This Sunday's early slate has a lot of really good matchups this week — which isn't always the case at 1:00 in the afternoon.

Fortunately, the games have a little bit of everything. There’s an undefeated division leader hosting last season’s AFC champion, an in-state game with two desperate Texas teams, and a Rams-Eagles matchup that could have massive implications in the NFC playoff picture.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows though. There's still a few backup quarterbacks and broken offenses that'll be taking the field.

Here’s what actually matters in each matchup.

New England Patriots At Buffalo Bills

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Buffalo's 3-0 and averaging an NFL-best 33.7 points per game. New England's 1-2 and have only been able to score three offensive touchdowns all season.

On paper, that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

But this one’s still interesting because New England’s defense has quietly been pretty good, holding opponents to 17 points and 278.3 yards per game. Both numbers rank in the top six. Buffalo’s defense, on the other hand, has been much easier to move the ball against, and the Bills just turned it over five times in a 24-16 win over the Chargers.

Of course, asking Drake Maye to take advantage of that is a different story. Through three starts, Maye's thrown one touchdown, six interceptions, and lost a fumble. Jacksonville pressured him on 58.4% of his dropbacks last week and ran away with a 35-6 win over New England.

So, really, this game comes down to whether Maye can stop handing the opponent extra chances. Buffalo's scored 13 touchdowns despite a minus-two turnover margin, which is the kind of stat that should make everyone else in the AFC East a little nervous.

New England did win in Buffalo last season, and these teams have split their season series three years in a row. If the Patriots’ defense can make Josh Allen uncomfortable and Maye can just keep the ball with his own team, this could turn into a real division game.

If not, the Bills might be done with it by halftime.

New York Jets At Chicago Bears

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The Jets lost 31-24 in Detroit last week, but Geno Smith was excellent, completing 31 of 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Garrett Wilson and rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq both topped 100 receiving yards, which gave New York something they desperately needed: proof that this passing game has another gear.

Chicago’s quarterback situation is a lot messier.

Caleb Williams is still dealing with the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2, and backup Tyson Bagent only recently cleared concussion protocol. Third-stringer Case Keenum got the start Monday night against Philadelphia. Naturally, he threw for 247 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in a 27-7 win.

So who do they start now? Bagent reportedly took more of the first-team snaps in practice this week, but how do you not put Keenum back out there after the way he performed?

The matchup to watch is New York’s passing game against a Chicago defense that just forced three turnovers, especially if Breece Hall’s quad injury keeps the Jets' starting running back out. Both teams average more than 34 minutes of possession a game, the two highest marks in the league, so this could turn into a weird fight over who gets to play slowly for longer.

There’s a little coaching rivalry here, too. Jets coach Aaron Glenn and Bears coach Ben Johnson both worked under Dan Campbell together as Detroit’s defensive and offensive coordinators. They know how the other guy thinks. Now we get to see whether that leads to a chess match or just two men spending three hours trying to annoy an old coworker.

Jacksonville Jaguars At Cincinnati Bengals

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This might be the best pure football matchup in the early window.

Jacksonville's 2-1 and averages 27 points a game but only gives up 12, which is the best scoring defense in the NFL. Trevor Lawrence has thrown seven touchdowns against two interceptions, and Parker Washington and second-year running back Bhayshul Tuten have started to look like real weapons.

Cincinnati's 2-1, too, but last week’s 30-27 loss to Pittsburgh showed us that this rebuilt defense may not be done with their rebuild yet. Burrow threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Cincinnati still lost.

The biggest battle is Jacksonville’s front against Burrow. Travon Walker already has 14 pressures, and the Jaguars pressured Maye on more than half of his dropbacks last Sunday. The secondary has been a little more generous, though, giving up 235.7 passing yards per game. That’s a pretty dangerous invitation with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins.

The bigger question is whether Jacksonville’s start is for real. The defense has been excellent, Lawrence looks comfortable in Liam Coen’s offense, and the Jaguars just took apart the defending AFC champions. If they beat Burrow in Cincinnati, this goes from “nice September” to “the rest of the AFC should probably start paying attention.”

Dallas Cowboys At Houston Texans

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Nothing brings people together like arguing over which Texas football team is doing a better job of disappointing their fans.

Dallas comes into this one 1-2 after losing 34-31 to Baltimore in Rio de Janeiro in one of the worst collapses we've seen in a long time. The offense piled up more than 400 yards and erased a fourth-quarter deficit, only for the defense to give up a 27-yard completion with seven seconds left. Baltimore kicked the game-winner on the next play.

Houston is 0-3 because their offense keeps wasting a really good defense. The Texans have 11 sacks, third-most in the league, and Will Anderson Jr. had nine pressures and 2.5 sacks in last week’s 19-17 loss to Indianapolis. Houston forced three turnovers and still couldn’t close it out.

That makes Anderson against Dallas’ offensive line the game’s biggest matchup in my eyes. The Cowboys can put up points with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but they’re coming home from Brazil and could need some time to recover. Houston has to turn all that pressure into points somehow.

