6 NFL Players Under the Most Pressure Ahead of Week 3

The first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season are nearly in the books, making this a perfect time to review the results and pick out some concerning trends.

Several teams have stumbled out of the gate by losing back-to-back matchups. These clubs haven't met expectations and their top players should be feeling the pressure to turn things around quickly to try to salvage what could quickly become a lost season.

Players on squads that have opened 2025 with 1-1 records or even gone 2-0 aren't immune from pressure either. Due to factors like fortunate luck, scheduling and injuries, some still must prove they aren't pretenders and have what it takes to contend despite their respectable starts.

With that in mind, here's a look at the six players under the most pressure to succeed in Week 3.

QB Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals finally started a season 2-0 for the first time in the Joe Burrow era. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, Burrow was injured in Sunday's 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and will reportedly be sidelined for three months while recovering from surgery.

Burrow's absence leaves Jake Browning as Cincy's top quarterback. It's not unfamiliar territory for the franchise, as Browning replaced Burrow for an extended stretch in 2023. The backup went 4-3 and kept his side in the postseason hunt that year, narrowly missing the playoffs after losing in the finale.

It remains to be seen if Browning can play at that level or better this time around.

While the 29-year-old did complete a respectable 66 percent of his throws for 241 yards and two touchdowns after taking over for Burrow in the second quarter, he also tossed a trio of interceptions that could have cost the team a win.

Browning is overseeing an offense that led the league in passing offense and ranked No. 6 in scoring last year but came up just shy of a playoff berth due to defensive woes.

While the defense has looked a bit better in 2025, the Bengals won't be able to stay afloat if their new starter continues to be turnover-prone. Browning must lock in and manage the game at a high level starting next week with a tough Vikings defense on the docket.

Edge Abdul Carter, New York Giants

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The Giants are off to an 0-2 start and staring down another lost season.

While the Big Blue offense deserves some credit for showing more fight in a 40-37 overtime defeat to the Dallas Cowboys than they did in a 21-6 loss to the Washington Commanders in the opener, the defense failed to show up in a must-win divisional rivalry contest.

Abdul Carter, New York's prized rookie edge-rusher, hasn't made the impact expected when Big Blue took him No. 3 overall in the 2025 draft. Through his first two career games, Carter has recorded a meager four tackles, two QB hits and a half-sack.

While Carter only saw the field for 38 defensive snaps (54 percent) in Week 1, he didn't quite move the needle despite being out there for 67 defensive snaps (75 percent) against the Cowboys. He recorded just one tackle and one QB hit on those plays.

Carter has managed to make some semblance of a positive impact—including helping out on an interception and contributing several other strong reps—but he's been inconsistent and credited with just a single pressure thus far.

The Penn State product must improve if the Giants are going to have any chance of turning things around after a winless start. Unfortunately it won't get any easier for Carter and co. with a desperate Chiefs squad heading to MetLife Stadium seeking their first win of the season in the impending Week 3 clash.

QB Justin Fields, New York Jets

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The optimism surrounding the New York Jets' Justin Fields era has begun to dissipate following a dismal Week 2 outing from the signal-caller.

After the first-round pick-turned-journeyman dazzled in the opener—putting up the second-most fantasy points of any QB in Week 1—and narrowly missing out on beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fields came back down to earth in a humbling defeat to the Buffalo Bills.

The Jets' 30-10 loss dropped them to 0-2, a hole that will likely be insurmountable for a rebuilding franchise that had hopes of finally snapping the league's longest active postseason drought.

Prior to exiting with a concussion in the fourth quarter, Fields had completed just three of his 12 throws for 27 yards. While he did add 49 yards on five totes, he lost a key fumble on one of his scrambles when the game was still competitive during the first quarter.

With New York rallying for its lone touchdown behind Tyrod Taylor after Fields exited the game upon taking a fourth-quarter sack, there could be a quarterback controversy brewing in the Big Apple.

If Fields is healthy and able to suit up for a Week 3 clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he'll need to fare much better than he did on Sunday to keep his job security and the Jets afloat.

QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars opened the 2025 season with a statement victory over the Carolina Panthers, but fell back to .500 following a disappointing defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

A key reason Jacksonville fell short was Trevor Lawrence's failure to outduel Jake Browning in the high-scoring shootout. It was the second straight week in which the 2021 No. 1 overall pick underwhelmed, although this time the defense couldn't clamp down and bail the team out.

