NFL Game Recaps: Week 3, 2026

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Falcons 35, Packers 14
The Falcons finally had professional quarterbacking with Michael Penix Jr. making his first start of the season. However, Penix got off to a rough start, mirroring what Atlanta had with Cooper Rush the past two weeks. He threw an interception on one of his first attempts after staring down his receiver and firing into heavy coverage.

The Packers turned this opportunity into a score. Jordan Love hit Matthew Golden on a deep pass, setting up a touchdown to Christian Watson.

At the time, it looked like the Packers might control the game. Instead, that was the last time they would score until the middle of the fourth quarter. It was all Falcons after that, starting with a 55-yard run by Bijan Robinson to set up an Atlanta score. The Falcons would end up scoring 27 consecutive points, highlighted by some big plays from Robinson and Drake London.

Penix rebounded from his ugly interception with mostly accurate passes. The Packers, conversely, couldn't get anything going until garbage time. Love didn't have any support from the running game, he saw pressure all night, and the Packers just couldn't sustain any drives.

Redskins 33, Seahawks 31
The Seahawks were eight-point favorites heading into this game, and it seemed as though the only way they would lose was if they gave the game away with mistakes. That's exactly what happened in the early going when Jadarian Price lost a fumble to set up a Marcus Mariota touchdown pass to Rachaad White.

This wasn't the only mistake Seattle made. The Seahawks failed to give Jaxon Smith-Njigba a single touch on their first two drives. They finally got back to basics on the third possession, with Smith-Njigba catching passes of 10 and 20 yards before drawing a pass interference penalty in the end zone. He ultimately caught a touchdown on the drive to tie the game at seven.

One would think the Seahawks would continue to utilize Smith-Njigba and their other top weapons, especially after the Redskins scored another touchdown, but they did not. Seattle squandered a red-zone opportunity by failing on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. The Seahawks were eventually able to kick a field goal thanks to Washington's incompetent clock management before halftime, but the Redskins matched with a field goal of their own to take a 17-10 lead into the break.

There was more misfortune for the Seahawks in the second half. Darnold threw an interception after his pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage. Two plays later, Mariota found Terry McLaurin for a touchdown to give Washington a 24-10 lead.

The Seahawks didn't give up. They put together two long touchdown drives of 55 and 69 yards, with Eric Saubert and Smith-Njigba finding the end zone to tie the game at 24.

Seattle's defense, however, had no answer for the Redskins despite all of Washington's injuries. The Redskins kicked a field goal to take a 27-24 lead, giving Seattle an opportunity to tie the game or go ahead. That chance disappeared quickly when Darnold threw a pick-six, as the unlikely turnover seemingly sealed the game.

However, the Seahawks scored another touchdown and still had all three timeouts, giving them a chance to force a punt while trailing just 33-31. They couldn't seal the edge on an expected run, however, allowing Rachaad White to break a long run that clinched the victory for Washington.

Steelers 30, Bengals 27
The Bengals entered this game ranked third in defensive EPA, but you wouldn't have known it based on how Aaron Rodgers performed in the first half. Rodgers found Roman Wilson wide open for a deep touchdown on the opening drive and later converted a third-and-11 with a 17-yard completion. He followed that up with a touchdown pass to a wide-open Ben Skowronek, giving the Steelers a 14-7 lead.

Things didn't go as well for Pittsburgh to begin the second half. Rodgers threw an interception that went right through Wilson's hands. Cincinnati capitalized, with Tee Higgins making a falling touchdown catch in the end zone. The Bengals eventually took a 20-17 lead and appeared to be in control when they forced a punt. However, Cincinnati roughed the kicker, allowing Pittsburgh to extend the drive and take a 24-20 lead on a Rodgers touchdown pass to DK Metcalf.

The Bengals once again appeared to be in control after going up 27-24 and forcing another Pittsburgh punt. However, Cincinnati's punt returner muffed the kick, setting up a chip-shot field goal for the Steelers. After the Bengals went three-and-out, Darnell Washington and Jaylen Warren produced big plays to set up another field goal, giving Pittsburgh a 30-27 lead.

Cincinnati had one final opportunity. Joe Burrow connected with Ja'Marr Chase to move the Bengals into field-goal range, but Burrow was strip-sacked on the very next play to end the game.

Lions 31, Jets 24
This was a close game for a while. The Lions led just 10-7 entering halftime, and the Jets had plenty of opportunities to take the lead. However, whenever they reached the red zone, Geno Smith would take sacks, forcing New York to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.

The Jets' inability to score touchdowns allowed Detroit to take a two-score lead when Jahmyr Gibbs ran into the end zone to become the second-leading touchdown scorer in Lions history, trailing only Barry Sanders.

