By Lydia Jane Allison

NEW YORK — Sept. 17, 2024 — Close games continue to be the norm in 2024, as 22 of this season’s 32 games have been decided by one score (eight or points or fewer), tied for the second-most such games through Week 2 in NFL history. Nine teams enter Week 3 with a 2-0 record, including four teams – the Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks – that missed the postseason last year.

Here’s a look at a few interesting storylines entering Week 3:

• Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) at New Orleans Saints (2-0) (1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Saints can improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2013 and continue their prolific offensive output this season.
  • The Saints lead the NFL with 91 points, the most points by a team in its first two games of a season in 15 years and tied with the 1971 Dallas Cowboys (91 points) for the fourth-most points in a team’s first two games of a season in NFL history.
  • New Orleans – who scored 48 points in Week 18 last season, 47 points in Week 1 and 44 points in Week 2 – became the third team since 1970 to score at least 44 points in three consecutive games, joining the 2018 New Orleans Saints (Weeks 9-11) and 2007 New England Patriots (Weeks 6-8). Only three previous teams in NFL history have scored 40-or-more points in four consecutive games: the 2004 Indianapolis Colts, 2000 St. Louis Rams and 1960 Los Angeles Chargers.
  • Saints quarterback Derek Carr can become the fifth quarterback in NFL history to record at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 100-or-higher in seven consecutive games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (three times), Tom Brady (twice), Aaron Rodgers (twice) and Patrick Mahomes.
  • Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has 42 career regular-season rushing touchdowns and can tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young (43 rushing touchdowns) for the third-most by a quarterback in NFL history.

• Houston Texans (2-0) at Minnesota Vikings (2-0) (1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Texans can advance to 3-0 for the second time in franchise history (2012), while the Vikings can begin the season with three consecutive wins for the first time since 2016. Minnesota can become the third team since 1990 with at least five sacks in each of their first three games of a season, joining the 2001 New Orleans Saints and 2000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
  • Prior to the 2020 NFL Draft, Minnesota traded current Houston wide receiver Stefon Diggs to Buffalo in exchange for a package that included the No. 22 overall selection in that year’s Draft, a pick the Vikings used to select wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Over the past five seasons (2020-24), Diggs ranks tied for first in receptions (455) and fourth in receiving yards (5,442) while Jefferson ranks second in receiving yards (6,091) and sixth in receptions (400).
  • Last week, Jefferson – at 25 years and 91 days old – became the youngest player ever to reach 6,000 receiving yards and the third-youngest player all-time to reach 400 receptions.
  • Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter, who signed with Houston this offseason and had 1.5 sacks last week, spent the first nine seasons of his career (2015-23) with the Vikings, totaling 87.5 sacks, third-most in franchise history, and 108 tackles for loss in 119 games.
  • Two players who set career highs with Houston in 2023 joined Minnesota this offseason – linebackers Blake Cashman and Jonathan Greenard. Cashman, coming off a 13-tackle, three-pass defense and one-sack performance in Week 2, had 104 tackles and nine tackles for loss with the Texans last season. Greenard, who had his first sack of the season last week, totaled 12.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss with Houston last season.
  • L.A. Chargers (2-0) at Pittsburgh (2-0) (1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Chargers look to begin the season 3-0 for the first time since 2002, while the Steelers can improve to 3-0 for the fourth time under head coach Mike Tomlin (previously 2007, 2010 and 2020).
    • The Chargers (6.5 points per game allowed) and Steelers (8.0 points per game allowed) rank first and second in scoring defense this season. The last time two teams met in Week 3 or later that both were allowing 10-or-fewer points per game was in Week 4 of the 2006 season (Baltimore vs. San Diego).
    • Both the Chargers and Steelers can become the first team since the 2009 Denver Broncos to allow 10-or-fewer points in each of their first three games of a season.
    • Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt has 98.5 sacks in 106 career games and can surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware (113 games) as the second-fastest player to reach 100 career sacks since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White (96 games) reached the milestone in fewer games.

  • Regardless of record, there is hope: Since 1990, more than 60 percent of teams to begin the season 2-0 have qualified for the postseason (63.9 percent; 177 of 277) while 42 percent of clubs to begin 1-1 have advanced to the playoffs (207 of 493). Over the past 34 seasons (1990-2023), 32 teams have qualified for the postseason after starting 0-2, including nine teams over the past 10 seasons (2014-23).

    Last season, the Houston Texans rallied from an 0-2 start to win the AFC South, becoming the first team to win its division in the Super Bowl era with a rookie head coach (DeMeco Ryans) and rookie quarterback (C.J. Stroud). In 2022, the Cincinnati Bengals began 0-2 but won their final eight contests to earn the AFC North division title.

  • Last Time Beginning 3-0: In addition to Houston, the Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota, New Orleans and Pittsburgh, four additional teams look to improve to 3-0 this week.
    • Tampa Bay (2-0) (vs. Denver, 1 p.m. ET, FOX) can begin 3-0 for the fifth time in franchise history and the first since 2005.
    • Seattle (2-0) (vs. Miami, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS) can start 3-0 for the first time since 2020. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald can become the fifth head coach under the age of 40 since 2000 to win each of his first three career games, joining Mike McDaniel (2022), Matt LaFleur (2019), Josh McDaniels (2009) and Mike Tomlin (2007).
    • Kansas City (2-0) (at Atlanta, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) can win each of their first three games of a season for the first time since 2020 and sixth time under head coach Andy Reid.
    • Buffalo (2-0) (vs. Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Monday night) can advance to 3-0 for the fifth time since 2000 and first time since 2020.
  • Interconference Matchups: For the third time in NFL history, there will be 10 interconference matchups in a week. The two previous occurrences happened in Week 1 of the 2016 season and Week 8 of the 2023 season.

  • Doubling up on Monday: With Jacksonville at Buffalo (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Washington at Cincinnati (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC), Week 3 marks the first of four weeks this season with multiple Monday night games. There will also be two Monday night contests in Week 4 (Tennessee at Miami and Seattle at Detroit), as well as in Weeks 7 and 15.

  • Good from 50: The first two weeks of the 2024 season have been two of the three most prolific weeks for kickers from distance as Week 1 set an NFL-record with 21 50-yard field goals while Week 2 had the third-most made 50-yard field goals (14) in a single week all-time.
    • 10 kickers have multiple made 50-yard field goals this season, led by Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn with six. Fairbairn, with three made 50-yard field goals in each of the first two weeks, became the first player all-time with multiple career games of three-or-more 50-yard field goals made and set an NFL-record with six made 50-yard field goals over a two-game span.
    • Additionally, Week 2 featured 73 made field goals, the most in a week in NFL history. There were 68 made field goals in Week 1, the third-most in a week all-time, trailing only Week 2 and Week 15 of the 2016 season (69).

COURTESY NFL COMMUNICATIONS