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NFL Week 3 Sunday takeaways: Patriots have a Maye problem, Chargers hit rock bottom and Cowboys crumble

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Cite

Zaksheske, D. (2026, September 28). NFL Week 3 Sunday takeaways: Patriots have a Maye problem, Chargers hit rock bottom and Cowboys crumble. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/nfl-week-3-sunday-takeaways-patriots-maye-problem-chargers-hit-rock-bottom-cowboys-crumble

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-28 · by Dan Zaksheske

Quick Summary

In Week 3 of the NFL season, several games highlighted key issues for various teams. The Buffalo Bills struggled against the winless Los Angeles Chargers despite multiple turnovers, showcasing vulnerabilities that could be exploited by stronger opponents. Deshaun Watson led the Cleveland Browns to an unexpected victory over the Carolina Panthers, proving more capable than initially thought. Meanwhile, the New York Jets demonstrated better-than-expected performance in a close loss to the Detroit Lions, offering hope for a franchise long seen as struggling. Perhaps most notably, the New England Patriots were thoroughly outplayed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, with rookie quarterback Drake Maye's early-season success appearing less sustainable against tougher competition.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 24, the Buffalo Bills hosted the Los Angeles Chargers in a crucial NFL game where the Bills won 24-16 despite turning the ball over five times. The winless Chargers struggled to capitalize on their five takeaways and failed to score after halftime. Rookie coach Joe Brady expressed concern about his team's performance, noting that they should not overlook their opponent despite a 2-0 start. Buffalo's defense held strong in critical moments, securing the victory with Josh Allen scoring two rushing touchdowns. The Chargers' issues were compounded by offensive inefficiency and key penalties, leading to a disappointing season debut of 0-3.

Written for “Bills Vs Chargers Game Analysis” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Bills Vs Chargers Game Analysis
Sports · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 34 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of NFL Week 3, but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 64 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different games from potentially separate weeks of the NFL season, with Article A mentioning Rams vs. Broncos while Article B focuses on Week 3 takeaways including Bills vs. Chargers.”
NBC News
Hedges 4 of 57 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Week 3 NFL games; Article A focuses on takeaways from specific games, while Article B discusses an overall trend across multiple games.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different NFL games on the same day but involving distinct teams and outcomes.”
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles cover different aspects of NFL week three games, with Article A focusing on upcoming games involving Sam Darnold's return for Seattle Seahawks against Washington Commanders, while Article B provides post-game analysis and takeaways from completed games like the Bills vs Chargers game.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of NFL Week 3 and do not focus on the same specific game or incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different weeks of the NFL season (Week 3 and Week 4, respectively).”
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 34 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses Rob Gronkowski's comments about the Chargers, while Article B provides a summary of NFL Week 3 games and takeaways.”
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 40 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different takeaways and highlights from NFL week three, not focusing on the same specific game or incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
69
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
4 of 69 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6056 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Dan Zaksheske
50 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Their shooting also ensured that the WNBA’s championship would be decided in prime time.
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🔮 We also asked the league to confirm whether both teams would be present Monday.
Also by Dan Zaksheske
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 50 articles by Dan Zaksheske →

Topics

Buffalo Chargers Jets NFL Titans

Subjects

Dolphins ORG · 5× Jets ORG · 5× Buffalo GPE · 4× Chargers ORG · 3× NFL ORG · 3× Titans ORG · 3× Watson PERSON · 3× Bills ORG · 2× Browns ORG · 2× Lions ORG · 2×

Narrative

Don't look now, but the Raiders are 3-0 with a showdown against the Chiefs coming in Week 4. Ravens 34, Cowboys 31 Takeaway: Ball don't lie. The referees nearly gifted the Dallas Cowboys a win with an awful pass interference call that set the Cowboys up on the Ravens 2-yard line trailing by 3 points with 23 seconds left in the game.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 I'd appreciate it if things could slow down a little.