Down 24-10, the Jets once again reached the red zone, and Smith once again took a sack. However, Garrett Wilson drew a pass interference penalty to set up a touchdown that drew New York to within eight. Detroit couldn't score on its next drive, as Gibbs was stuffed on fourth down, and Wilson then made a terrific catch while being interfered with to help the Jets tie the game at 24.

With a few minutes remaining, the Jets had a chance to get the ball back despite Isaac TeSlaa making a big play. On third down, however, Gibbs was somehow left wide open, and he scored a receiving touchdown to put the Lions up 31-24.

The Jets still had an opportunity to tie the game and force overtime, but Wilson was injured on the ensuing drive. Smith was then hit in the pocket and fumbled, sealing the victory for Detroit.

Giants 12, Titans 7
The rain and wind were so bad entering this game that the Giants were giving away tickets for $11. Those who attended saw New York get an early scoring opportunity when the Titans fumbled the opening kickoff return. However, an 11-yard Cam Skattebo run was negated by a hold, and the Giants came away with no points on the possession.

The Giants were able to kick a quartet of field goals, however, as they kept the chains moving for most of the afternoon. They won the time-of-possession battle by nearly 10 minutes, as Skattebo and Najee Harris had some tough runs to move New York into scoring territory. The Giants could never capitalize with a touchdown, but they were able to build a 12-0 lead.

That 12-0 advantage seemed like it would be enough, as it didn't look like Tennessee would be able to score at all. The Titans had a red-zone possession while trailing 12-0 where Cam Ward nearly threw an interception and then missed a wide-open Carnell Tate. An incomplete pass on fourth down gave the Giants possession.

Tennessee eventually broke the seal with a touchdown and later had a chance to win the game. The Giants jumped offside on a fourth-and-1 in the red zone, but Ward couldn't capitalize on the mistake, throwing an interception into the end zone to end the game.

Chiefs 24, Dolphins 10
Though the Chiefs won this game by two touchdowns, it was tight for a while and had some potential for a colossal upset. It didn't look like it would be close initially because Kansas City scored touchdowns on its first two drives. Travis Kelce made a big play on the opening possession, setting up a Kenneth Walker touchdown.

The next drive saw the Dolphins appear to stop Kansas City on a third-and-1 sack, but an illegal contact penalty kept the drive alive. Patrick Mahomes ultimately capitalized with a touchdown pass to Walker.

The Chiefs were up 14-7 at that point, but they failed to extend the lead when Walker was stopped on fourth-and-1 in the red zone. Mahomes then threw an interception after a pass intended for Rashee Rice was tipped into the air. That also ended Mahomes' perfect 11-for-11 start. The Dolphins continued to linger despite losing De'Von Achane to a knee injury in the early going.

Things began to look dubious for the Chiefs in the second half when Malik Washington scored a touchdown, only to have it negated by an illegal formation penalty. Kansas City capitalized on the mistake, as Kelce caught a touchdown pass on the ensuing possession. Malik Willis was intercepted on Miami's next drive to effectively end the game.

Colts 19, Texans 17
The matchup in this game dictated that Daniel Jones would be a sitting duck in the pocket due to his lack of mobility. That looked to be the case on the opening drive, as Houston's allegedly great defense strip-sacked Jones. This set up a nice scoring opportunity for the Texans, but they were once again stopped on fourth-and-1 on a David Montgomery run.

Still, things looked good for the Texans until the ensuing drive, when Jones scrambled to convert a fourth down. Jones had run just four times in two games entering this contest, but he showed more mobility despite coming off his torn Achilles. This set up a field goal for the Colts, and they scored a touchdown on their next possession as Houston's defense had no answer for Jones' passing. Jones shredded the Texans' secondary with throws to Josh Downs and Keenan Allen to help Indianapolis take a 10-0 lead.

The Texans couldn't get anything going offensively for most of the afternoon after that, while the Colts kept possessions alive with constant completions from Jones to his receivers. Indianapolis went up 16-7 before a Houston field goal trimmed the margin to one score.

The Texans regained possession on another Jones strip-sack, and this time they capitalized with a touchdown to take a 17-16 lead. Jones responded by continuing to shred Houston's secondary, ultimately moving Indianapolis into field-goal range. Spencer Shrader, who entered the game with an injury, converted the field goal to win the game.

Browns 21, Panthers 18
The Panthers put themselves in a deficit in this game despite being the superior team. They did this via a couple of failed fourth-down attempts. Carolina went for it on fourth-and-3 beyond midfield, but Bryce Young took a big loss on a sack, which set up a Cleveland field goal. A bit later, the Panthers went for it on fourth-and-1, and Young's pass to Tommy Tremble fell incomplete.

