The Philadelphia Eagles can beat the Los Angeles Rams, a bonafide contender, without playing their A game. Or maybe even their B or C game.
The Eagles haven’t been great to start the season but they’re 3-0. The Eagles got a blocked field goal, which was returned for a touchdown, on the final play of the game and they turned a 26-7 deficit into a 33-26 win over the Rams.
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The Eagles got dominated for the first half and into the second half. They gave up a drive in the final two minutes that should have resulted in a Rams field goal to win the game. But Philadelphia had just enough to win.
The Eagles were in a ton of trouble in the second half when the Rams took a 26-7 lead. The Eagles had looked awful to that point. They had -1 net passing yards in the first half and started the second half with Jalen Hurts getting rocked by Rams defensive end Jared Verse, and he lost a fumble. You could hear Philly’s sports radio hosts warming up to rip the Eagles offense all week.
Then the Eagles got it together. They scored three straight times, including Devonta Smith with less than two minutes remaining to take the lead. The Eagles missed the two-point conversion, which left the door open for the Rams to win in regulation.
Matthew Stafford has been in that situation before. He immediately took the Rams into field-goal territory in the final minute. It looked like the Eagles would lose, but they got penetration on the field-goal attempt and Jordan Davis scooped it up for a touchdown with no time on the clock.
Despite the win there will be a lot of questions about the Eagles this week. The second-half comeback was fun but they were in that position because the offense didn’t show up in the first half and the defense got run over. The Eagles’ offense hasn’t been good to start the season, and there will be plenty of Super Bowl hangover comments even with Philadelphia at 3-0 to start the season.
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But that’s the thing Philadelphia can point to. They’re undefeated with wins over the Cowboys, Chiefs and Rams, which isn’t an easy runout to start the season. And the Eagles will presumably get better. They’ll hear about their deficiencies until they do.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 3 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Aaron Rodgers: Rodgers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers because he wanted to keep playing, even though he had nothing left to prove in the NFL. He came back for a moment just like the one he had on Sunday.
Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown to Calvin Austin on a third down with 2:16 left and then the Steelers got a fourth-down stop to beat the New England Patriots 21-14. The Patriots gave away the game with two turnovers into the end zone — one on a Drake Maye interception and another on a Rhamondre Stevenson fumble — and Rodgers and the Steelers took advantage.
The Steelers are 2-1, and both wins have been dramatic comebacks. That has to be fun for Rodgers, in what might be his final season.
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Isaiah Rodgers: Rodgers had a half of football that any defensive player would dream of.
In the first half alone, Rodgers beat the Cincinnati Bengals. The Minnesota Vikings cornerback had a pick-6, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and force a second fumble that led to a Jordan Mason touchdown. The Vikings led 34-3 at the half, with Rodgers becoming the first Vikings player ever to score two defensive touchdowns in a game. There’s not much question about who the NFC Defensive Player of the Week will be. The Vikings won 48-10.
It was a big test for both teams, playing backup quarterbacks due to injuries to Joe Burrow and J.J. McCarthy. The Bengals look like they have a lot to worry about with Jake Browning taking over at quarterback. The Vikings didn’t get too much from Carson Wentz, but it might not matter, if the defense keeps making plays.
Andre Szmyt: After Week 1, when Szmyt missed a field goal and extra point that cost the Cleveland Browns a chance to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, there were questions about whether he’d be the Browns kicker for long. He kept his job, and helped Cleveland pull off the first massive upset of the NFL season.
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The Browns defense kept them in the game, and then in the final minute of a tie game Cleveland blocked a field goal. The Browns got enough yardage to give Szmyt a shot at a 55-yard field goal. He nailed it for a walk-off 13-10 win.
The Packers looked like the best team in the NFL through two weeks. The offense couldn’t do much on Sunday and it cost them. The Browns got their first win of the season, and Szmyt was the unlikely hero.
Marcus Mariota: The Washington Commanders bought themselves a week of letting Jayden Daniels rest for his injured knee. They can thank Mariota for that.
Washington invested $8 million in a one-year deal for Mariota, and that paid off Sunday. Mariota wasn’t great but good enough to beat a Las Vegas Raiders team that had to play an early game on the East Coast after playing late on Monday night. Mariota had a rushing touchdown and was efficient passing the ball in the Commanders’ 41-24 win.
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Mariota hadn’t started a game since 2022, but is still a valued backup. He showed his value on Sunday.
LOSERS
Michael Penix Jr. and Falcons offense: The Carolina Panthers gave up the most points in NFL history last season and the defense isn’t much better this season. But it looked like the 2000 Ravens against the Falcons on Sunday.
The Falcons couldn’t score against the Panthers, and that doesn’t look good on Penix, who isn’t off to a great start this season. Penix had two interceptions, including a pick-6, and a passer rating of just 40.5. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Panthers leading 27-0, the Falcons replaced Penix with Kirk Cousins. That will open up a lot of questions for Falcons coach Raheem Morris this week. Carolina won 30-0, with one of the league’s worst defenses getting the shutout. That isn’t a good look for Atlanta.
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Brian Callahan: In the final minute of the second quarter, the Titans trailed 17-6 but had a shot at a 57-yard field goal. Inexplicably, the Titans took a delay of game penalty. That’s inexcusable, especially considering they had two timeouts left and there were only 42 seconds remaining in the first half. The Titans missed a 62-yard field goal after the penalty.
That sums up the Brian Callahan era. The Titans are a sloppy team and at some point that will fall on Callahan. The Indianapolis Colts stayed hot, beating the Titans 41-20 with Jonathan Taylor scoring three touchdowns. The Titans are 0-3 and Callahan looks like the 2025 version of Matt Eberflus, the coach the Chicago Bears kept around for no good reason last season and wasted No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams’ rookie season.
Callahan has shown no signs that he should be the Titans’ coach, dating back to last season. If the Titans don’t show any signs of progress, he might be the first coach fired this season.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans: Again, the Houston Texans’ offense was a mess.
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The Texans are 0-3 after a 17-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Texans offense practically was one big play on Sunday, a 50-yard touchdown to Nico Collins in the fourth quarter that tied the game, and the rest wasn’t good. Collins had a huge fumble in Jacksonville territory, on a great strip by Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell, and that set up the Jagaurs driving downfield for the go-ahead score.
The Texans let Travis Etienne Jr. score the go-ahead touchdown because they wanted Stroud to have a shot to tie it with some time on the clock. But Stroud threw an interception to end the game in the final seconds. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise Houston’s offense couldn’t come up with the big plays it needed, considering it has been stuck in park all season.
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