NFL Week 3: Biggest questions entering the weekend

2. How will NFL teams fare without their top playmakers?

Week 2 brought us one of the most injury-plagued Sundays we have seen in a while, with two of the biggest storylines being injuries to Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey, the former now out for the season.

After putting up a weak stat line in Week 1, Barkley looked to be hitting his stride against Chicago before suffering a torn ACL. Now the question remains, how will the Giants perform in his absence.  New York’s outlook was not particularly strong before they lost their best playmaker? And now they have to take on the 49ers, Rams and Cowboys in the next three weeks.

Unless Daniel Jones can get something going, there is a good chance that the Giants will be looking at a top 3 draft pick in 2021.

Even though McCaffrey’s injury wasn’t season-ending, he is still going to miss multiple weeks, which should be the nail in the coffin for Carolina’s playoff chances. He is replaced by veteran Mike Davis, though wide receiver Curtis Samuel should also take over some of the rushing work.

Even though their offense has looked solid, their defense is among the worst in the league, allowing 65 points through the first two weeks. If they can’t figure it out on the defensive end, it is going to be a long 4-6 weeks until McCaffrey is healthy again.