Despite these miscues, the Panthers were still in the game because Cleveland couldn't do much offensively. In the third quarter, the Browns fumbled a kickoff return, allowing Carolina to kick a field goal. The Panthers eventually put together a couple of strong offensive possessions and took an 18-13 lead.

It looked like Carolina would shut the door on the Browns when Deshaun Watson was intercepted in the red zone. However, the turnover was negated when Bobby Okereke was flagged for roughing the passer. Three plays later, Watson found Harold Landry in the end zone to give Cleveland a 21-18 lead.

The Panthers had a couple of opportunities to win the game after that, but couldn't get anything going. Young was missing his favorite receiver, Jalen Coker, who had left the game earlier with an injury.

Bills 24, Chargers 16
The Chargers entered this game as touchdown underdogs, but it looked like they might be able to pull the upset. James Cook lost a fumble on the opening drive, setting up a Keaton Mitchell touchdown reception. Two drives later, Josh Allen was intercepted after staring down a receiver. He was picked off again shortly afterward on a deep shot. As if that weren't bad enough, Allen made a mental error in the red zone when he could have scrambled for a touchdown but instead misfired toward DJ Moore. The Bills had to settle for a field goal and trailed 10-3.

The mistakes continued for Buffalo in the second half. The Bills cut the deficit to 13-10 following a touchdown, but Dalton Kincaid lost a fumble in the red zone. However, the Chargers soon began making costly mistakes of their own. Justin Herbert, playing with Madison Beer goggles, threw an interception after failing to see a safety, setting up a Buffalo touchdown drive. Allen made the key play by somehow getting the ball to Ty Johnson for a 29-yard reception while being tackled on fourth-and-7.

Now trailing, the Chargers needed to respond, but their mistakes continued. Quentin Johnston dropped a pass on third down, which was followed by an incomplete Herbert pass on fourth down.

The Bills, meanwhile, finally got on track offensively and eventually built an 11-point lead. A garbage-time field goal by the Chargers trimmed the margin to eight, but they couldn't complete the comeback.

Jaguars 35, Patriots 6
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: Drake Maye just keeps getting worse. I understand struggling against the Seattle and Pittsburgh defenses, but doing so against Jacksonville?!

The Jaguars controlled this game from start to finish, but the Patriots gave the game away with loads of unforced errors. Drake Maye had three turnovers, and the New England defense wilted to Trevor Lawrence. At 2-1, Jacksonville is in the driver's seat of the AFC South while New England falls to 1-2. Turnovers have absolutely killed the Patriots in the early going of 2026.

The defenses were playing well in the first quarter, and then Jacksonville caught a break when the ball slipped out Drake Maye's hand, and the Jaguars dove on the loose ball to set up their offense close to midfield. Lawrence took advantage with a chunk completion to Parker Washington and then a short touchdown pass to Josh Cameron.

New England caught a break when a deflected pass flew to Marcus Jones for an interception, and he returned it to the Jaguars' 21-yard line. Maye had a touchdown run taken away by a hold, and then an offensive pass interference forced the Patriots to settle for a field goal. Jacksonville responded with Lawrence leading the Jaguars down the field before throwing a dart to Jakobi Meyers for a 10-yard touchdown. Late in the first half, Maye hit a 38-yard completion to DeMario Douglas, but Maye overthrew Douglas wide open for a touchdown. To end the drive, Maye made a horrible decision throwing to a blanketed receiver in the back of the end zone, and Travis Hunter made a leaping interception to keep the Jacksonville lead at 14-3 at halftime.

The defenses continued to play well in the third quarter, but Lawrence put together a nice drive, throwing some beauties in the face of the rush to set up a first-and-goal. A touchdown pass to Washington was taken away, but they connected the next play again for a scoring strike to put the Jaguars up 21-3. Maye threw a poorly located pass, and Jarian Jones picked it off with a 30-yard return to the six-yard line. Chris Rodriguez Jr. scored the next play to put Jacksonville up 28-3 entering the fourth quarter. New England got moving with a completion to Kyle Williams, but penalties killed the drive, so they settled for a meaningless field goal. The Jaguars went down the field, and Bhayshul Tuten scored from a yard out to cap the blowout.

Vikings 23, Buccaneers 16
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

EDITOR'S NOTE: Baker Mayfield signed a big contract and then proceeded to quit for three games before getting injured. What a bum.

