2026 NFL Preseason Recap and Fantasy Football Notes: Week 3

**** NOTES FOR EVERY GAME WILL BE UP AS SOON AS I WATCH THEM **** Follow me @walterfootball for updates.



2026 Preseason Notes: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3
2026 Fantasy Football Stock Pages: Week 1 | Week 2




Bills 28, Steelers 27

Neither team played its starters in this game, so there were only a few players of note. One was second-round rookie receiver Germie Bernard, who caught an early pass in the flat and was able to evade former first-round cornerback Maxwell Hairston's tackle. Bernard scored a touchdown.

Bernard's not much of a fantasy option this year, but it was nice to see him make a good move on a highly touted prospect.

Drew Allar played the second half in this game. He didn't do anything too spectacular, but he had some nice throws, including one where he had a quality completion on the run while avoiding pressure.

Allar did have a dropped interception in the red zone, but that was more the result of a miscommunication with his receiver.

NFL Preseason Announcers: This game was so boring that the announcers spent the entire fourth quarter eating pizza and cheeseburgers. I wish I were joking, but that's exactly what happened.

In fact, color analyst Steve Tasker had a piece of pizza fall out of his mouth and onto the floor, which he tried to catch with his hands but failed.

Follow me @walterfootball for updates.


49ers 18, Raiders 12

Kirk Cousins played two drives in this game, but Fernando Mendoza saw the most action for the Raiders. Unfortunately for Mendoza, he had another rough outing.

Mendoza began with a noteworthy gain of five yards, but only because Jalen Nailor made a miraculous one-handed catch. However, Mendoza's next pass was an interception fired toward Nailor on an overthrow. Mendoza then took a couple of sacks due to some poor pass protection.

Mendoza was able to draw a deep pass interference flag on a throw to Malik Benson at one point. However, Mendoza was guilty of poor clock management at the end of the first half, squandering a potential touchdown opportunity.

Mendoza was very poor in this game. He looks frazzled and unsure of himself.

As mentioned, Cousins played two drives. He forced a throw to Brock Bowers that was broken up, but completed the next pass to Bowers for about seven yards.

Overall, Cousins' performance wasn't noteworthy. However, he was much better than Mendoza.

Here were Cousins' targets:

Jack Bech: 1
Brock Bowers: 2
Michael Mayer: 2
Jalen Nailor: 2
Tre Tucker: 3
Mike Washington: 1

There was at least one competent player in the Raiders' backfield in this game, and that was Mike Washington, starting once again for the injured Ashton Jeanty.

Washington's first carry saw him pound over a defender for eight yards. He then had a nine-yard gain negated by Jack Bech's hold, but he bounced back with a 14-yard run in which he ran to the outside. Washington followed that up with a five-yard run in which he broke a tackle, and on his final noteworthy carry, he had an 11-yard gain where he burst through the hole and carried a defender.

Washington has been outstanding thus far, and even when Jeanty is healthy, it's hard to imagine him not being a factor in the offense.

Tre Tucker was the only Raiders starting receiver to see more than two targets from Kirk Cousins. Granted, it was still only three, but it was interesting how they used Tucker, as he was lined up in the backfield at one point and caught a pass near the line of scrimmage.

Tucker is the No. 1 receiver on the Raiders, and he's definitely worth a late-round pick.

The 49ers played their backups, but there was one noteworthy thing for them in this game, and that was the backup running back rotation. With Christian McCaffrey due to miss significant action this year, it's important to note who is going to be his backup.

Both Kaelon Black and Jordan James played in this game, and both looked great, albeit against the Raiders' backups. However, Black played ahead of James. It's unclear if that's going to persist, but it appears as though Black has the inside edge to be the RB2.

Follow me @walterfootball for updates.


2025 Preseason Notes: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3
2025 Fantasy Football Stock Pages: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3

More 2026 Fantasy Football Articles:
Fantasy Football Rankings

2026 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 8/27 (Walt)



2026 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:



2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 PPR - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Half-PPR - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 2-QB - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Touchdown League - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rankings - 8/27 (Walt)

2026 Fantasy Football Articles:
2026 Fantasy Football Stock Report: OTAs, Training Camp - 8/27 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Strategy Guide - 8/26 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Values - 8/25 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Preseason Games - 8/24 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 8/24 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Busts - 8/24 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Tiers - 8/21 (Walt)






Fantasy Football Rankings - Aug. 27


2027 NFL Mock Draft - June 16


NFL Picks - Feb. 9


NFL Power Rankings - Jan. 26