Trending 📉 📈 after NFL’s Week 3 and Browns’ shocker, Eagles’ comeback

Inside: Risers and fallers after a busy Sunday that brought some dancing by an 0-3 coach.

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Week 3 Risers

Let’s start with the Browns, whose shocking 13-10 comeback win over the Packers came just days after Green Bay’s left tackle Rasheed Walker said, “I think we can go undefeated.”

On cue, Walker and the Packers’ offensive line struggled, allowing five sacks and pressure on nearly half of Jordan Love’s dropbacks. Green Bay’s run game contributed nothing (Josh Jacobs took 16 carries for 30 yards) and Love’s turnover concerns materialized when he threw an awful fourth-quarter interception from his own 25-yard line.

Cleveland blocked a game-winning field goal attempt in the final 25 seconds, and its offense needed just an 11-yard drive for Browns kicker Andre Szmyt, a cut candidate after Week 1, to end it with a 55-yard field goal as the clock expired. True story: The Browns might have the league’s best defense.

The 2-1 Packers (in Dallas next week) remain the only NFL team yet to trail during any game — since the loss came as time expired — while the Browns (at Detroit) are 1-2 after upsetting the 8.5-point favorites despite trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter. As for Walker, he told ESPN’s Rob Demovsky that he’s never talking to reporters again.

Goodbye, survivor leagues. Hello, positivity in Cleveland. Other Week 3 risers/fallers:

📈 Comeback wins. The Browns’ victory might’ve been the biggest surprise, but it wasn’t yesterday’s most impressive come-from-behind win.

Most impressive: The Eagles, who had negative passing yards in the first half (!) and trailed the Rams 26-7 in the third quarter before Jalen Hurts made good things happen by finding A.J. Brown, who caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. “I just got the ball,” Brown said postgame. “I think it’s that simple.”

Philly moved to 3-0 after defensive tackle Jordan Davis blocked and returned a potential game-winning kick. Run, big fella!

Must-win: Down 20-13 to the Broncos with less than three minutes in regulation, the Chargers moved to 3-0 thanks to surgical fourth-quarter drives from the oft-pressured Justin Herbert and a clutch, game-winning kick by Cameron Dicker.

They’ll likely extend their lead in the hyper-competitive AFC West with a win against the 0-3 Giants on Sunday, while 1-2 Denver gets to beat up on my Bengals.

Most painful: No Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings … no problem, as backup quarterback Mac Jones has the 49ers 3-0 and atop the NFC West.

Can they continue to win without All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa? He might’ve dodged an ACL tear, but could still miss time after exiting with a knee injury.

📈 Fun in Chicago. Head coach Ben Johnson had the Bears’ passing game rolling in their 31-14 win over the Cowboys; Caleb Williams finished with 298 passing yards, four touchdowns and a career-high passer rating of 142.6. Even when D’Andre Swift nearly botched a flea flicker, Williams still hit the 65-yard pass to rookie receiver Luther Burden III. Tom Brady loved it.

📈 Dan Quinn’s toughness. 55-year-olds shouldn’t get up after taking a hit like the Commanders’ coach absorbed during their 41-24 win over the Raiders, but as center Tyler Biadasz said, Quinn (a former college D-lineman!) is “a bad m—– —–.” Washington is 2-1 while Vegas drops to 1-2.

📈 Sam Darnold, and the next of his archetype. Darnold finished 14-of-18 through the air with 218 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers, leading the Seahawks to a dominant 44-13 win over the Saints. “That’s just a little taste,” said receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Meanwhile, “this year’s Darnold” continues to play like one of the league’s best quarterbacks. Daniel Jones completed 18-of-25 passes for 228 yards as the Colts had six scoring drives and just one punt — their first of the season — during their 41-20 win over Tennessee. All it took was a decent supporting cast?!

Indy is 3-0, but its three opponents have a combined 1-8 record. If Indiana Jones passes next week’s test against the 2-1 Rams, then Giants, who cut Jones last year, should probably clean house.

