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The NFL season is well underway as the majority of teams completed their Week 3 contest on Sunday. The remaining teams, the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens, will play on ‘Monday Night Football’ in a thrilling matchup between two of the best teams in football.

With Week 3 nearly behind us, let’s take a look at the Sunday slate of games with our biggest takeaways from the week. The Bucs and Baker Mayfield look like legit contenders, the Chargers with Justin Herbert squeak out a victory, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles keep finding ways to win, and Daniel Jones looks like the truth through 3 weeks.

The Bucs look like a legitimate contender in the NFC

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New York Jets 29-27 in another game where Mayfield drove the team down in the final minutes to secure the victory. The Bucs look to be one of the teams to beat across the entire NFL after a perfect start to their season.

Mayfield was the star of the show in the victory, with Evan Winter from A to Z Sports highlighting how the success of the team rests largely on Mayfield’s shoulders. After bouncing around the league before his tenure with the Bucs, the veteran quarterback has found his home in Tampa Bay.

“One thing is absolutely clear for the Bucs this season: There is no chance in hell they are 3-0 without Mayfield playing quarterback.

“He was great once again on Sunday, completing 19-of-29 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown. He also added 44 rushing yards on four carries that included a key 33-yard run late in the game that helped the Bucs beat the Jets.

“Mayfield’s stats aren’t rewriting history, by any means, but it’s the plays he’s making and when he’s making them that matter the most. He’s been clutch for three straight weeks, and the “it” factor is a large reason why Tampa Bay is undefeated.

“Right now, he’s still on the MVP bubble. However, if the Bucs get a win over Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, and he plays well in Week 4, that will change. Beating a 1-2 Falcons team, and the 0-3 Texans and Jets won’t catch many people’s attention. Beating the reigning Super Bowl champs, however, will give Mayfield the respect he’s due.

Until then, he’ll savor this win for a couple of days and start gearing up for the next challenge.” – Evan Winter

Another standout for the Bucs in the victory is the continued rise of Emeka Egbuka, who finished his day with six receptions for 85 yards and looks to be the early favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Bucs look unstoppable, with a monster game against the unbeaten Eagles on their schedule next. It’ll be the biggest test of the early season for Mayfield and the Bucs.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers are atop the AFC West

Herbert and the Chargers sit atop the AFC West after a thrilling last-second victory over the Denver Broncos. Herbert has played his way into the early MVP race, finishing 28-for-47 with 300 yards and a touchdown. He was evading pressure all day, while still being sacked five times in the contest.

Bo Nix and the Denver offense had multiple opportunities to put the game away, but the Chargers and Herbert proved victorious in the matchup.

Brentley Weissman from A to Z Sports broke down how Herbert has really elevated his game in 2025, which is going a long way toward the team having a perfect start in the early stages of the season.

“What sets this season apart for Herbert is the combination of his health and the freedom he has in the offense. He’s moving more fluidly than in previous seasons, allowing him to use his legs to escape pressure and pick up key first downs when needed. Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers are leaning into Herbert’s strengths rather than asking him to play overly safe. He’s pushing the ball downfield, taking calculated risks, and keeping defenses off balance. That aggressive approach is paying dividends, allowing him to showcase the full range of his skill set, from quick reads to deep throws.

The supporting cast has also contributed to his strong start. Keenan Allen remains a reliable target, providing consistency in the passing game. Rookie Ladd McConkey has made an immediate impact, and Quentin Johnston is already showing the promise that made him a high draft pick. If running back Omarion Hampton begins to find his rhythm in the backfield, the Chargers’ offense could become even more difficult for defenses to contain.” – Brentley Weissman

A heartbreaking loss for the Broncos as they lose back-to-back weeks with last-second field goals. For Los Angeles, the biggest question mark is how Herbert can compete in the postseason. He’s taken an important next step in 2025, but it will all come down to what he’s able to do once the playoffs roll around.

