of action and turned 17 carries into 127 rushing yards.
Is the Bengals defense turning back into a pumpkin? It's hard to say definitively, but the likeliest answer is that AFC North rivalries have a knack for producing unexpected results.
Cam Ward can't keep wasting golden opportunities
The Titans had no shortage of chances to beat the Giants on Sunday. New York didn't score any touchdowns, in spite of two trips inside Tennessee's 5-yard line, and the Titans had three trips of their own into the red zone. Ward just flat-out missed chances to throw touchdown passes that could've won the game.
A three-play span near the end of the third quarter said it all. On a second down from the 7-yard line, Ward threw a pass straight to the Giants' Dru Phillips who dropped the would-be interception. Ward then overthrew a wide-open Carnell Tate for an easy touchdown, and subsequently lobbed a fourth down pass through the back of the end zone. The cherry on top of the bad day for Ward was his game-ending interception to New York's Jevon Holland that never had a chance of reaching Elic Ayomanor.
Barring a surprising turnaround, the 0-3 Titans will presumably be in prime position to draft another first-round quarterback next spring. Ward is giving them plenty of reasons to consider doing so.
The Lions won't be a contender unless the pass defense tightens up
Detroit improved to 2-1 on Sunday, but it wasn't a comfy victory against the Jets. After struggling to slow down the Saints and Bills, the Lions' defense once again had a hard time finding stops.
Geno Smith completed 31 of his 37 passes against the Detroit secondary for 321 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Garrett Wilson and Kenyon Sadiq both eclipsed 100 receiving yards and caught a touchdown pass each. The saving grace for the Lions defense was its ability to keep Jets running back Breece Hall in check.
It could've been a worse day for the Lions, if not for Jahmyr Gibbs dancing his way through the Jets defense for 165 yards of offense and three touchdowns. They're going to need those kinds of performances on a weekly basis if the Detroit secondary can't figure out a way to slow down opposing pass attacks.
Adam Stites is a contributing writer for theScore.