Following the 24-of-42 passing, 271-yard, three-touchdown, two-interception outing, Lawrence is now completing a career-worst 58.9 percent of his throws. While he's taken just one sack all year, he's been picked off three times and doesn't seem to be in sync with head coach Liam Coen's offensive scheme.

Things came to a head in the game's waning minutes when Lawrence waved his coach off following a botched play that could have swung the contest in Jacksonville's favor. After the ball bounced off Dyami Brown's hands on second down, Coen appeared to be yelling at his QB to aim lower on his throws.

While the first-time head coach said he was "very pleased" with Lawrence's competitiveness and chalked up the exchange as "emotion" and said it's "not personal", it wasn't a great look for the tandem.

Coen's presence was expected to elevate Lawrence back to a Pro Bowl level. Baker Mayfield thrived in the coach's system last year, putting up a career-best 4,500 passing yards and 41 touchdowns while leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the playoffs.

Coen's scheming hasn't had that effect on Lawrence. If the signal-caller struggles again when the Houston Texans come to town in Week 3, it could be time to panic in Jacksonville.

QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

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It may be time for Chiefs Kingdom to panic after their team lost yet again to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The 20-17 defeat dropped Kansas City to 0-2 on the year, a rare sight in the Andy Reid era. One would have to go back more than a decade to 2014—Reid's second year on the job—to find the last time this organization went winless in the first fortnight of a fresh campaign.

Since taking over as the starter in 2018, Patrick Mahomes has never opened a season with back-to-back losses. Counting Kansas City's Super Bowl LIX defeat, it's also the first time a Mahomes-led squad has lost three consecutive games at any point.

While the 2014 Chiefs did recover to finish with a winning 9-7 record, it still marked the club's lone missed postseason under Reid. Mahomes will need to dial in and get this offense back on track if he's going to make the playoffs, let alone the AFC Championship Game for the eighth consecutive time.

Mahomes has completed a concerning 58.8 percent of his throws for 445 yards and two touchdowns against one interception across the first two games. While he's making up for some of his lost passing production with his legs—the 29-year-old already matched his 2024 rushing touchdown tally with two and is averaging 61.5 yards per game on the ground, nearly 40 yards above his career average—Mahomes has been sacked four times as well.  

The absences of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice from the team's receiving corps are clearly being felt. The team's new-look offensive line—which lost perennial Pro Bowl guard Joe Thuney and has rookie Josh Simmons starting at left tackle—hasn't performed up to snuff either.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, the schedule gets more forgiving in the back half of September. The team will be heavy favorites against the New York Giants in Week 3, a foe that just allowed 40 points to Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.

If Mahomes can't find his footing and get Kansas City's offense firing on all cylinders against the G-Men, it could spell the end of a dynasty.

QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

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The Bears looked like they could be sneaky contenders in 2025 after making some sweeping organizational changes during the offseason. That hasn't come to fruition, however, as the club is now 0-2 following two tough divisional losses to open the year.

Despite making upgrades at just about every offensive position outside of running back this offseason—including bringing in a highly-coveted offensive mind in Ben Johnson to take over as head coach—quarterback Caleb Williams has been struggling to live up to his billing as a No. 1 overall draft pick.

Chicago's latest defeat dropped Williams' career record to 5-14, a cause for concern given the club's massive investments into the signal-caller and his supporting cast.

The Lions took Williams and their former offensive coordinator to task, putting up 52 points while Williams' offense mustered just 21 in the blowout defeat. It was a regression from the opener, when the Bears at least managed to control much of the contest before giving up 21 points in the fourth quarter to suffer a 27-24 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams has posted a relatively pedestrian passing stat line, averaging a 61.5 completion percentage with 417 yards and three touchdowns against one interception and six sacks. Chicago's offense rates league-average in both yardage and points scored on the season. That won't be good enough to turn this squad into a contender, especially with the defense allowing an NFL-worst 39.5 points per game this year.

If Williams can't get it going in Week 3 against a Dallas Cowboys defense that just gave up 37 points to the lowly New York Giants, this could be an extremely trying season in the Windy City.