Week 3 of the 2017 NFL season features a number of pivotal divisional matchups along with some interesting matchup between the league’s leading teams and early underdogs. In the AFC West, Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers will be an important decider in a division with four strong teams.

The Oakland Raiders play the Washington Redskins in primetime in an interesting inter-conference matchup.

Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears, shoulder: Howard entered last week’s contest with the questionable designation after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 1. His production was extremely limited, but whether that was due to the injury, the offense or a combination of both is difficult to gauge. Howard was wearing a sling after the game, so there was little doubt the shoulder was still an issue to some degree. He remained limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday, but he was upgraded to full participation Friday and was removed from the game status injury report.

The message from his status upgrade is that the Bears expect him to play; the unknown is just how much he will be relied upon in the team’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday.

LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills, wrist: McCoy was on the injury report because of his wrist last week (and a late-occurring groin issue) but played without incident. His limited production was not related to the injury, according to both McCoy and head coach Sean McDermott. As a veteran, he is expected to get additional rest during the week, which explains the off day Wednesday. After full practices both Thursday and Friday, McCoy’s removal from the game status injury report is no surprise.

Matt Forte, New York Jets, knee: Forte remains on the injury report because of his knee but also remains in line to play after fully practicing each day and being removed from the game status injury report.

I’m not entirely sure what head coach Ben McAdoo is trying to accomplish with this backfield, but the three-man committee is simply not working. Paul Perkins, Shane Vereen, and Orleans Darkwa combined for 55 yards on 16 carries, averaging a “robust” 3.4 yards per carry. The biggest run of the night was a 12-yard end-around by wide receiver Sterling Shepard.

The Giants haven’t had a 1,000-yard running back since Ahmad Bradshaw in 2012, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing any time soon. Eli Manning has a hard enough time without his backfield being unable to take any pressure off the passing game.

Of course, it’s not like the running game is getting helped by the offensive line, which is giving the Seattle Seahawks a run for the title of “worst line in football.”

Can we just end this experiment already? The 2015 first-round pick was a raw project coming out of college, and he’s just getting worse by the year. Flowers was an abject disaster on Monday, giving up three sacks to Ezekiel Ansah and getting beat like a drum all night:

Jones’ second sack came on the last play of the third quarter when he was lined up on the other side of the center as the left three-technique on the outside shoulder of Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks.

I expect him to unleash it against the Eagles.

Reid is 8-3 against his former assistants who have become head coaches and has won six of the last seven such meetings and three in a row.

This is the No. 1 reunion game in the NFL this weekend. There is little chance Reid will lose it.

Injuries too their toll on the Cowboys, but Siemian did something he was not capable of doing in 2016, he took advantage.

For the second week in a row Siemian looked like the man in charge on the field. He was comfortable in the pocket. He ran well when he needed to, and he was accurate. His 22 completions for 231 and 4 touchdowns was more than a little encouraging.

Trubisky finished August with 67.9 percent of his passes completed for 364 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Glennon completed 59.1 percent of his passes in the preseason for 243 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Yes, Trubisky was the one more often benefiting from snaps against backup defenders, but there was no denying that he made throws that showed why the Bears were excited enough to trade up — maybe unnecessarily — to secure him.

The Bears had to know this wasn’t going to be a season that would end with a trip to the Super Bowl. But jobs are on the line in the NFL every week and being patient with Glennon to keep Trubisky off the field could cost Fox his job. Of course, tossing a rookie into the flames to disastrous results could also get him fired.

Just last year, Jeff Fisher had to deal with a similar situation in Los Angeles. He eventually supplanted Case Keenum with Jared Goff in Week 11 and was fired four weeks later.

The best case scenario for Chicago would have been a good season from Glennon that allowed the team to bring along Trubisky at a reasonable pace. Two weeks into the season, that’s a luxury the Bears don’t appear to have.

The Patriots’ quest to defend their Super Bowl 51 title took a major detour last Thursday. New England gave up 21 fourth quarter points to fall to the Chiefs at home, but an opportunity to right the ship comes Sunday afternoon. The Patriots will travel to New Orleans to face the Saints at 1 p.m. ET, broadcast live on CBS (live stream).

Tom Brady looked like a 40-year-old quarterback to start his season on a low note. The reigning Super Bowl MVP completed just 16 of his 36 passes and failed to find the end zone. While he still managed to throw for 267 yards, he looked leagues different than he had the last time we saw him in a meaningful game. He’ll have a tremendous opportunity to get back on track Sunday against a Saints secondary that allowed more passing yards per game than all but one team last fall.

Aside from being a remarkably durable and a consistently great offensive tackle, Thomas is one of the few offensive linemen in the NFL who have stood out with personality, as well.

Thomas always crushes it on picture day, he’s an excellent follow on Twitter, and don’t forget the fact that he’s the “first offensive lineman in NFL history.”

The Browns are 48-114 during Thomas’ tenure with the team, but he never packed it in and hopes his impressive streak can be a source of inspiration for other players.

Thomas is under contract through the 2018 season and has talked about considering retirement, but also hasn’t ruled out continuing to play on another deal. To even approach some of the other Iron Man records in the NFL, Thomas would have to play a lot longer.

Brett Favre is the record holder for consecutive starts with 297 over a span of more than 18 years. Eli Manning is the current consecutive starts king and will make his 201st consecutive start Monday against the Detroit Lions.

Witten has 17 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns so far. It’s the first time he has started a season with touchdown catches in each of the first two games. He remains reliable and efficient. With Patrick Peterson expected to shadow Dez Bryant this week, Witten should be a big part of the plan. If there is one thing Dak Prescott has shown, it’s that he won’t force the ball unnecessarily. Witten wins early enough on his routes to give him completions, and he has been targeted more in the red zone so far this season than in the past. — Todd Archer

While Bryant won the first round with his first-quarter TD catch over Talib, the cornerback would get his revenge. Harris evened the score when he intercepted Dallas QB Dak Prescott in the third quarter after his pass deflected off Bryant. Talib delivered the knockout blow when he stepped in front of a pass intended for Bryant and took it 103 yards for the pick-six.

Olsen in 2016 became the first tight end in NFL history to record three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. The Panthers before this season added incentives for receptions, receiving yards and postseason accolades to Olsen’s contract that would pay him an additional $2 million if he met all of them. That seems unlikely with the missed time.

Olsen hadn’t missed a game since his rookie year with the Chicago Bears in 2007 — a streak of 160 consecutive games, which was the second longest among tight ends behind Dallas’ Jason Witten (221).

Carolina promoted fullback Alex Armah from the practice squad to fill Olsen’s roster spot. The sixth-round pick out of West Georgia can play fullback and H-back.

Peterson, who signed a two-year deal worth $7 million with New Orleans in April after being released by Minnesota, finished with just 18 yards on six carries. While he was expecting a warm welcome in his return to Minneapolis, he received more boos than applause.

After releasing Peterson, the Vikings drafted running back Dalvin Cook in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Cook earned the start Monday but failed to impress early against the Saints’ makeshift defense. Cook’s first seven touches totaled just 11 yards but he finished with a total of 127 rushing yards, breaking Peterson’s rookie record for yardage in a season opener.

Week 1 of the NFL season needed that game, and so did the Broncos and Chargers. They needed to believe they can be complete enough to upend the Chiefs and Raiders.

Foster returned to the field in full uniform early in the second quarter and did some tests with the team’s trainers on the sideline. Although Foster admitted to lobbying to return to the game, he said the determination was made to not rush him back for fear of making it worse.

After halftime, Foster returned to the sideline and remained in uniform, though he removed his shoulder pads.

“I took a header, boy,” Flores, who sustained a fractured C2 vertebra, a broken nose and 13 stitches above his left eye, told ESPN.com. “I’m not through yet, though.”

Flores said the fall occurred as he was attempting to leave the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. The Raiders, invited by Dallas, watched the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight in a suite. After the bout, as Flores and several players and team employees were leaving the room, Flores’ feet caught on a rug. He was carrying a bag on his shoulder that came forward and shifted his weight, forcing the fall onto his face.

“I looked scary,” Flores said with a laugh. “I played 10 years of professional football and four years in college before that, and I never had six stitches. Now this.”

The Seahawks have had a busy Friday.

Not only are head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider trying to figure out which players will make their initial 53-man roster, they were wheeling and dealing with multiple trades. The first deal was a blockbuster swap that sent wide receiver Jermaine Kearse to the Jets in exchange for Pro Bowl defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson.

The Seahawks were only getting warmed up. They then worked a pair of deals involving cornerbacks.

After sending a seventh-round draft pick to the Patriots in exchange for third-year cornerback Justin Coleman, the Seahawks began finalizing a deal to ship Tramaine Brock to the Vikings. The Seahawks will get a seventh-round pick back from the Vikings in the deal first reported by NFL Media.

Coleman was originally signed by the Vikings as an undrafted rookie from Tennessee in 2015. He was released by the Vikings prior to the 2015 season, but claimed by the Patriots, who released him a day later. The Seahawks then pounced and signed him to their practice squad, only for the Patriots to sign him again less than a week later, adding him to the active roster.

Coleman played in 10 games with the Patriots in 2015 and saw time in 10 games last season, but was not active for any of New England’s playoff run to a Super Bowl championship. The 5-11, 190-pound Georgia native has 29 career tackles and eight passes defensed.

The Seahawks waived tight end Steve Donatell to make room on the roster in a move that corresponded with acquiring Coleman.

Their own QB is a key variable. What is Carson Palmer at this stage of his career? Most QB tiers voters thought he was trending downward into the third tier, but if he’s better than that, so are the Cardinals.

Quite a few QB tiers voters thought Carson Wentz could ascend to the second tier and eventually threaten Tier 1, but they had him eighth out of 12 QBs in Tier 3 for now. That’s an interesting spot for him as the Eagles prepare to play a league-high eight games against Tier 2 QBs, including four within the division, not counting games against Dallas (Dak Prescott sat atop the third tier).

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s first-half stat line: 2-of-7 passing, 6 yards. He’s still in the league, somehow.

The Bucs’ offense was absolutely impotent all night, and Washington sealed the deal with a pick-six off Sefo Liufau in the fourth quarter. Liufau saved a little face with a touchdown pass later on.

The Steelers struggled to do much on offense for most of the first half, but Josh Dobbs got them the lead in the second quarter with a 58-yard bomb to Justin Hunter.

Dobbs led the game-wining drive, leading the Steelers on a perfect two-minute drill and getting the victory with a 1-yard touchdown with just seconds left.

Mitchell Trubisky was brutal in the first half, completing just 2 of 5 passes for 10 yards before making way for Connor Shaw. Mike Glennon has all but secured the Week 1 starting job.

On Thursday night, the Eagles topped the Dolphins, and the Panthers edged the Jaguars. But it’s preseason, so final scores don’t really matter. The big stories from Thursday’s games were the quarterbacks.

It wasn’t the first time the Lions had to adjust to life with an injured Stafford. His first few years in the league were marred by injury, though he’s stayed much healthier in recent seasons. He suffered gruesome shoulder injuries in his rookie and sophomore seasons and dealt with a fractured finger in 2011. The 29-year-old has played in 109 out of 128 possible games, but hasn’t missed a single game in the past six years.

Being the NFL’s highest paid player is designation that doesn’t last very long. Raiders QB Derek Carr was the last player to have that distinction, after signing a five-year, $125 million extension in June. Before that it was Andrew Luck.

Stafford’s performance over the past few seasons, even without much of a ground game, made the quarterback a top priority for the Lions. Even at age 29, Stafford still has a lot of time left to bring a Lombardi Trophy to the Motor City. If he can stay healthy and continue to shred defenses, Detroit will be happy it gave Stafford a lucrative contract.

Hawks rookie John Collins models new team jerseys with Sharecare sponsorship.

For the first time, the Hawks will wear an advertising patch on their uniforms, beginning with the 2017-18 season.

The Hawks and Atlanta-based digital health company Sharecare have reached agreement on a five-year deal that will put the Sharecare logo on the front left shoulder of the players’ game jerseys, team and company executives told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News in exclusive interviews.

The 19-year-old questioned Ortega about how he got the jersey and the collector told him he’d tell him later. When Wagner heard about Brady’s missing jerseys, he sent the tip to the FBI who ended up tracking down the memorabilia in Mexico.

“It’s incredible. I wasn’t sure they’d even get one, but to get both of them back. It’s history, it really is,” Wagner told WBZ-TV.

Now the fan will get to see his favorite team celebrate yet another Super Bowl win Thursday night from the front row of Gillette Stadium.

This movement of advertising on jerseys in the NBA could serve as a major stepping stone for advertising on jerseys across the four major sports. It has become a staple across the soccer world, as many teams have become synonymous with the logo plastered across the front of the jersey.

Sharecare chairman and CEO Jeff Arnold wouldn’t disclose what his company will pay the Hawks, but he said it’s “in the range” of the other reported deals.

“We’re not the lowest, and we’re not the highest,” he said.