What we learned in NFL Week 3: Answering big questions and sizing up every single matchup

Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season kicked off Thursday night with the Bills fending off the Dolphins to stay undefeated. The early window Sunday was filled with multiple shocking finishes. The Browns handed the Packers their first loss of the season on a field goal by kicker Andre Szmyt as time expired. Both the Rams-Eagles and Buccaneers-Jets games had blocked field goals returned for touchdowns late. The Eagles' stunning finish capped their 19-point comeback in the second half. The Jets didn't hold on to their lead after the Bucs marched for a game-winning field goal. The late window Sunday had its own share of last-minute finishes, with the 49ers and Chargers winning on time-expiring field goals. Meanwhile, the Seahawks and Bears dominated in their wins over the Saints and Cowboys, respectively. The Lions finished the week with a statement road victory at the Ravens on Monday night. Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything else you need to know for every team. Let's get to it. DET-BAL | DEN-LAC | ARI-SF DAL-CHI | NO-SEA | LV-WSH HOU-JAX | IND-TEN | TB-NYJ CIN-MIN | LAR-PHI | GB-CLE PIT-NE | ATL-CAR | MIA-BUF Detroit 38, Baltimore 30 Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap Have the Lions found a comfort zone with their new coordinators? The Lions -- and their new coordinators -- have been tested by two tough road games at Green Bay and Baltimore and have proven they can compete with the league's elite (despite the rocky start at Lambeau Field). Lions offensive coordinator John Morton found his groove, drawing up their trademark trick plays in addition to guiding multiple 95-plus-yard touchdown drives on "Monday Night Football" for the first time since the 2010 Texans. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's unit made a goal-line stand during the second quarter, forced a critical fourth-quarter fumble by Derrick Henry on an Aidan Hutchinson strip and sacked Lamar Jackson seven times. What to make of the QB performance: Jared Goff was locked in for the prime-time stage, helping the Lions start quickly with a touchdown on their opening drive. He didn't take his foot off the gas, adding some perfect throws. In his 10th season, the Lions' QB continues to prove that he can play at an elite level behind strong protection, finishing 20-for-28 passing for 202 yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions to earn his first career win over the Ravens. -- Eric Woodyard Next game: vs. Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) How big of a hole are the Ravens in at 1-2? Not as big as it would seem. The Ravens have a tough stretch in the next three games against the Chiefs, Texans and Rams, all of whom won at least one playoff game last season. But Baltimore is only one game behind the Bengals and Steelers -- two teams with their own flaws. The Bengals are expected to be without quarterback Joe Burrow until December, and the Steelers have the fourth-worst defense in the NFL. Baltimore bounced back from an 0-2 start last season to win the AFC North. The Ravens are in position to do the same this year. Key stat to know: Derrick Henry's ball security cost the Ravens again. He fumbled midway through the fourth quarter with Baltimore trailing 28-24. Henry has lost the ball in the fourth quarter in both of Baltimore's losses this season. This isn't like Henry, who had lost only two rushing fumbles in the fourth quarter or overtime in his previous nine seasons. Best quote from the locker room: "We're just not very good. I know we got Lamar Jackson, but we just can't expect them to score 28, 30 points every game. It's putting unfair expectations on the offense. So we got to do our part." Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey on the state of the defense after Baltimore allowed 38 points and 426 total yards. -- Jamison Hensley Next game: at Chiefs (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET) Kansas City 22, New York Giants 9 Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap Did the Chiefs' offense find long-term solutions in the second half? After a strange start to the season, the Chiefs' offense finally looked like a competent unit after halftime against the Giants. Following a sluggish first half, the Chiefs showed some creativity to manage a balanced attack. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was poised in the pocket and completed quick passes to several teammates. One answer the Chiefs found was getting rookie running back Brashard Smith and receiver Nikko Remigio the ball on the perimeter. Tight end Travis Kelce also didn't have to carry much of the burden for the Chiefs' passing game. Instead, Mahomes completed passes to seven teammates. Perhaps the most significant change was in the trenches. The Chiefs' offensive line, featuring rookie left tackle Josh Simmons and left guard Kingsley Suamataia, better protected Mahomes, who wasn't sacked in the second half. Most surprising performance: The biggest revelation so far is that Mahomes has found quality production from receiver Tyquan Thornton, who led the Chiefs with five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs signed Thornton, the New England Patriots' 2022 second-round pick, to their practice squad in late November. With a full offseason in the Chiefs' system, Thornton was one of the most impressive players in the preseason. His role increased just minutes into the season opener, when speedy receiver Xavier Worthy sustained a dislocated right shoulder. If Worthy can return next week, the Chiefs' offense should be able to show more improvement in a marquee showdown against the Baltimore Ravens. -- Nate Taylor Next game: vs. Ravens (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET) How bad will it get for the 0-3 Giants? Well, it only gets more difficult next Sunday, when the undefeated Chargers come to MetLife Stadium. The Chargers have looked like one of the league's best teams early this season. The Giants then play the Saints before facing the undefeated Eagles. The heat is only going to build on coach Brian Daboll and quarterback Russell Wilson. Fans were already chanting "We want Dart!" during Sunday's 22-9 loss to the Chiefs. That's in reference to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. All the attention will be on when the Giants turn to Dart the more the losses pile up. Stat to know: Malik Nabers had no receptions through three quarters. The Giants couldn't get the ball to their star receiver one week after he had nine receptions on 12 targets for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Nabers finished with two receptions for 13 yards on seven targets against the Chiefs. The lack of production is a rarity. Nabers had caught at least four passes in every game of his NFL career coming into Sunday night. -- Jordan Raanan Next game: vs. Chargers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) L.A. Chargers 23, Denver 20 Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap If RB Najee Harris misses significant time, how much will that change the Chargers' offense? Not much. As Harris recovered from an eye injury he sustained in a July 4 fireworks mishap, the Chargers went through all of training camp without him. L.A. didn't know if Harris would be playing Week 1 until the week of the game. So, the Chargers have already been prepared for life without him. In the preseason, offensive coordinator Greg Roman said first-round rookie Omarion Hampton would split carries with any of the team's running backs regardless of Harris' status. Still, Hampton was the main back after Harris was carted off Sunday. One of the biggest storylines to follow is if Roman sticks to his word, splitting carries with Hampton and others, or if the rest of the season looks like Sunday. Biggest hole in the game plan: Pass protection. The Broncos' defensive line beat up on the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert all game. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Herbert was pressured 29 times and sacked five times. He spent most of the day evading Broncos edge rushers to complete passes, and he was on his back when he didn't. If not improved, the Chargers' offensive line struggles could significantly lower this team's ceiling. -- Kris Rhim Next game: at Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) How much damage have back-to-back blown leads done to the Broncos? Broncos coach Sean Payton spent an offseason pounding away at the importance of a fast start to the season. Good teams, he said, the real playoff threats, come out of the gate strong. However, after the Broncos let leads slip away against the Colts and Chargers, they are 1-2. That follows an 0-2 start last year and a 1-5 start in 2023 -- Payton's first season in Denver. Complicating things, the Broncos have two of their next three games on the road and the Chargers now have three AFC West wins. So, the Broncos have some work to do. Turning point: With a 20-13 lead and just over four minutes left, the Broncos had the Chargers in a third-and-10 at the Los Angeles 24-yard line. Herbert completed an 11-yarder to receiver Keenan Allen for the first down, and the Broncos added to the damage when safety Talanoa Hufanga body-slammed Allen to the turf. Hufanga was flagged for the personal foul, adding 15 yards to the reception. It moved the ball to the 50-yard line. The Broncos never regained their balance, and the Chargers tied the game at 20-20 four plays later. The Chargers drove for the winning field goal on their next possession. -- Jeff Legwold Next game: vs. Bengals (Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET) San Francisco 16, Arizona 15 Catch up on the action: Box score | Recap How long can the 49ers keep winning amid all the injuries? The 49ers entered the game without quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and receivers Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk. Late in the first quarter, they lost star defensive end Nick Bosa to a knee injury. Bosa is one of the team's most indispensable players, but the 49ers' defense still managed to keep them in the game and, eventually, win it. The extent of Bosa's injury isn't clear, but it's never a good sign when a player leaves with a knee injury and doesn't return. For a team as top-heavy as the Niners, the stars have to be as healthy and productive as possible. The schedule is going to get tougher in October, when the 49ers are on the road for most of the month. Turning point: As the Cardinals attempted to put the game away, they faced third-and-9 at the 50. A conversion would have sealed the win, and Kyler Murray's pass for Zay Jones looked as if it would get the job done. But 49ers rookie cornerback Upton Stout managed to get his hand in and break the pass up to force a punt. From there, the Niners quickly moved into Arizona territory to set up kicker Eddy Pineiro's winning 35-yard field goal. -- Nick Wagoner Best quote from the locker room: "I think anytime you open up 3-0 with two division games, that's a big deal," Christian McCaffrey said. "I think the best part about it is we're definitely just not satisfied with how we're playing. But to not be satisfied and still find ways to grit out some wins, it is a huge deal. ... We got a lot of guys shuffling around, this and that. All those can be excuses but at the end of the day we have found some ways to win the last three weeks and today was a good example of that." Next game: vs. Jaguars (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET)