Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
Last week’s N.F.L. lineup took out a fair number of notable players with injuries, while some surprising teams — the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals — got out to 2-0 records that have bitten some bettors. Of course, Week 3 is about when play starts to level off and coaches who hadn’t had the luxury of a preseason settle into routine. Or not.
In any case, contenders should start to take shape this week before Monday night’s matchup between Patrick Mahomes’s Kansas City Chiefs and Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens shows everyone where the championship bar is set.