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles look like the team to beat

It was a thrilling day of football all around with multiple games coming down to the wire. That was exactly the case for the Eagles in their win over the Los Angeles Rams. Philly scored 26 unanswered points in the second half, and defensive tackle Jordan Davis ended the game with a blocked field goal that he returned for a touchdown as the clock struck 0.

In the victory, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was efficient, completing 21-of-32 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. The reigning champs haven’t lost yet, with their eyes set on a repeat.

Hurts showed plenty of leadership with his postgame comments, highlighting that the current Eagles team can beat you in a host of different ways.

“The beautiful part about it is we’ve been able to play and win in multiple ways,” Hurts said. “We’ve been able to play defensive games, play well on defense, and protect the ball and win games. We’ve been able to be very efficient and potent and have a lot of fireworks on offense over time and find ways to win games. We’ve been able to come back from very, very ugly situations and it’s a dangerous thing. And [Head] Coach [Nick] Sirianni, he talks about it’s a dangerous thing when the group never gives up, and this group never gave up.

“That’s what I’m very proud of,” Hurts said. “I think a win like this is encouraging, but it also lights a fire under everybody to strive for the level of execution that we want. We talk about playing for a standard. The standard isn’t to produce or to have these numbers or certain statistics, it is to execute whatever we’re asked to do. I don’t think we did that in the first half. I think we kind of changed our approach in the second half and that definitely helped us weather throughout the game and make plays the way we did. But it’s about execution in this game and the way I learned football from [Former Alabama Head] Coach [Nick] Saban, it’s about playing to a standard. We play to win. We also play to a standard and so we can’t lose sight of what that is given all the things that we’ve been able to do over time.”

It wasn’t all good news for the Eagles as starting right tackle Lane Johnson was forced to exit the game with a concerning injury. Backup swing tackle Matt Pryor replaced Johnson in the contest, in which Hurts was sacked twice shortly after Johnson was forced out.

An injury to Johnson could prove devastating to the long-term success of the team.

The Eagles have an upcoming matchup against the undefeated Buccaneers, two of the top teams across the league, duking it out.

Daniel Jones has had a fantastic start to the 2025 season

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the early stages of the 2025 season has been that of Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts. After being announced as the starter over Anthony Richardson, plenty mocked the Colts in their decision.

The Colts are the ones who are laughing through three weeks of the NFL season, as Indianapolis has yet to be beaten, and Jones looks like a whole new quarterback since arriving. In the team’s 41-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Jones went 18-of-25 with 228 yards and a touchdown. While he didn’t set the league on fire with his performance, he’s continued to play good, sound, fundamental football, and it’s a big reason why the team has a perfect record thus far.

Of course, we couldn’t talk about a Colts victory without mentioning their superstar running back in Jonathan Taylor, who had a monster day against the Titans. Taylor finished with 17 carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Destin Adams from A to Z Sports discussed the impact Taylor has made on the offense through the first three weeks.

“Entering this week, Taylor was already leading the league in rushing with 236. His season total now sits at 338 following his 102-yard showing vs. the Titans. He also finally recorded his first rushing touchdown of the season, and he went ahead and scored two more times for good measure.

The Colts’ offense is operating like one of the best in the NFL to start the year, and Taylor, like he has for so long, is the engine that makes the unit go. He is giving Daniel Jones a stable presence in the run game to help open up passing opportunities.

To make Taylor’s start to the season even more impressive, he has taken a solid step forward in the pass game himself. He has 93 receiving yards through the first three weeks and has taken a massive step forward as a pass blocker. He is a true three-down bell cow for the Colts, and fantasy owners everywhere have loved what they’ve seen from the league’s top scoring RB.” – Destin Adams

The Colts will be taking on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4. Can Jones and the Colts continue their Cinderella run?

All in all, the big winners of the day were the fans who were lucky enough to get a slate of some really good football games. Monday night should be no different between the Lions and the Ravens. Football is back, and what a beautiful thing that is.

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