NFL Week 3: Vikings join league’s elite; Saquon Barkley proves his worth

FOX Sports’ NFL experts provide the biggest takeaways from every Sunday game and what they mean for each team going forward. 

Giants: After getting basically no pressure and mostly terrible coverage in their first two games under new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, the Giants defense showed up big time in Week 3. They were all over Browns QB Deshaun Watson, sacking him eight times, forcing two turnovers and holding the Browns to just 217 yards. Even better, for a team that insisted it was going to generate most of its pressure from its front four, nine different players had at least half a sack. It was more than just Dexter Lawrence (two) and Brian Burns (one), though they got plenty of pressure on their own. The Giants got a second straight strong game from Daniel Jones and Malik Nabers on offense, which is great, but the Giants need a defense playing like this to really turn their season around.

Browns: The Browns almost certainly have a Deshaun Watson problem, and he’s running out of time to prove that he was ever worth his ridiculous contract. But in fairness to him, his offensive line gave him no shot in this game. The Giants defense was in his face from the start, sacking him eight times and pressuring him constantly. Making it worse for the Browns is they lost three linemen in this game to injuries — left tackle Jedrick Wills (knee), right guard Wyatt Teller (knee) and right tackle James Hudson (shoulder), who was forced to play because Jack Conklin was out. If they don’t fix the line quickly, they can expect a lot more struggles running the football (69 total yards). It’s hard to know if the Browns can win with Watson at all, but they definitely can’t with him constantly running for his life. — Ralph Vacchiano

Broncos: Even with Denver and a rookie quarterback, Sean Payton has the Bucs’ number in Tampa. Sunday’s 26-7 drubbing was an unexpected blowout, but you just need to consider his past three trips to Tampa with the Saints — a 9-0 shutout in 2021, a 38-3 rout in the Bucs’ Super Bowl season in 2020 and a 34-17 win in 2019. Denver’s defense got Baker Mayfield for seven sacks, and give Payton credit for letting rookie Bo Nix get into a rhythm with quick, short throws to move the chains. The Broncos are better than their first two games, the Bucs not as good as their first two. Tampa Bay fans should just be happy they likely don’t have to face Payton for another four years.

Buccaneers: The Bucs looked like a team with a depleted defense on Sunday, struggling to contain Denver in a humbling 26-7 loss. They played without three key starters — safety Antoine Winfield and defensive linemen Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey — and couldn’t get any pressure on Broncos rookie Bo Nix, who looked like a first-round pick for the first time. Tampa Bay had somehow polished over their defensive injuries in a huge win at Detroit last week, but on Sunday, they couldn’t keep up with a bad Denver team. The question now: Can they bounce back and get a little healthier by next Sunday, when the Eagles come to town looking for revenge for last year’s playoff loss? — Greg Auman

Eagles: This game was just another reminder of why it was so worth it to the Eagles to spend big on running back Saquon Barkley. It’s not just that he ran 17 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns. It’s what he did in big moments and how he affected the rest of the offense. They were down 3-0 and struggling and had just lost WR DeVonta Smith to a concussion (a big problem with WR A.J. Brown inactive) when Barkley ripped off a 65-yard touchdown run. And the Saints defense was so concerned with him that they ended up leaving tight end Dallas Goedert (10 catches, 170 yards) on a huge, 61-yard catch in the fourth quarter that set up Barkley’s game-winning touchdown. The Eagles defense was brilliant. Jalen Hurts recovered from two early turnovers. But it’s hard to ignore how Barkley changes everything about this Eagles offense, even when things aren’t working exactly right.

Saints: For everyone wondering if the Saints were a little overrated, especially on offense, after the first two games, the answer sure seems to be “Yes.” The Eagles turned the ball over twice and the Saints blocked a punt and New Orleans still managed only 12 points and a lousy 219 total yards. Derek Carr (14 of 25, 142 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) came crashing back to Earth against an Eagles secondary that had been absolutely terrible the first two weeks of the season. Why? Because he doesn’t have a lot of weapons. Chris Olave and running back Alvin Kamara combined for nine catches (on nine targets) for 126 yards. Everyone else on the Saints combined for five catches (on 14 targets) for 16 yards. If teams can throttle Olave and Kamara even just a little, the Saints will end up being very easy to defend. — Ralph Vacchiano

Packers: Malik Willis wouldn’t feed into the whole revenge game narrative during the week, but he had to be feeling amazing after leading the Packers to a victory over his former team with two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing). To do so on a day that Will Levis, whom the Titans drafted in 2023 a year after taking Willis in the third round, continued to give away points had to have been a cherry on the top. Oh, and Green Bay received further reinforcement that it doesn’t need to rush Jordan Love back, even though it appears very possible he can return next week against the rival Vikings. Now 2-0 since Love went down, Matt LaFleur has managed to scheme up an offense that accentuates Willis’ strengths and minimizes the exploitation of his weaknesses. Who’s to say that can’t continue? 