The Vikings improved to 3-0 thanks to an excellent game from their defense and special teams. While starting quarterback Kyler Murray was back, the Minnesota offense struggled again. Early in the first half, Justin Jefferson went out of the game and that definitely hurt Minnesota. Tampa Bay fell to 0-3, and it could be even worse as Baker Mayfield was unable to finish the game after suffering a thumb injury. Brian Flores' defense was superb once again, and Flores is carrying Minnesota this season.

Minnesota produced a field goal drive to open the game with completions to Jefferson and Will Reichard hitting a 54-yard field goal. The Vikings defense quickly forced a punt, and Myles Price returned it 86 yards for a touchdown. Tampa Bay responded as Ted Hurst got wide open in busted coverage for a 40-yard touchdown. Midway through the second quarter, Mayfield connected with Cade Otton for a 37-yard completion, but Tampa Bay settled for a field goal to tie the game at 10. The Vikings responded with a 30-yard completion to Jordan Addison, and then they took the lead with Murray throwing a deep ball to Addison for a 41-yard touchdown to make it 17-10 Minnesota at the half.

Midway through the third quarter, Vita Vea batted a pass, and A'Shawn Robinson caught the deflection for an interception. Tampa Bay settled for a field goal to cut the deficit to 17-13. At the end of the third quarter, Mayfield hit a deep ball to Chris Godwin for an 85-yard touchdown, but a holding penalty on Luke Goedeke took the score away. The Vikings held the four-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay put together a field goal drive as Chase McLaughlin drilled a 54-yard field goal to make it 17-16 with nine minutes remaining. Minnesota's offense was struggling throughout the second half and they finally got a drive going but killed it with penalties. They still were able to produce a 56-yard field goal to make it 20-16 with just over three minutes remaining.

Just past the two-minute warning, the Bucs went for a fourth-and-13 in their own territory despite having three timeouts remaining. It turned into a busted play and Mayfield made a desperation throw that was intercepted by Andrew Van Ginkel. Mayfield suffered a thumb injury on a hit from Blake Cashman on the play. He was screaming on the sideline before going into the locker room. Reichard added a field goal to make it 23-16 and the Vikings defense slammed the door on backup quarterback Jalon Daniels.

49ers 36, Cardinals 30
The 49ers entered this game with Nick Bosa sidelined, and the unfortunate injury situation only got worse. Mike Evans left the game in the first half, and then Trent Williams was carted off the field in the second half. San Francisco prevailed, but this was a Pyrrhic victory.

The 49ers established a big lead, thanks in part to a quick early touchdown on a lateral to Deebo Samuel. San Francisco continued to hit big plays throughout the afternoon until Williams' injury.

Williams' absence allowed the Cardinals to mount a comeback, as Jacoby Brissett put together several scoring drives in garbage time. Arizona actually drew within two points, thanks to a San Francisco muffed punt, but the 49ers responded with a touchdown drive to create some separation.

The Cardinals eventually kicked a field goal to draw within six, but Samuel, who scored the opening touchdown, recovered the ensuing onside kick to end the game. Samuel, by the way, had one of the strangest stat lines you'll ever see: zero catches, 80 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown.

Raiders 35, Saints 27
The Raiders opened this game with Brock Bowers making some big plays. Bowers missed the first two games of the season, so his return was quite welcome as Las Vegas took a 13-10 lead.

The Saints, however, stormed back with a flurry of touchdowns. Tyler Shough hit Juwan Johnson for a score, and following a Raiders fumble on a kickoff return, Travis Etienne had a nice run, although he injured his hamstring in the process. New Orleans continued the drive with a Shough touchdown pass to Noah Fant to extend the lead to 27-16.

Following a Raiders touchdown that drew the margin to within five, Shough was strip-sacked, giving Las Vegas a short field. The Raiders capitalized with a Kirk Cousins touchdown pass to Cody White to take a 28-27 lead. Las Vegas would score again to go up eight, and then its defense took over.

The Raiders dominated defensively late in the afternoon. Shough was strip-sacked on fourth-and-1, and on the next drive, Juwan Johnson lost a fumble to effectively end the game.

Ravens 34, Cowboys 31
There were some major concerns about the field conditions entering this game. However, as much as I would have loved to see Roger Goodell get embarrassed for his greedy endeavors to screw over American fans by bringing games to international audiences, there weren't many slippages. CeeDee Lamb slipped once on a third down, but that was pretty much it.

With the field conditions holding up, this turned into a terrific back-and-forth game. The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead, thanks in part to Lamar Jackson looking shaky in the pocket and missing a wide-open Mark Andrews. However, the Ravens answered by kicking a field goal and then drawing a deep pass interference penalty on a Jackson throw to Devontez Walker.

