Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield and crew win a thriller

The Bucs moved to 3-0 and kept hold of the top of the division with a walk-off 29-27 win over the New York Jets.

Baker Mayfield went 19-29 for 233 yards and one touchdown, while Bucky Irving picked up 66 yards on the ground. Through three games, Mayfield has averaged 205 passing yards per game, with a 61.6 completion percentage. His rookie receiver, Emeka Egbuka, has become a huge target, including a highlight worthy one-handed catch versus the Jets.

Egbuka could become an even bigger target in coming weeks. In addition to Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan being out, Mike Evans left Sunday's game with a hamstring injury.

"He's going to get an MRI tomorrow," Coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Monday according to buccaneers.com. "Right now we've deemed it as low-grade but we'll see when [the test result] comes out.

"We proceeded with caution last go-around, so I don't think it's a 'this go-around' type thing," said Bowles. "It's a matter of how he's feeling. If he's feeling well and a hundred percent, he'll play, and if he's not, he won't."

Maybe look-good, feel-good works, because the Bucs looked outstanding in their throwback Creamsicle unis.

The Jets made things interesting late, with a touchdown pass with just under four minutes left in the game, and then a blocked field goal returned 50-yards for a touchdown with just under two minutes left. But Mayfield and the offense marched 48-yards back down the field to set up a 36-yard game winning field goal.

According to the Buccaneers, they are now only the third team ever to win a game with go-ahead scores in the final minute for three straight weeks in a row at any point in a season, joining the 1994 New York Giants and the 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers. And they are the first team ever to do this three times in a row to start a season.

New Orleans Saints: Fall to 0-3 after early onslaught

The Seahawks got on top of the Saints early and never let up, leading to a 44-13 loss for New Orleans in Seattle. The Seahawks were up 21-0 by the end of the first quarter, creating a hold the Saints couldn't crawl out, coupled with an offense that struggled to move the ball.

Seattle set the tone early, midway through the first quarter, with a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown. With 11 penalties for 77 yards, the Saints were behind the sticks often.

Spencer Rattler went 28-39 for 218 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but the Saints first three drives went: turnover on downs, punt, blocked punt.

"We didn't do enough to give ourselves a chance," Coach Kellen Moore told neworleanssaints.com. "We've got to be prepared. It starts with me. We've got to give ourself an opportunity to compete in these games. Too many penalties, too many missed opportunities [and] big special teams plays early in this game that put us behind.

"This is going to be a very powerful lesson for our guys on adversity and how we respond. Simply, we can't start the football game like that — with the sequence that we had — and put ourself in some really poor situations."

Atlanta Falcons: Shutout against the Panthers

The Panthers shutout the Falcons 30-0 on Sunday, putting Carolina into the win column in the division, and moving Atlanta to 1-2, 0-2 in the NFC South. The Falcons struggled to contain the Panthers defense and special teams, leading to a serious of changes in A-town after the game.

First up, the Falcons parted ways with wide receiver coach Ike Hilliard, who had served in the role since 2024. The move comes after receivers have struggled to find chemistry with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. through three games, even after career best years for three receivers in 2024 (Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Ray-Ray McCloud).

According to atlantafalcons.com so far in 2025, no wide receiver or tight end has caught a touchdown pass from Penix and the Falcons have only scored one touchdown in their last eight quarters of play.

Current passing game coordinator T.J. Yates will serve in the role.

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will move down to the field after calling plays in the coaches box the last two years, following Penix's 18-36 for 172 yards, no touchdowns, and two interception day against the Panthers.

"We'll move Zac down to the field," Coach Raheem Morris told reporters this week, "to be able to get a little cleaner communication for him, to be able to get it to (Penix Jr.) if something does happen along those lines, to be able to be more visual and see the quarterback and to be able to do some of those different things to have him have a clear line of communication with Mike, to be able to help him out a little bit more.

"We definitely hold some responsibility in those things, and we'll go out and do those things. We'll correct those things this week, we'll correct them throughout the process. It's how we practice. It's how we do walk-throughs. It's how we do everything else. So, we'll get Zac closer."

Finally, Atlanta will continue to look for a long term kicker. This comes after Parker Romo missed two field goals in Sunday's loss. The Falcons signed Romo to their active roster last week, after he went 5-for-5 in his debut during Week 2, and they then released long-time starter Younghoe Koo.

But given Romo's 0-for-2 day against Carolina, the Falcons are keeping the competition open.

"That's what we've got to do," Morris said. "You have to do that until you get it right, and you cannot allow that to be the reason to have this stuff happen. Right? He went 5-for-5 the week before. He went 0-for-2 this week. You've got to bring competition in, and that is something we're working diligently at."