Claims (69 extracted, 4 hedged)

We spend all offseason waiting for football to come back and somehow we're already three weeks into the NFL season. asserted
we → spend → season
I'd appreciate it if things could slow down a little. uncertain
things → appreciate → it
Although, if you're a fan of the Dolphins, Titans or Chargers, you probably think the season can't go by fast enough. asserted
season → think → Dolphins
Week 3 gave us plenty to talk about, and I have some thoughts. asserted
I → give → thoughts
Here’s my biggest takeaway from each of Sunday’s games. asserted
takeaway → ’ → games
It was a good week for Buffalo to come out flat. asserted
Buffalo → come → ?
Buffalo's offense came out of the gate with a 36-point output against a stout Houston defense in Week 1 and then followed it up by dropping 41 on Detroit in Week 2. asserted
offense → come → Week
But the unit struggled mightily on Sunday, turning the ball over three times on its first four possessions. asserted
unit → struggle → possessions
After managing to get the game tied at 10 going into halftime, the Bills turned it over on their first two possessions of the second half. asserted
Bills → manage → half
Lucky for them, they were playing the awful winless Chargers, who couldn't even beat a team that turned the ball over five times. asserted
that → play → ball
Buffalo can't play like that against good teams. asserted
Buffalo → play → teams
Yeah, so, I buried Watson after a horrendous performance in Week 1 (following a terrible preseason). asserted
I → bury → preseason
But he played pretty well against the Bucs in a Week 2 win and did enough to lead the Browns to a shocking 2-1 record. asserted
he → play → record
Watson's numbers don't look great (16-30, 144 yards, 2 TD), but he kept making big throws when the team needed them and added some important runs to keep the chains moving. asserted
team → look → chains
Watson isn't great, obviously, but he's at least playing like a serviceable NFL quarterback and that's more than I expected from him after Week 1. asserted
I → play → Week
Speaking of teams for which I didn't have high expectations, the Jets have been much better than I expected. asserted
I → speak → expectations
But they should have beaten the Packers in Week 2 and they were tied with the Lions with under three minutes left. asserted
they → beat → minutes
Now, great teams win those games. asserted
teams → win → games
But given that the bar was set at, like, below average, Jets fans have a reason to at least have some hope for the first time in years. asserted
fans → give → years
You know, for a minute it looked like the AFC South might be good again instead of being relegated to that Saturday afternoon Wild Card slot (the one that goes to the least interesting first-round playoff matchup). uncertain
that → know → matchup
But here we are with the Colts and Texans both not looking particularly good. asserted
Colts → look → ?
C.J. Stroud has never regained his rookie season form and Daniel Jones turned the ball over three times. asserted
Jones → regain → ball
Plus, these teams just aren't even fun to watch (the Jaguars really aren't, either, and don't get me started on the Titans). asserted
me → watch → Titans
Drake Maye looks like a one-hit wonder. asserted
Maye → look → wonder
I'm trying not to overreact but Maye keeps making it harder and harder. asserted
it → try → ?
He's made some of the worst throws of any quarterback so far this season, and that's saying something. asserted
that → make → something
The Patriots offense has generated just two touchdowns in three games and Maye has thrown six interceptions and has lost a fumble. asserted
Maye → generate → fumble
With a game in Buffalo next week, it could start getting late early for the reigning AFC champions. uncertain
it → start → champions
The Dolphins showed some fight? asserted
Dolphins → show → fight
I don't know, what do you want me to say? asserted
me → know → what
The Chiefs beat the Dolphins, as literally everyone expected. asserted
everyone → beat → Dolphins
Miami hung around for a while and was only down four heading to the fourth quarter. asserted
Miami → hang → quarter
But Kansas City still won by two touchdowns. asserted
City → win → touchdowns
Dolphins fans have only one date on their minds: April 29, 2027 (the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft). asserted
fans → have → Draft
Two bad offenses playing in bad weather is a recipe for a bad game. asserted
offenses → play → game
I have four TVs in my living room and thanks to multiview, I can essentially watch every NFL game simultaneously. asserted
I → have → game
I do my best to keep my eyes moving so I can watch as much of each one as possible. asserted
I → do → one
But I'm not going to pretend I spent much time watching Jameis Winston and Cam Ward battle on a wet field to see who could get to double-digit points first. uncertain
who → go → points
It was the Giants, by the way, and they won. asserted
they → win → way
I tried to warn you. asserted
I → try → you
…and 29 more, not listed.
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