Desperation is starting to set in for several NFL squads, and here are five major matchups could help stave off that sense in Week 3.
Three is a magic number … and some teams in the NFL are learning that the hard way.
Entering the Week 3 landmark on the gridiron calendar, the league has eight teams with a 2-0 record on their ledgers while seven others have a dreaded blank in the left-hand column in the standings.
The latter group no doubt rues the Yogi Berra bit that mentions an affair getting late early: only a serendipitous seven teams have reached the postseason following an 0-3 start in NFL history, killing off the idea of laughing off a slow start for many teams.
Sure, there’s recent historic precedent for bucking that trend — last year’s Houston Texans overcame early struggles to the tune of 12 wins in all but two of their ensuring 14 regular season tilts — but those afflicted would no doubt prefer a less dramatic method of punching their playoff ticket.
With that in mind, the respective path to continued perfection or a descent into further pigskin insanity could come down to certain individual performances that dot the depth chart. Five such showdowns are particularly intriguing as Sunday’s kickoffs loom …
WR Josh Downs vs. S Jalen Pitre
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
The Colts could’ve walked out of Kansas City with at least a moral victory after taking the resurgent Chiefs to overtime last Sunday night. But, as if the questionable overtime playcalling wasn’t overbearing enough, Indianapolis was also forced to deal with the loss of Alec Pierce, whose first year on a nine-figure extension has been interrupted by a heel injury endured during the first half.
Pierce will likely avoid another surgery but was nonetheless placed on injured reserve. Help is on the way with the newly-signed Darius Slayton (who has extensive collaboration with franchise thrower Daniel Jones) but the Colts are essentially going into their maiden divisional voyage with the slot man Josh Downs as the top receiver.
.@joshdowns put on a route-running clinic last night 😮💨 @colts
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2026
(via @danorlovsky7) pic.twitter.com/1go84fcRbk
That presents a primary assignment opportunity for the slot man Jalen Pitre, who will likely play a major role in any hope the Texans have of getting off the winless schneid. Downs and Pitre have had their share of battles since the former made his NFL entry in 2023 and Sunday should produce another sterling joust as each man’s team tries to re-enter AFC South contention.
EDGE Dallas Turner vs. OT Tristan Wirfs
Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox
The Vikings stand as one of the early surprises of this infantile season, as they’re one of the eight unbeaten teams left on the ledgers after two weeks. Such success partly relies on what they’ve accomplished in the pass rush.
Minnesota has blitzed on over 71% of dropbacks this season (its closest competition, Detroit, is at a mere 42.6) and Dallas Turner has been the primary beneficiary of such an attack: Next Gen Stats has credited the third-year first-round pick with 20 pressures through the first two games, setting a strong tone for the follow-up to an 8-sack season. In terms of trends, the Vikings are 12-3 when Turner blitzes at least twice and 8-3 when he forces at least one hurry.
DALLAS TURNER WALKOFF SACK FOR THE VIKINGS pic.twitter.com/8wGRHUIMKW
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
Winless Tampa has likewise tried to press the issue (trailing only the NFC North duo in the aforementioned blitz percentage rate) but stopping Minnesota’s relentless rush could force the issue on a struggling offense led by a returning Kyler Murray. That turns the pressure over to the All-Pro staple veteran Tristan Wirfs, who is no strangers to stemming Buccaneer bleeding on offense. His work in containing Turner could help Tampa start to make up for lost ground.
CB Marlon Humphrey vs. WR George Pickens
Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys (@ Rio de Janeiro), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS
Time will tell exactly what the offensive weapons will be able to accomplish come Sunday late afternoon, as the field at Maracana Stadium has been an unwanted focus heading into game day.
If they’re able to generate any traction, there’s potential for high scoring and Baltimore has come prepared: Zay Flowers is set return after a one-week absence though it’s said he’ll be on a snap count.
Dallas re-discovered its offensive footing last week against Washington and that was thanks in no small part to CeeDee Lamb‘s return to form. Dallas, however, would love to get its full arsenal rolling and that involves getting George Pickens back in big play form: over his first two games on the franchise tag, Pickens has tallied 68 and none of his catches have gone longer than 12 yards.
The NFL fined Saints WR Chris Olave $11,941 for taunting Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey last week. pic.twitter.com/N9NSiLWUY5
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 26, 2026
Keeping Pickens under control will be the task of another redemption-seeker as Marlon Humphrey surrendered some big plays to Chris Olave as the Ravens let one slip away to the Saints last week. The two previously did battle as AFC North rivals, and now they both stand as name-brand talents on squads that are far too talented to be watching the playoffs from home.
EDGE Maxx Crosby vs. OT Asim Richards
Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS
Somehow a late matchup between the Raiders and Saints became one of the most anticipated showdowns on the Week 3 calendar: Las Vegas surprisingly put out two victories while New Orleans could’ve well joined in the brotherhood of early perfection had they converted an overtime 2-point conversation against Detroit on opening weekend.
Alas for the surging Saints, they’ll have to make their surge forward without Kelvin Banks Jr., whose injured reserve-worthy ankle injury partly marred the euphoria surrounding last week’s aforementioned win over the Ravens. In his place stands Asim Richards, a former Cowboy making just his sixth start since entering the league as a fifth-round pick in 2023.
#Saints HC Kellen Moore on T Kelvin Banks Jr’s timetable for return:
— NOF (@nofnetwork) September 21, 2026
“Surgery will happen in the next few days, and we’ll just kinda see what the timeline looks like after that.”
When asked about T Asim Richards filling in:
“I thought he held his own.” pic.twitter.com/gJxYo5CiTL
There will be little, if any, learning curve or honeymoon period for Richards, who has to face one of the NFL’s most recurring backfield invaders, Maxx Crosby, in his first start of the year. Las Vegas is tied for the league lead in early sacks with eight and it could be a long day if they attack Richards’ side. PFF charged him with allowing more than 20 pressures on just over 200 dropbacks last season, a foreboding of knowledge as The Big Easy starts to establish some early momentum.
LB Jihaad Campbell vs. TE Colston Loveland
Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN
Monday’s Week 3 wind-down is an early gut check for its combatants: the Eagles have weathered some early struggles well enough to win their first two games while the Bears were on the wrong end of a paltry 9-6 decision against divisional foe Minnesota last week. That defeat proved painful in more ways than one, as Chicago quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent were lost due to injury.
The show must go on, though, and the Bears will likely lean on any and all familiarity as they seek to avoid a losing record with Case Keenum at the offensive helm. They’ll likely lean on a healthy dose of ground movement from D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai while Colston Loveland is perhaps the strongest aerial safety blanket for Keenum, who is set to take his first regular season snaps since 2023.
2nd & 8: Jihaad Campbell makes the stop pic.twitter.com/WmBsFitukr
— 𝐃𝐈𝐄-𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 🦅 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 (@Eaglesfans9) September 13, 2026
Either way, Jihaad Campbell will likely be kept busy and it’ll be a good time for him to reclaim his narrative on this season: last year’s first round pick allowed catches on all four of his targets last week in Tennessee and he whiffled badly on a scoring rush for Cam Ward. He should be well-acquainted with Loveland by the ending the evening whether he’s running routes over the middle or trying to clear a path for Swift and Monangai, who pushed Chicago to the top of the rushing rankings by the start of this week.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
