Ethan Engellau
Sports, Editor
Fly Eagles Fly! The Philadelphia Eagles stand alone as the only undefeated team remaining. The Dolphins also left Week Three without a loss but fell to the Bengals in their Week Four matchup on Thursday Night Football. This leaves only the Eagles with three wins and zero losses. After a Week Two game against the Vikings that many expected to be competitive turned out to be a coming out party for this team, Philadelphia found similar success in Week Three. The Eagles defense came out of this game recording nine sacks, getting the momentum going early with four in the first quarter on road to a 24-8 victory. This lockdown performance left the Commanders with only 50 yards of total offense at the half. Despite the defense’s magnificent play, Devonta Smith stole the show. Smith had eight catches for a career-high 169 yards, making highlight reel catches one after another. The two most notable came right before the end of the first half as Smith “Mossed” two defenders for a 44-yard snag before repeating the act on a touchdown grab with 17 seconds left. Jalen Hurts is showing that he can be effective with his arm as well as his legs and now has the third most passing yards through three weeks this season.
The Eagles next test will come against what to many is the most surprising team of the season. The Indianapolis Colts were ridiculed endlessly after being shut out by the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Two. The Jags quieted that noise after an electrifying 38-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Doug Pederson is the early front runner for Coach of the Year bringing life to a team that was in shambles under Urban Meyer’s dramatic reign. The Jaguars have claimed last place in the AFC South each of the past four seasons but currently sit on top. This game broke an 18-game road losing streak for the franchise and marked their largest margin of victory on the road since 2001. Christian Kirk and Zay Jones who were signed out of free agency this past off-season have been massive contributors. Kirk had six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown while Jones had ten catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. James Robinson continues to break the stigma that Achilles injuries end careers for running backs as he recorded 100 yards on the ground and a touchdown. A team that has been written off as one of the worst franchises in the league has become a matchup circled on every team’s calendars.
The AFC West powerhouse division has been a huge disappointment thus far. The Chiefs are living up to expectations while the Broncos can’t muster more than 16 points, the Chargers are riddled with injuries and the Raiders can’t win. The Las Vegas Raiders are the only winless team remaining. Since 1979, only six teams have started the season zero and three and made the playoffs. The odds are stacked against Las Vegas after a 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans, a game in which they never led. This game, as their others, has presented the Raiders with an opportunity to win at the end as Derek Carr threw a 9-yard strike to Mack Hollins with a minute and 14 seconds remaining. However, the Vegas two-point conversion attempt was broken up by linebacker Dylan Cole sealing their fate. Hollins was a bright spot for this team filling in for the injured Hunter Renfrow with eight catches for 158 yards and the late game touchdown. The Raiders will take another crack at it in Week Four against a vulnerable Broncos team.
Other Week Three Finals:
Nick Chubb recorded 113 yards on the ground while Amari Cooper added 101 yards through the air on route to a 29-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Roquan Smith intercepted Davis Mills with a minute and five seconds remaining, setting up Cairo Santos for a 30-yard game winning field goal as the Bears squeaked by the Texans 23-20.
Rookie tight-end Jelani Woods caught two touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 24 seconds left as the Colts stormed back to upset the Chiefs.
The Buffalo Bills failed to stop the clock at the end of both halves for field goal tries and the Miami Dolphins survived the “butt-punt” in a 21-19 win where the Bills led in every major offensive category.
KJ Osborn got to play hero in Minnesota hauling in a 28-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left as the Vikings rallied past the Lions 28-24.
Lamar Jackson leads the league in passing touchdowns, proving all the doubters wrong as the Ravens bested the Patriots 37-26.
The Bengals got back on track with a routine 27-12 victory over the Jets.
The Panthers snapped their nine-game losing streak dating back to last season as Carolina topped the Saints 22-14.
Marquise Brown broke out as the number one receiver for the Cardinals with 14 catches for 140 yards, but it wasn’t enough as Arizona fell victim to the Los Angeles Rams 20-12.
Cordarrelle Patterson set a new career-high with 141 yards rushing topping his previous career-high that he set in Week One as the Falcons prevailed against the twelfth man and the Seahawks 27-23.
No Mike Evans, no Chris Godwin and no Julio Jones proved to be costly as Tom Brady couldn’t carry the Buccaneers in a 14-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Jerry Jones is getting his quarterback controversy as Cooper Rush is now two and zero as the starter leading the Cowboys to a 23-16 victory over an exciting Giants team.
THE CAROLINIAN 
Leave a Reply