NFL Week 3 Winners and Losers: Biggest upset of Commanders’ spring season, Drake Maye’s miserable start continues

Conventional wisdom suggests that the Houston Texans were among the biggest losers in Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season. When teams lose divisional games and fall to 0-3, there usually aren’t many redeeming factors to generate optimism for the rest of the year. But maybe the Texans have the league where they want it. This team lost its first three games a season ago and finally managed to advance to the AFC divisional round.

Instead, a few offensive coordinators are in this week’s group of unhappiest parties. Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll had days to forget in their teams’ losses. Drake Maye is also a Week 3 loser, following his last outing on multiple occasions.

For every loser, there is a winner. And in the case of the Washington Commanders, the most surprising victory of the season is more than enough to put them in the winner’s circle in Week 3.

Here are the teams, players and coaches who had the best and worst performances in the third week of the campaign.

Winner: Commanders

The biggest surprise of the young season belongs to the Commanders. Very little about their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks suggested they would prevail, but they overcame the gap between them and the defending Super Bowl champions, the return of Sam Darnold to Seattle’s lineup, the absence of Jayden Daniels and miserable weather conditions to post a stunning 33-31 score.

Vintage Marcus Mariota made the decisive play when he converted a critical third down with his legs. He was also excellent before this key race. Mariota threw three touchdowns in his first start of the year and teamed up with nine different receivers. Washington’s defense was just as effective in the surprise, even if the 31 points allowed suggest otherwise. The unit held the Seahawks to a measly 44 rushing yards and forced three turnovers, including a crucial pick six from Kain Medrano late in the fourth quarter.

The Commanders might 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 anyway), but this win is one they can hang their hat on all year.

Loser: Drake Maye

How Drake Maye would follow his MVP runner-up campaign was very intriguing heading into the 2026 season because, on the one hand, his supporting cast is even better than it was a year ago, and on the other hand, the New England Patriots’ schedule is much tougher. After three games, it appears the more intimidating roster will produce a year of regression.

Maye threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Sunday’s 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The three turnovers brought his season total to seven. In contrast, he was responsible for only 11 turnovers last year. The Patriots got off to a 1-2 start, and the offense was atrocious in both losses with Maye totaling 16 points and five steals.

It remains to be seen how much of this is due to Maye’s No. 1 receiver, AJ Brown, being unavailable for most of the period. Brown will miss at least two more games as he remains on injured reserve, so Maye will have to try to bounce back without that safety net. There are a handful of shaky or downright bad defenses on the upcoming roster, so maybe that will help the third-year quarterback try to get out of the mud.

Winner: Deshaun Watson

After the Cleveland Browns’ first game of the season, it looked like Deshaun Watson was on a collision course with the bench. Not only did he save his job with a rebound effort in last week’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he could have earned a much longer leash in Sunday’s triumph over the Carolina Panthers.

It wasn’t a star-caliber effort by any means for Watson, but he did record two touchdown passes in what was still a close game in Week 3. The second of those highlight plays showed that Watson still has a few ounces of clutch left in him. He hit Harold Fannin Jr. in the end zone for the second time with the fourth-quarter strike and converted a two-point conversion to give the Browns a commanding lead with 1:48 left.

Loser: Mike McDaniel and the Chargers offense

Things just aren’t working for the Los Angeles Chargers, especially on offense. The team is 0-3 and has not scored more than 16 points in a game. That’s against two bottom-of-the-table opponents and a Buffalo Bills defense that has given up exactly 31 points in its first two games. Sunday’s 24-16 loss at Upstate New York is another example of how hiring a highly touted offensive coordinator isn’t yielding the expected results for the Chargers.

Mike McDaniel and his offense had every opportunity to put up big numbers on the Bills. Los Angeles forced five turnovers but turned those extra possessions into just 10 points. He then blew that 10-0 first quarter lead into halftime. Few teams will hold Josh Allen and the Bills to just three touchdowns, and they need to be able to capitalize to beat the Super Bowl hopefuls. The Chargers couldn’t do it, and that comes down to an offense that can’t seem to get it going.

Winner: Colts

Either the Indianapolis Colts or the Houston Texans were going to come out of Week 3 with an 0-3 record. With just seconds left, it looked like the Colts would be that hapless team that fell into a deep hole early in the season. But Daniel Jones moved the ball to the plus side of the 50-yard line, set up a 53-yard field goal attempt and watched Spencer Shrader send it through the uprights to seal a 19-17 victory.

The start of the year was always going to be tough for Indianapolis with matchups against the Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens creating a three-game challenge. What lies ahead is much more manageable, and the fact that the Colts already have a win under their belt could help put them in a respectable position by the middle of the season.

Loser: Brian Daboll’s quest for revenge

The Tennessee Titans look like early contenders for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. A third straight loss to open the year, a 12-7 defeat at the hands of the New York Giants, is another terrible stain on what seems destined to be a lost season. The Titans held an injury-riddled Giants team to four field goals and still couldn’t do enough on the other side of the ball to win. The nail in the coffin was a game-clinching interception that Cam Ward threw in the end zone to cap a 23-for-36, 181-yard day.

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll failed to get revenge on the team that fired him last year. Not only that, but the putrid performance put up by his unit only gave New York reason to believe they made the right decision. At least Robert Saleh’s defense did its job keeping the Giants out of the end zone, but that’s a low bar considering a late-career Jameis Winston led the opposing offense.