NFL Week 3 panic meter: Texans offensive woes and early red flags flying for Falcons, Raiders

We're three weeks into the 2025 NFL season, so there are enough data points to ramp up the panic meter. Here's who should be worrying about the state of their franchise after Week 3:  

Houston Texans offense

Panic meter rating: 9/10

After scoring only nine points against the Los Angeles Rams and 19 points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Texans hoped to kick-start their offense against the Jacksonville Jaguars with WR Christian Kirk back from injury. Kirk had three catches for 25 yards against his old team as Houston produced only one offensive TD (50-yard Nico Collins catch) and 4.6 yards per play in its 17-10 loss, dropping the reigning AFC South champs to 0-3. 

"We're really close. [But] [t]hat's the problem — we keep reiterating that we're really close," Texans QB C.J. Stroud told reporters Sunday.

Houston's defense has played solidly, but the offense is one of the worst units in the NFL, ranking 29th in EPA per play (-0.141), 30th in success rate (36.8 percent) and 32nd in rush success rate (24.6 percent) and 32nd in points per game (12.7). Now in his third season, Stroud has regressed, the running game is nonexistent without Joe Mixon (ankle) and the offensive line is a mess. It's hard to imagine this unit, led by first-year OC Nick Caley, turning it around in 2025.

Green Bay Packers

Panic meter rating: 1.5/10

The NFL is a week-to-week league, and nothing proved that more than Sunday's game between the Packers and the Cleveland Browns. A seven-point underdog, Cleveland upset Green Bay 13-10, but it needed a late interception and a blocked field goal with less than a minute left to pull it off. 

The Browns are going to drag contenders down in the mud this season with their No.-1 ranked defense (204.3 yards per game). There's no reason for Packers fans to panic unless this performance carries over to Week 4, when they play at the dreadful Dallas Cowboys. 

Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty

Panic meter rating: 3/10

Don't panic on Jeanty, but the early returns are terrible. In three games, the Boise State product has 47 rushes for 144 yards (3.1 yards per carry) and one touchdown. The biggest issue, though, is the awful the offensive line. Jeanty is one of only two running backs in the NFL averaging negative yards before contact per rush.

Per ESPN's Ryan McFadden, Jeanty was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 11 of his 17 rushes during the 41-24 loss in Week 3 to Washington. Overall, he has been hit at or behind the line on 57% (27) of his attempts this season.