Week 3 Fallers

📉 Dancing, 0-3 Jets. After defensive end Will McDonald made the best play of his career, blocking and returning a field goal to help the Jets take a 27-26 lead with less than two minutes remaining, Aaron Glenn couldn’t contain himself:

It was the rare celebration from a head coach in New York, and though there were many moments worth celebrating for Glenn during a near comeback from down 20-6, his Jets seem limited to moral victories: Baker Mayfield quickly marched the now 3-0 Buccaneers 49 yards for the game-winning field goal. It was personal for Mayfield, of course. Next week’s matchup in Miami could bring New York’s first win, though the Jets are 2.5-point underdogs.

📉 “It’ll be OK.” The Cowboys defense lost Micah Parsons, and Jerry Jones said it would be fine. Dallas is 1-2, has just four sacks and is allowing 30.7 points per game. Guess which former Cowboys superstar they face next week?

After the Bengals saw Joe Burrow go down, many pointed to Jake Browning’s 4-3 record in 2023 as a reason for hope. The Vikings promptly intercepted Browning twice, forced what felt like 300 fumbles and handed Cincinnati the worst loss in franchise history: 48-10. Unfortunately for Bengals fans like myself, there are still 14 games to play this season.

Elsewhere, the Falcons were facing the 0-2 Panthers, who fielded the league’s worst defense and an injured offensive line. Naturally, Atlanta scored zero points and had only one sack. What was easily the worst game of Michael Penix Jr.’s career overshadowed their weak pass rush and kicking woes.

📉 Texans’ offense. Houston, now 0-3 after a 17-10 loss to the Jaguars, needs help from its offense. But C.J. Stroud’s sophomore slump has continued into year three, with his QBR ranking 26th. Stroud must be better than his dismal Sunday in next week’s game against the 0-3 Titans.

📉 Russell Wilson’s future. “We want Dart” chants rang out across MetLife Stadium in the first half of the Giants’ 22-9 loss to the Chiefs last night, and the echo carried to Monday after the 36-year-old Wilson finished with just 160 yards and two interceptions in a dreadful performance.

With the Giants now 0-3, I’d expect New York to wait until after its Week 4 matchup against the undefeated Chargers before throwing Dart in. Meanwhile, Travis Kelce had a heated exchange with Andy Reid, again.

📉 NFL’s independent spotters. It took zero medical training for me to confidently call it a concussion after the back of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s head bounced off the turf and he immediately raised his hands to his helmet, implying a head injury.

There’s a protocol for this, but I must’ve been wrong: Maye wasn’t examined and didn’t miss a snap. He promptly threw a brutal interception on a wide-open end-zone look two plays later. Hmmm. When asked about the potential concussion, Maye explained that he was OK and “learned from last year, if you get banged up, you’ve got to get back up quick or they’ll spot you.” Hmmmmmmm.

Two Rhamondre Stevenson fumbles also cost the 1-2 Patriots in their 21-14 loss to the Steelers, who are tied with the Bengals atop the AFC North at 2-1. More takeaways from that game here.

Tonight: Lions-Ravens

I assume you’ll also be glued to your TV starting at 8:15 p.m. ET tonight, when the Ravens (-4.5) host the Lions in the first matchup between the Super Bowl contenders since Baltimore’s 38-6 blowout win midway through the 2023 season.

Detroit can’t stop thinking about Lamar Jackson. That’s understandable, as Jackson had 357 passing yards and four total touchdowns in their last meeting.

“Lamar is the catalyst,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s the guy that makes it go. He can do so many things.”

“I’ve gotten a lack of sleep this week due to him,” Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard joked.

The key to tonight’s game will be Detroit’s ability to pressure and contain Jackson, a big ask for a Lions defense that ranks 26th in pressure rate. If they fail, expect a track meet between Jackson and Jared Goff as both teams try to avoid a 1-2 start.

Extra Points

👀 Steelers defense in decline? In today’s Pick Six column, Mike Sando explains why Pittsburgh’s defense is off to its third-worst three-game start during the Mike Tomlin era.

🏈 Anyone but Mahomes. The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor explains how one recovered fumble illustrated why no one wants to play the 1-2 Chiefs in January or February.

📓 What we learned. Zak Keefer shares his takeaways from the full Sunday slate.

▶️ Friday’s most-clicked: The remarkable story on Mike Evans, who also exited Sunday’s game early with a hamstring injury.

🎙 Watch a Week 3 recap. “The Athletic Football Show” breaks down a dramatic Sunday, starting with the Eagles’ comeback win over the Rams.

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(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)

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