Conventional wisdom suggests the Houston Texans were among the biggest losers from Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season. When teams lose divisional games to drop to 0-3, there are generally not many redeeming factors to generate optimism for the rest of the year. But maybe the Texans have the league right where they want it.
This team lost its first three games a season ago and managed to roll into the AFC divisional round, after all. Instead, a couple of offensive coordinators stand in the group of this week's most unfortunate parties. Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll had days to forget in their teams' losses.
Drake Maye is a Week 3 loser, too, following his latest multi-turnover outing. For every loser, there is a winner. And in the case of the Washington Commanders, the most surprising victory of the season is plenty enough to put them in the Week 3 winner's circle.
Here are the teams, players and coaches who produced the best and worst performances in the third week of the campaign. The biggest upset of the young season belongs to the Commanders. Very little about their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks suggested they would come out on top, but they overcame the roster gap between themselves and the reigning Super Bowl champions, the return of Sam Darnold to Seattle's lineup, the absence of Jayden Daniels and miserable weather conditions to pull off a 33-31 stunner.
Vintage Marcus Mariota came out on the game-sealing play when he converted a critical third down with his legs. He was excellent before that key run, too. Mariota passed for three touchdowns in his first start of the year and linked up with nine different receivers.
Washington's defense was just as impactful in the upset, even if the 31 points it allowed suggests otherwise. The unit limited the Seahawks to a meager 44 rushing yards and forced three turnovers, including a pivotal pick six by Kain Medrano late in the fourth quarter. The Commanders may not win many games during Daniels' absence (and their 0-2 start even with him in the starting lineup indicates they could be in for a long year regardless), but this victory is one they can hang their hats on all year.
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