Titans: It’s still very early in the season, but if I’m the Titans, my mind is made up about taking a hard look at the 2025 quarterback class. Veteran signal-caller options should be looked at as well. Will Levis has had three awful turnovers in three weeks. The terrible one Sunday was a pick-six courtesy of Jaire Alexander in the first quarter. The second-year quarterback is up to eight giveaways in just three games (three against Green Bay), including two interceptions returned for touchdowns. The offensive line did him no favors — he was sacked eight times Sunday — but Levis’ brain farts are all the more unbelievable considering what has been invested to help him. Any good Levis has done — and there has been a chunk, to be clear — has been overshadowed by the bad. Maybe the blessing in disguise for the Titans is that they already have clarity on their quarterback direction for 2025. — Ben Arthur

Bears: Things need to be easier for Caleb Williams. It shouldn’t be this hard. Williams is still responsible for a ton of pre-snap decisions, and it’s taking the play clock down to almost zero quite a bit. That speaks to how much Williams is trying to diagnose and figure out in his young career. The playcalling hasn’t helped Williams, either. Williams’ first touchdown pass was a throw to Rome Odunze in the end zone after a well-balanced, 13-play drive during which the rookie QB made quick decisions and took the shorter throws. 

Otherwise, there continued to be longer-developing play calls, where Williams had to get through multiple reads. The run game was unimaginative despite having a variety of backs. Roschon Johnson wasn’t even active until this week against Indy. Williams himself has to make better decisions, too. He routinely took chances throwing into double coverage or holding the ball and taking sacks. The Bears paid the price for it and will continue to do so until the game plan is simplified or Williams comes through the other side of his baptism by fire.

Colts: Anthony Richardson tried a couple of times to gift the game to the Bears, including the pass he tried to get over linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and into triple coverage in the end zone. The Colts did discover their run game though, and they were able to help their quarterback out that way. Running back Jonathan Taylor had multiple explosive runs and Indy controlled the clock as a result. The Colts defense figured out how to get pressure, too. Rookie edge Laiatu Latu looks like he’s settling in and, more importantly, Indy’s secondary was able to get takeaways and garner some confidence. It’s still a volatile situation in Indianapolis judging by some of Richardson’s decisions, but the rest of the team seems to be finding its footing. That will help the Colts insulate themselves against the QB’s recklessness. — Carmen Vital

Texans: C.J. Stroud just experienced the worst game of his career. It wasn’t that bad statistically. He finished 20 of 21 for 215 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions with four sacks. The stats didn’t show, however, that Stroud and the Texans could do nothing right against the Vikings’ impressive defense. In the NFL, Stroud has only ever had one other multi-interception game — and it was a win over the Arizona Cardinals last year. Stroud hasn’t thrown multiple interceptions in a loss since Michigan beat Ohio State in 2022. So we’ll learn a valuable lesson about the young QB: How does he respond to adversity? My guess: He’ll be just fine. Bet the over on his passing yards next week, when he’ll have the chance to take out his frustration on the Jacksonville Jaguars, a bottom-three pass defense.

Vikings: Are they the best team in the NFL? They beat the 49ers last week. They whooped the Texans this week. The Chiefs and Bills are probably the only others in consideration for the league’s top team. I wrote plenty last week about how Sam Darnold has been good without his stars and downright great with Justin Jefferson. Just wait until Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson are back. But this defense is just as good as its offense. With Brian Flores calling and coaching this defense to perfection, it’s hard to imagine any quarterback excelling — or even remaining competent — against the Vikings. He has the Minnesota front teeing off on opposing quarterbacks. I don’t think even Patrick Mahomes could get going against Flores’ D right now. And that probably indicates the Vikings are the NFL’s best. — Henry McKenna

Chargers: Justin Herbert reinjured a right high ankle sprain midway through the third quarter on a sack, putting his team’s promising start in jeopardy. Herbert has gutted through broken ribs, a fractured finger and a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in his five-year NFL career, so there’s little question that he’ll play through some pain and discomfort. However, can he stay healthy for the duration of the season? The drop-off in talent and production is significant to L.A.’s No. 2 quarterback in Taylor Heinicke. If the Chargers are to truly make a playoff push, they need Herbert as close as he can get to being fully healthy. For the Chargers, that could mean sitting out Herbert at home against the Kansas City Chiefs next week with the team’s bye in Week 5, gaining a couple weeks for the team’s star quarterback to get healthy. 

Steelers: Justin Fields cemented his status as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback with a strong performance in a win over the Chargers. Fields completed his first 10 passes and ran for a 5-yard touchdown in the opening quarter on his way to a 245-yard passing performance. Head coach Mike Tomlin wants to play from a defensive mindset, and led by edge rusher T.J. Watt, the Steelers are holding opponents to a league-low 8.7 points a contest. Fields is a good fit for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith with his ability to create plays with his feet, make explosive throws down the field and take care of the football. There’s more upside for Tomlin to keep the 25-year-old Fields as the starter and growing with the offense instead of changing to a less mobile and older option in the 35-year-old Russell Wilson, even when he’s healed from his calf issue. – Eric D. Williams

Analysis to come.

Analysis to come

Analysis to come.

Analysis to come.

Analysis to come.

Analysis to come.

The following writers contributed to this story: Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Greg Auman (@gregauman); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano); Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV)

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