So you think the 3-0 Raiders are capable of doing more than just reaching the playoffs. That the "Trio in Rio" game shows that Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are coming for the Lombardi Trophy. And that there are better days ahead in Green Bay for the reeling Packers.
I hear ya, but that doesn't mean I agree. Coming out of Week 3, NFL fans shared their passionate perspectives on our @NFLonFOX Instagram. I'm here to break down your top takes, provide analysis and, in the end, render a verdict on whether what you're saying is fact or fiction.
Let’s get into it: Fact or Fiction: Fiction Look, the Raiders’ rebuild is off to an exciting start. New head coach Klint Kubiak looks like a slam dunk hire. Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has been red-hot to start the season (nine touchdown passes through three games), allowing Las Vegas to stick to its plan of letting No.
1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza sit and learn. The offensive line play has been competent. The team is strong at tight end (star Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer) and running back (rookie Mike Washington Jr.).
Tre Tucker is emerging at wide receiver. On the other side of the ball, the revamped defense has been promising, led by new additions like free-agent linebacker Nakobe Dean and rookies Treydan Stukes (second round) and Hezekiah Masses (fifth round), the latter of whom was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 2. But this particular take is not just saying the Raiders will make the playoffs, but that they'll go on a deep postseason run.
And that’s going too far right now. Let’s remember that Las Vegas has had a soft schedule to this point. Its 3-0 start came against the Dolphins, Chargers and the Saints.
We’ll get a much better feel for exactly how good the Raiders are in the coming weeks, when they face the Chiefs (Week 4), Bills (Week 6) and Rams (Week 7). Also, what happens when opposing defenses key in on two-time Pro Bowler Bowers? Yes, the Raiders went 2-0 before he made his season debut last week, but that’s a small sample size against teams that are a combined 0-6 right now (Dolphins, Chargers).
Bowers is Vegas’ only true receiving threat at tight end. And Las Vegas is still unproven at wide receiver outside of Tucker, who is averaging a career-high 63.0 receiving yards per game. No other wideout on the roster is averaging more than 17.3 yards.
Even more concerning, Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 draft, hasn’t been running the ball efficiently, averaging only 3.3 rushing yards per carry. Again, I love what Kubiak has done in Vegas so far, and the Raiders are far exceeding expectations to this point.
They’ve given themselves a nice cushion to start the season. But it’s too early to say they’re an AFC contender. Fact or Fiction: Fact I’m on board with this!
Purdy has been the NFL's best quarterback through three weeks, playing ridiculously efficient football. He leads the league in passer rating (133.1) and expected points added per dropback (+0.63), and is tied for first with nine touchdown passes. He’s second in yards per attempt (9.5), third in completion rate (72.2%) and eighth in passing yards (789).
The 2023 Pro Bowler has been picked off only once so far and has yet to be sacked. He’s carrying a 49ers team that has already been ravaged by injuries. And that’s actually what could threaten Purdy’s MVP bid.
MVPs are historically high-level quarterbacks on the league’s best teams record-wise, and injuries have a chance of derailing San Francisco’s season. Wide receiver Mike Evans (ribs), left tackle Trent Williams (shoulder stinger) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad) all didn’t finish Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Niners also have multiple defensive linemen dealing with multi-week injuries on their active roster, including Pro Bowl defensive end Nick Bosa (calf), plus six other D-linemen on injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list.
The good news, though, is that the injuries to Evans, Williams and Greenlaw aren’t long term, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. And if anything has come out of the Niners’ injury hell over the past several years, it’s that they’re now very experienced at dealing with them. Under Shanahan, San Francisco has always found a way to stay relevant in the NFC contention conversation despite who may or may not be available, which is great news for Purdy’s MVP candidacy.
Fact or Fiction: Fiction Star quarterback Lamar Jackson is off to a great start in new OC Declan Doyle’s offense, and we know that the Ravens are always in the mix as long as the two-time MVP is healthy. But I’m already getting concerned about their long-term prospects. We don’t know if it’s anything serious, but Jackson wasn’t seen during the portion of Wednesday’s practice open to the media.
Baltimore’s engine is the run game, and injuries upfront are already piling up. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) didn’t play in Brazil, and his status for this week is uncertain. Starting center Jovaughn Gwyn is expected to miss a few months with a fractured fibula.
It’s looking like backup Ethan Pocic (knee) will be out at least a week as well. Rookie guard Olaivavega Ioane is trending toward making his first career start at center, a position he didn’t register a start at in college. That’s a good amount of uncertainty early in the year for the offensive line, which is a bummer.
The ageless Derrick Henry has been eating to this point — and 55.9% of his yards have come before contact, the highest rate among 36 running backs with at least 25 carries, per NGS. Giving up 31 points to the Cowboys last week wasn’t great, but Baltimore’s defense overall has shown promise under first-year head coach Jesse Minter, a defensive guru. The walk-off, game-winning field goal in Brazil — the so-called "Trio in Rio" — was potentially a sign that the 2026 Ravens will be better in high-pressure situations.
But the injury outlook offensively gives me pause about the Ravens' title chances. Fact or Fiction: Fiction I’m sorry, I’m not buying it right now. The Packers have been that bad — they’ve lost two of their first three games by three scores, the first time they’ve lost multiple games by 17-plus points since 2017, according to Next Gen Stats.
No offensive line in the NFL has been worse, and Green Bay lost its best O-lineman — right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele — for the rest of the year with a knee injury. The Packers are averaging an atrocious 48.7 rushing yards per game, by far the league worst (second-lowest is 81.0, by the Broncos). Quarterback Jordan Love has already been pressured 56 times, second-most in the league.
The Packers in recent days have signed a trio of former first-round guards to stabilize the interior offensive line — Kevin Zeitler, Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Becton — but O-line chemistry isn’t created in a microwave. Continuity is built over months, even for the most talented of offensive lines. And we don’t even know what kind of individual production to expect from Zeitler, Tomlinson or Becton, none of whom has played in a regular-season game this year.
Elsewhere on the offense, I actually really like what the Packers have going on at wide receiver. Losing Jayden Reed to season-ending neck surgery is a big loss, but Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are both in the top eight in receiving yards entering Week 4. Tight end Tucker Kraft, who’s coming off a torn ACL last season, should get his feet back under him as the season wears on.
On the other side of the ball, superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons can be activated off the physically unable to perform list after this week, so the defense could get substantially better. But I don’t see it being so much better than it makes up for a largely ineffective offense. Coach Matt LaFleur himself said, "I don’t know what we’re doing well offensively." Unless the O-line additions turn out to be a magical solution, I’m not buying a rosy outlook for this team over the next few months.
