Who's ready to put their thinking caps on? Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season will go down in the history books, as 12 -- count 'em, 12! -- Sunday games finished within one score, the new single-day record for the league. Toss in two fun primetime games on Thursday and Monday and that was about as good a week as NFL football gets.
Every Tuesday of the NFL season, I'll turn the page from the previous week to the upcoming one with seven things I think. These aren't full-scale predictions; those come later. They aren't concrete takeaways from the past week of NFL action, either; those are fired off Sunday or Monday. Instead, these are the uncertain topics. They are things that might be true, but it'll probably take the next few games to find out. And at the bottom, you'll find a few extra half-thoughts... just those little inklings I'm unable to shake.
This week, I'll start with the one player I've been most excited to see in his new system, make another pick for MVP (I'm up to two in three weeks) and highlight an intradivisional game between surprising 2-1 teams you should probably watch for fun. Here are seven things I think ahead of Week 4.
Jump to: Bowers is the new JSN Jackson for league MVP Lawrence reminds us to be patient with QBs Rams should make one more trade Steelers-Browns is suddenly important I will never trust the Bills McCarthy won't save the Giants Five extra inklings
I think... Brock Bowers is the new Jaxon Smith-Njigba
We had to wait a few extra weeks for it, but one of the most anticipated debuts of the 2026 season struck Sunday. Bowers, the third-year Raiders tight end fresh off a meniscus cleanup, took his first snaps in Klint Kubiak's offense against the Saints. The final card? Ten catches, 116 yards and a score. Bowers has four career games of 10-plus receptions, 100-plus yards and a touchdown. Since he entered the league in 2024, the rest of the NFL's tight ends combined have only four such games.