Must see matchups Week 3: Patriots vs. Jets, Texans vs. Vikings, Eagles vs. Saints, Ravens vs. Cowboys, Jaguars vs. Bills
Just nine undefeated teams remain heading in to Week 3, and after what we have seen from the opening two weekends in the NFL, no one is safe.
If Week 2 showed us anything, it’s that no one is safe and maybe the teams we thought would be good aren’t so great, and teams who were supposed to be bad aren’t so terrible. The Ravens are 0-2, the Vikings are 2-0, the Steelers lead the AFC North and the Saints have been the best team in the league so far. Four of the top five teams in our Week 1 Power Rankings went down last week. So here we are, heading into Week 3 with no idea what’s going to happen. One thing we do know, is there are some can’t miss matchups coming up this weekend.
Patriots vs. Jets, Thursday, September 19th @ 8:20 p.m. ET
The Pats are better than anyone would have thought, and the Jets are farther off track than we would have expected with Aaron Rodgers under center. We thought that the four time MVP returning to the Jets offense was going to cure their offensive ails, and with the dominant NYJ defense this team was immediately going to be a contender in the AFC. That’s not quite the case. They squeaked by the Titans last week, and got wiped out by the Niners in the opener. The Patriots, meanwhile, have been one of the surprises of the early season. After shocking the Bengals in Week 1, they were a late fourth quarter Joey Slye field goal away from beating the Seahawks moving to 2-0 on the year. Now the two division rivals will go toe-to-toe on a second straight Thursday Night AFC East battle to kick off the week.
Texans vs. Vikings, Sunday, September 22nd @ 1:00 p.m ET
One of these teams was expected to be in this position after two weeks. The other team, not so much. We knew the Texans were going to be a good team after their turn around season last year. C.J. Stroud led his endless armory of offensive weapons to a division win in the season opener from Indianapolis and then the defense stepped up and shut down the Bears on a primetime match up last week. They are undefeated heading into Week 3, which is more than a lot of top teams in the league can say. The Vikings shocked the Niners last weekend to join the Texans as one of the nine undefeated teams in the league. Minnesota beat the lowly Giants in the season opener, which didn’t surprise many people, but their win over San Fran in Minnesota sent shockwaves around the NFL. Now people want to know if the Vikings are for real. We will find out on Sunday.
Eagles vs. Saints, Sunday, September 22nd @ 1:00 p.m ET
Are they? Could they be? Do we really buy the Saints as the best team in the NFL? After two weeks, you can’t argue with what they have done on the field. They have scored 92 points in the first eight quarters of the year. Sure one of those games was against the Panthers, but the other one was against the Cowboys who were fresh off a drubbing of the Cleveland Browns the week before. The Saints’ game in Dallas was an early season indicator of where the power balance lies in the the NFC, and the Saints overwhelmed the Cowboys in AT&T Stadium while proclaiming themselves as the frontrunners in the NFC. The Eagles looked like they were on their way to a 2-0 start after their win in Sao Paolo over the Packers, but Kirk Cousins had other plans. They were shocked on Monday night after Saquon Barkley dropped a game winning third down conversion, and the Falcons stole one in Philly to drop the Eagles to .500 through two weeks. The Saints win in Dallas was impressive, and maybe unexpected, but let’s see how New Orleans does now that all eyes are on them.
Ravens vs. Cowboys Sunday, September 22nd @ 4:25 p.m ET
The two most disappointed teams coming out of Week 2 have to be the Ravens and the Cowboys. The Ravens have inexplicably dropped to 0-2 following their stunning last second loss to the Raiders at home. The narrow loss to the Chiefs in Arrowhead was understandable, but to come back home on a long week of rest and lose to a Raiders team that no one expected to be any good has the alarm bells sounding in Baltimore. Now the preseason favorites to knock the Chiefs off their throne in the AFC have lost their first two games of the season and will have to travel to Dallas to take on a Cowboys team licking their wounds after getting embarrassed by the Saints in front of their home fans. So which team are the Cowboys? The team that moped the floor with the Browns in Week 1 or the team that got spanked on their home turf against the new kids on the block in the NFC? We will find out on FOX’s Game of the Week with Tom Brady on the mic.
Jaguars vs. Bills, Monday, September 23rd @ 7:30 p.m ET
Is Week 3 too early for desperation to set in? We will see when the Jags take the field at Highmark Stadium on the first of two Monday Night kickoffs. This is a very different conversation and a very different preview to this game if Travis Etienne doesn’t fumble at the one in Jacksonville’s first game of the season. The fumble led to an unraveling that cost them the game in Miami, and it seemed to carry over into their game against the Browns last week. Now the Jags are 0-2 and look a little lost on the offensive end after paying their quarterback the richest contract in NFL history. Not exactly a dream start for the Jags, but the same can’t be said for the Bills who off loaded all of their top weapons during the offseason, but that hasn’t bothered Josh Allen in the slightest. Allen dominated the season opener against the Cardinals, leading Buffalo to a comeback win at home in Week 1. James Cook and the defense took over last week and let Allen enjoy a cushy division victory over Miami as the running back scored a hat trick of TDs and the defense dominated the Dolphins to move to 2-0. The Jags need a win, but the Bills are rolling. This one will be a can’t miss from Orchard Park on Monday night.