Browns vault into first in AFC North. Plus, expert NFL Week 3 predictions, fantasy advice.
Welcome to Week 3, and in case you haven't heard, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady play against each other Sunday.
About last night: Cleveland Browns 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 17 — The Browns exorcised their fourth quarter demons, as well as their long-time nemesis, the Steelers, to vault into first place in the AFC North. Running back Nick Chubb once again put forth a powerful performance for Cleveland.
Game of the week: Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Two future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks face off for possibly the final time (unless, of course, the Bucs and Packers meet in the playoffs). The Bucs have opened the season 2-0, but that's mostly thanks to a stingy defense. They also will be without four-time Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans, who is serving a one-game suspension for his role in a brawl last week against the New Orleans Saints. The Packers enter Sunday's showdown after collecting their customary victory against the Chicago Bears.
Yeah, but we're excited about this game: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins — Does a preseason Super Bowl favorite suddenly have a rising threat to their AFC East throne? Miami's epic comeback against the Baltimore Ravens last week has many hopping on the Dolphins' bandwagon. A day later, the Bills demolished a Tennessee Titans team that had the AFC's top playoff seed last season.
Sneaky-good game of the week: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings — Dating back to Week 18 of last season, the Lions have scored 35 or more points in three consecutive games. That's the longest such streak for the Lions since the franchise's glory days of the 1950s. This year's "Hard Knocks" team has looked much improved; is it time to buy into the Lions hype? The Vikings, meanwhile, are coming off getting thumped by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, so they likely will be grumpy 😡. This NFC North matchup also features two talented receivers, the Vikings' Justin Jefferson and the Lions' rising star, Amon-Ra St. Brown. That's enough potential fun to tune in.
NFL Week 3: Predictions and odds
- Week 3 picks: USA TODAY Sports' expert panel provides fans with the great public service of making predictions for every game this weekend.
- NFL Week 3 odds: Which teams, according to Tipico Sportsbook, are favored to win this weekend?
- Lorenzo's Locks for Week 3: The Bills a a 5.5-point favorite in their AFC East showdown against the Dolphins. Can Buffalo not just win, but also cover that spread?
- Power rankings: See how all 32 teams stack up after the events of Week 2.
NFL news, notes and analysis
- What to watch for in Week 3: Outside of a showdown of future Hall of Famers in Tampa, two 2-0 AFC East teams - the Bills and Dolphins - square off, and two 0-2 2021 playoff teams - the Raiders and Titans - desperately need a win.
- Which NFL teams can survive 0-2 start? No team has overcome an 0-2 start to reach postseason since NFL expanded to 14-team playoff field. Can one of this year's winless clubs buck history?
- Not rivals, or BFFs either. But kinship exists: Future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers haven't played against each other enough to have a fierce rivalry.
- Packers lineman shoots down conspiracy theories about Mike Evans' suspension: Jon Runyan Jr.'s dad played a role in handing down a one-game ban for the Buccaneers' star receiver ahead of Week 3's matchup with Packers.
- 49ers feel 'very lucky' trade never happened for Jimmy G: Jimmy Garoppolo was supposed to be the backup to Trey Lance this season. Now, he's starting again.
- Carson Wentz reflects on 'wild ride': Wentz, now with the Washington Commanders, will face the team that drafted him in Week 3.
- Why Joe Burrow is confident Bengals will fix issues: Despite starting the season 0-2, Burrow believes the Bengals offense will start playing at a high level again.
- 10 most memorable Giants-Cowboys moments: When it comes to rivalry games, the Giants were able to come out on top in a good share of those against the Cowboys.
Fantasy football: Get your lineup right
Our fantasy football experts have valuable advice to get the most out of your lineup for Week 3.
- Fantasy rankings for Week 3: For your convenience, these position-by-position rankings were updated for this week's games.
- Fantasy stock watch: Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is off to a flying start this season. Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster? Not so much.
- Studs, duds and sleepers: Here are some names to know going into Week 3. While Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has been a fantasy football beast, Russell Wilson is struggling to get going with his new team.
- Waiver wire: Always be on the lookout for available players to supplement your roster. It's what smart fantasy football owners do.
Week 3 NFL schedule
(All times Eastern)
Thursday
Sunday
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Houston Texans at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Las Vegas Raiders at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. (FOX)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (CBS)
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Monday
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, 8:15 p.m. (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2)
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