Week 3 left a few NFL teams with real reasons to worry, and not the kind that disappear after a quick Sunday bounce-back. Injuries, shaky execution, bad offense, and defensive breakdowns are all piling up for clubs that came into the year with expectations. The season is young, but after what happened this weekend, the margin for error is getting thin fast.
The Los Angeles Chargers are back on the concern list for a second straight week, and the loss in Buffalo only deepened the unease. A 10-0 lead after the first quarter should have put them in control, especially with Josh Allen and the Bills coughing up five turnovers. Instead, the game slipped away in ugly fashion.
That’s the part that stands out: how do you win the turnover battle 5-1, jump out to a 10-point edge, and still get blown out? Justin Herbert has looked lost at times, the ground game has barely existed through three weeks, and the offense has produced just 44 points in that span. Mike McDaniel was supposed to turn this group into an offensive juggernaut, but the results have been nowhere close.
Buffalo’s defense had not exactly been shutting teams down either, giving up 31 points in each of its first two games to the Texans and Lions. So when the Chargers managed only one touchdown and three field goals, that was a glaring red flag. Even that touchdown came with help, after James Cook fumbled on his first carry and gave Los Angeles the ball in Bills territory.
The end of the game only made the mess look worse. With the Chargers trailing 17-13 and just over five minutes left, they faced a 3rd and 10 from their own 45.
Quenten Johnston dropped a catch beyond the sticks, and then the offense stayed on the field amid confusion. The next rushed snap produced an incomplete pass, and suddenly Josh Allen had the ball 45 yards from the end zone.
Buffalo finished the job and pushed the lead to 24-13 with just under two minutes left. Maybe punting would have changed the outcome, maybe not.
Either way, the bigger point is impossible to miss: after three games, this isn’t working. Mike McDaniels isn’t working, and the noise around him is only going to grow.
The Green Bay Packers have their own set of problems, and they don’t look small. Through three games, the offense has not clicked, and the team should probably be grateful it escaped Week 2 with a win over the Jets. If the offensive line doesn’t improve, the problems are going to keep snowballing.
The run game has struggled, but that’s only part of the issue. Jordan Love has been operating under heavy pressure, with Green Bay allowing one of the league’s worst pressure rates on pass plays. That issue goes beyond simply missing Josh Jacobs.
The defense hasn’t been much better. On Thursday night, the Packers looked disorganized while Bijan Robinson and Drake London carved them up. The hope is that Micah Parsons returning in a couple of weeks will help steady things, but right now the defense is not holding up its end.
And yes, the online chatter has already started. The “Fire LaFleur” noise is out there, and a win over the struggling Bucs next weekend would at least quiet it for a bit.
Tampa Bay is in the worst spot of the three. The Buccaneers have opened with three straight losses, and now Baker Mayfield is dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand. Losing to the Vikings without Justin Jefferson for most of Sunday’s game only made the situation look more bleak.
Mayfield’s injury came late, but he can’t escape responsibility for the loss itself. He had already been through more than three quarters with a healthy right thumb and still completed only 50% of his passes, finishing with a touchdown and an interception.
The run game didn’t offer much help either. Bucky Irvin found little room, Kenneth Gainwell found even less, and Gainwell ended with negative rushing yardage.
Right now, the whole operation looks broken. If Mayfield misses significant time, draft prep for next year might as well begin in Tampa. There are two small comforts for Buccaneers fans: the NFC South is bunched up, with a three-way tie for first place just a game ahead of Tampa at 1-2, and next week brings the Packers in a “Battle of the Bays” that probably deserves a harsher nickname at this point: “The Bay of Pigs Bowl.”
In Other News...
Bills 3-0 Start Now Comes With A Josh Allen Concern
Buffalos perfect start has been built around Josh Allen doing what he always does, which is absorb hits, extend plays and keep the offense moving even when things get messy. So the sight of Allen taking a helmet to the knee in Week 3 was an immediate concern, even if he stayed in the game and the early read is that the issue is a contusion rather than something more severe.
The Bills are moving on to their next matchup with the New England Patriots, but Allens knee will be watched closely as the week unfolds. For a team sitting at 3-0, the larger picture is obvious: the record looks clean, but the health of the quarterback driving it is now part of the story. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Allen Is One Score Away From A Bills Milestone
Buffalos fast start has been fueled by the same familiar engine, with the Bills opening the 2026 season 3-0 and piling up a league-leading 101 points through three weeks. Josh Allen has been right in the middle of it again, and his latest visit to the end zone against the Chargers carried more than just the usual weight of another productive afternoon.
Allens 1-yard rushing touchdown in Week 3 tied him with Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed for the most scrimmage touchdowns in franchise history at 87, a reminder of how much he has already added to the teams record book. He still finished the day with two interceptions, but the Bills keep moving forward with Allen now sitting one score away from standing alone atop one of the franchises most notable milestones. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Win Sparked Ugly Chargers Backlash Around Harbaughs Staff
The Chargers came out of their loss to the Bills carrying plenty of frustration, and not just because the defense forced five turnovers and still watched the offense manage only 10 points. Buffalo's latest win over Los Angeles only deepened the sense that this matchup has become a sore spot for a Chargers team that could not turn mistakes into enough production to stay in control.
Breiden Fehoko turned that frustration public, taking aim at the coaching staff's play-calling on social media, while Jim Harbaugh acknowledged the team's struggles and kept his focus on the collective nature of wins and losses. For Buffalo, the result was another convincing edge in a series that has gone the Bills' way three straight times, but for the Chargers the bigger issue is how quickly the criticism around Harbaugh's staff is starting to spill into the open. [Read more 🡒]