Week 3 of the NFL’s current season begins on Thursday evening at MetLife Stadium when the New York Jets host the New England Patriots. It concludes with the first Monday night doubleheader of ’24 when the Bills host the Jaguars, and the Bengals welcome the Commanders to the Queen City.
Who will break into the victory column for the first time this season, and which club will suffer its first loss this year? The number of undefeated and winless clubs are equal, and among the discussion points below.
3
In 55 of the 58 Super Bowls, at least one team opened 2-0 on its way to the “Big Game.” In 2023, the San Francisco 49ers actually won their first five and eventually wound up in Super Bowl LVIII. This season, nine teams stand at 2-0, including the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs. It’s the second straight year that nine clubs have won their first two contests.
As for those three Super Sundays that didn’t feature at least one 2-0 club? There’s Washington (1-1) vs. the Denver Broncos (1-0-1) in XXII, the New England Patriots (1-1) vs. the Seattle Seahawks (1-1) in XLIX, and the Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) vs. the Patriots (1-1) in LII.
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For the second consecutive year, there are a total of nine teams (Ravens, Panthers, Bengals, Broncos, Colts, Jaguars, Rams, Giants, and Titans) that have dropped their first two games of the season. It’s not impossible, but recent history tells us that getting to the playoffs won’t be easy, even with the fact that there are seven postseason berths available in each conference.
Over the past five seasons dating back to 2019, there have been a total of 41 instances in which a club has started 0-2 and only two reached the postseason. Still, it’s happened in each of the previous two seasons via the 2022 Bengals and 2023 Texans.
10
After two weeks of play, the NFC owns a 6-4 edge vs. the AFC in head-to-head competition this season. This week, 10 of the 16 games are interconference affairs. The week is highlighted by contests such as 2-0 Houston at 2-0 Minnesota, 0-2 Baltimore at 1-1 Dallas, and 1-1 Miami at 2-0 Seattle.
This past season, the AFC prevailed in 46 of the 80 head-to-head encounters between the conferences. This was after the NFC narrowly won the season series in 2022 and 2023. John Harbaugh’s Ravens were a perfect 5-0 in interconference games in 2024, the only team in the NFL this past season to sweep the other conference.
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This week, longtime AFC East rivals clash on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium when the Jets host the Patriots. Three days later on Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium, the Rams and 49ers renew acquaintances. Those are the only two games involving divisional adversaries this week.
In both Week 1 and Week 2, there were only three contests between division foes. That’s quite a change from the start of the 2023 NFL season, when half of the opening week’s 16 games were divisional match-ups. As usual, every Week 18 of the season will be of the divisional variety, but it’s pretty interesting to note this year’s start.
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Two weeks into NFL 2024, there hasn’t been a lot of big passing numbers by quarterbacks. There has been a lot of emphasis on the running game as well. What’s been very evident has been the production by kickers around the league.
Dallas’ Brandon Aubrey, and Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell have connected on all eight field goal attempts. The 49ers’ Jake Moody, the Texans’ Ka'imi Fairbairn, and the Commanders Austin Seibert are 7-of-7 in this department. Just a very early reminder that the NFL record for most field goals by a player in a season was set back in 2011 by San Francisco 49ers’ specialist David Akers.