Nico Collins possibly returning from a hamstring injury would help. So would any evidence that the run game is actually alive.

This is Houston’s 25th-season celebration, and the Texans can even the all-time series at four wins apiece. More importantly, they can avoid falling to 0-4. Dallas is trying to avoid 1-3 and another week of questions about a defense that keeps turning good offensive performances into dramatic losses.

Arizona Cardinals At New York Giants

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The Giants are 2-1 after winning a football game where their offense scored just nine points. That’s not exactly encouraging, but it worked.

Jameis Winston threw for 118 yards in last week’s rain-soaked 12-7 win over Tennessee. He didn’t turn the ball over, the defense picked off Cam Ward in the end zone, and New York got out of there without having to pretend the offense looked good.

Arizona comes in at 1-2 after showing a lot more life in a 36-30 loss to San Francisco. Jacoby Brissett completed 38 of 52 passes, Trey McBride caught nine balls, and Michael Wilson — who's looking more and more like one of the league's most underrated receivers every week — turned 17 targets into 11 receptions, 89 yards, and a touchdown.

McBride's the reason to pay attention here. His 26 catches lead all NFL tight ends, and Arizona's built almost all of their passing game around finding him underneath and letting him keep drives moving.

New York’s best move might be to avoid turning this into a passing contest. Cam Skattebo and Najee Harris give the Giants a physical backfield, and Winston showed last week that he can play caretaker when the defense controls the afternoon.

This probably won’t be beautiful football. But it could be close, tense football between two teams that are still figuring out what they are. Honestly, that’s usually good enough.

Los Angeles Rams At Philadelphia Eagles

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If you’re picking one screen for the early window, start here.

The Eagles are 2-1, the Rams are 1-2, and neither of them have looked anything like we thought they would coming into this season. Philadelphia just got smacked 27-7 by Chicago's third-string quarterback. Los Angeles lost two of three as the Super Bowl Favorites.

Matthew Stafford's thrown for 872 yards and six touchdowns, and Davante Adams has 358 receiving yards. The Rams can still move the ball without Puka Nacua, but they’re a lot tougher to deal with if he’s healthy enough to come back.

Philadelphia needs to find their physical identity again. Saquon Barkley has just 174 rushing yards, and the Eagles basically left the run behind once Monday’s loss started getting away from them. A short week doesn’t help, and the injury report might have some big names like DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Zack Baun on it. That certainly makes you pause for a second.

But the Eagles have beaten the Rams three times over the past two seasons, including a 33-26 win in Philadelphia last September. This one has that same big-picture feel. Both teams expect to be playing meaningful football in January, and these head-to-head results can matter a whole lot when the division races and wild-card tiebreakers show up.

It’s also Sean McVay going up against Vic Fangio, so every snap will be the ultimate chess match when the Rams have the ball.

That’s exactly the kind of game you want to be watching live.

Tennessee Titans At Baltimore Ravens

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Baltimore’s averaging 30.7 points and 398.7 yards per game. Tennessee’s scoring 12.3 points.

You can see the problem.

The Titans are 0-3, and they’ve spent way too much of this season starting games like kickoff caught them off guard. Against the Giants, they managed 54 yards and one first down in the first half before Cam Ward finally gave the offense a little life late. But even then, his final throw was picked off in the end zone.

Baltimore's 2-1 after hanging on against Dallas, but the Ravens haven’t exactly been flawless. The Cowboys lost that game more than the Ravens won it. Their defense gave up more than 400 yards in Rio and nearly wasted another big day from Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers.

Ward giving that defense some trouble is pretty much the only way this turns into an interesting afternoon — and that doesn't seem likely. If Baltimore’s offense gets going early, Tennessee isn’t built to chase Jackson, Derrick Henry, and a two-score deficit all at once.

Green Bay Packers At Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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This is the desperation game.

Green Bay's reeling after Atlanta ran all over it in a 35-14 Thursday night loss. Tampa Bay's 0-3 after three one-score losses, and now Baker Mayfield's dealing with a dislocated throwing thumb.

That should put undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels in line for his first NFL start.

The weird part is that Tampa’s defense has mostly done their job. The Buccaneers rank sixth in yards allowed, second against the run, and fifth in red-zone touchdown rate. But a few explosive plays and a minus-five turnover margin have wiped out a lot of that good work.

Green Bay brings exactly the kind of threat Tampa has had trouble handling. Jordan Love's thrown for 844 yards already, with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden giving defenses plenty to worry about downfield. The problem is everything around those throws. Love's faced pressure on 42.1% of his dropbacks, and the Packers are last in the league in rushing at 48.7 yards per game.

Tampa’s defense should be able to keep this close. The much bigger question is whether the offense can score enough with an undrafted rookie taking the snaps.

Both teams came into the season expecting to be in the playoff mix. The loser will end up leaving Week 4 wondering if that's even on the table anymore.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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