Baltimore eventually took a 17-13 lead into the locker room after stuffing Javonte Williams on fourth down. The Ravens extended their advantage to 24-13 in the second half, but the Cowboys stormed back to draw within three points.

Baltimore appeared poised to answer after producing three plays of 20-plus yards on a single drive, but Derrick Henry was stuffed on fourth down. The Cowboys took over at their own 1-yard line and, thanks in part to a bomb to Lamb, capped off a 99-yard drive with a touchdown to take the lead.

Now trailing, Jackson took matters into his own hands — or rather, his own feet — with a nice scramble that eventually helped set up a Baltimore touchdown. The Cowboys answered by driving down the field, but stalled in the red zone and had to kick a field goal to tie the game at 31.

With seven seconds remaining, it looked like the game was destined for overtime. However, Dallas foolishly allowed Baltimore to start at the 35-yard line without any time coming off the clock. Given that the Ravens still had a timeout, they went for the jugular. Jackson fired a 26-yard dart to Zay Flowers, who went to the ground with one second remaining. Baltimore used its final timeout, setting up Tyler Loop for a 56-yard field goal that won the game in regulation.

Broncos 30, Rams 26
This game ended up being a high-scoring thriller that was decided in the final minute of regulation, but it certainly didn't seem like it would play out that way during the first half. The Broncos were a complete no-show and couldn't score a single point. Bo Nix threw two potential interceptions that were dropped, while the Rams scored 16 points and looked like they would cruise to an easy victory.

Everything changed after intermission. The trouble began when Matthew Stafford appeared to throw a pick-six, but the interception was dropped. The Broncos seemingly gained some energy from the play, as they scored a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion to draw within eight. The Rams then had a drive disrupted by a holding penalty before Stafford missed Davante Adams for what could have been a deep touchdown.

Everything seemed to be going Denver's way at that point. J.K. Dobbins even fumbled, only for the ball to pop right into Pat Bryant's hands, allowing Bryant to pick up a significant gain. Denver eventually scored another touchdown and converted another two-point conversion to tie the game at 16.

The momentum appeared to swing back toward the Rams when Nix had a pass intercepted off a deflection. Los Angeles looked like it would regain control after Stafford connected with Adams for a big play, but Stafford then threw a pick-six. Stafford redeemed himself, however, by engineering a 91-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a deep bomb to Konata Mumpfield to give the Rams a 26-23 lead.

This is when the controversy began. The Broncos, trailing by three, entered the red zone, where Nix was intercepted. However, a questionable pass interference flag negated the turnover, with both the announcers and the former NFL official in the booth saying they believed the call was incorrect. Three plays later, the Rams were flagged again, giving Denver another first down. The Broncos scored another three plays later to take a 30-26 lead.

Stafford managed to drive the Rams down the field in the final seconds, but Los Angeles was left with only one play and had to take a shot into the end zone. Stafford's pass was intercepted, ending the game.

Bears 27, Eagles 7
The Bears entered this game with their third-string quarterback, Case Keenum. No one gave the 38-year-old signal-caller much of a chance, but Chicago's opening drive told another story. Keenum came out slinging the ball, going 5-of-6 on the opening possession and ultimately hitting Luther Burden for an early touchdown.

The Eagles were able to stop the Bears on fourth down on the next possession and then had a terrific drive, with Saquon Barkley slicing through Chicago's defense like a knife through butter. Philadelphia moved into the red zone when Jalen Hurts was hit late out of bounds. The concussion protocol staff forced Hurts into the medical blue tent, which sent Andy Dalton into the game. The Eagles gained nothing on the ground on the first two plays with Dalton under center, and then Dalton threw an interception right to a Chicago safety on third down.

The Eagles eventually scored right before halftime. There was literally no time left on the clock when Hurts pushed his way into the end zone. The clock was at zero, so the play shouldn't have counted, but Philadelphia scored to gain some momentum entering the third quarter.

The Eagles, however, failed to capitalize on this momentum. Barkley ran the ball extremely well in the first half, and yet Philadelphia gave him only four carries in the second half. The Eagles trailed by only three or six points in the third quarter, so there was no reason for them to move away from a ground game that had worked so well. As a result, the Eagles couldn't move the ball at all.

Conversely, Chicago continued its offensive production, with Keenum constantly torching Philadelphia's secondary. The game effectively ended on a Philadelphia drive when the Eagles decided to go for it on fourth-and-5, even though they had punted on fourth-and-2 on the prior possession. Chicago linebacker T.J. Edwards was basically in Philadelphia's huddle and knew exactly what was coming when he listened into Hurts' play call to the team. Hurts promptly threw the ball right to Edwards for an interception, which sealed the upset victory for Chicago.