NFL Week 3 Overreactions: Are The Eagles A Fraud?

W.G. Ramirez September 29, 2026 Fact checked by: Matt Moreno No Comments

Week 3 of the NFL season ended with a surprising result in Chicago resulting in plenty of hot takes. TeamFB7 helps you decide which overreactions are valid and which ones are not.

Three weeks into the NFL season, the unbeaten teams are demanding respect and the winless teams are running out of patience. Las Vegas and Kansas City are headed for a meeting of 3-0 rivals. Buffalo survived a five-turnover afternoon. Houston and the Chargers remain winless.

Then Monday night delivered the result most likely to send everyone back to their power rankings: Chicago beat Philadelphia 27-7 with third-string quarterback Case Keenum making his first NFL appearance since 2023.

Week 3 offered reasons to believe in surprising teams and reasons to worry about established contenders. But an impressive result can become a reckless prediction by the time the postgame show ends.

Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Lincoln Financial Field on November 28, 2025 in Philadelphia, United States.
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Did the Bears find an answer at quarterback? Did the Eagles reveal a fatal flaw? Are the Raiders ready to take the AFC West?

Ranking The Top NFL Overreactions From Week 3

Here are the 10 loudest overreactions after Monday Night Football, ranked from tempting exaggeration to full-scale September hysteria.

Related Stories

10. Denver’s comeback fixed its offense

The overreaction: Erasing a scoreless first half to beat the Rams means the Broncos have found their rhythm.

The reality: The 30-26 victory showed resolve and gave Denver a valuable win against a dangerous opponent. It did not make the first half disappear. The Broncos cannot count on a second-half rescue every week, particularly against teams that protect a lead more effectively. Their next game will immediately test whether Sunday night was a turning point or a thrilling exception.

Up Next: Denver visits unbeaten San Francisco on Sunday. Another slow start against the 49ers could leave too much ground to recover.

9. Jacksonville is suddenly an AFC powerhouse

The overreaction: Beating New England 35-6 proves the Jaguars are ready to challenge the conference’s best.

The reality: Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, and Jacksonville delivered one of Week 3’s most complete performances. A 29-point win deserves more than a polite nod. Still, the next step is consistency. The Jaguars have shown what their offense and defense can look like together; now they must reproduce it away from home against an opponent eager to recover from a close division loss.

Up Next: Jacksonville travels to Cincinnati on Sunday, a sharper test of whether its Week 3 dominance carries over on the road.

8. Washington has found its quarterback answer

The overreaction: Marcus Mariota’s 3 touchdown passes against the defending champions make Washington’s quarterback questions irrelevant.

The reality: Mariota deserves credit for leading the Commanders past Seattle, 33-31, and delivering their first victory. He kept Washington dangerous in a game many expected the Seahawks to control. But a brilliant fill-in performance does not settle the position or repair a defense that allowed 31 points. The Commanders found a way to win Sunday; whether they found a repeatable formula remains open.

Up Next: Washington faces Indianapolis in London on Sunday. Mariota and the offense may again need to produce in a tight game.

7. Seattle has been exposed

The overreaction: Losing to a previously winless Washington team proves the Seahawks are vulnerable champions who cannot repeat.

The reality: Allowing 33 points is a concern, and losing to a Commanders team using Mariota demands a defensive review. But Seattle scored 31 and lost by two. A narrow road defeat does not erase the qualities that carried the Seahawks through their winning streak. It does put pressure on them to respond, especially with an opponent coming to town that also urgently needs a win.

Up Next: Seattle hosts the 0-3 Chargers on Sunday. The Seahawks’ defense gets a chance to answer its Week 3 critics.

6. The Chargers’ season is already lost

The overreaction: An 0-3 start and another defeat against an AFC contender mean Los Angeles can forget about the playoffs.

The reality: Losing 24-16 in Buffalo hurts, and three losses create a real standings problem. Yet the Chargers faced the Bills on the road and had opportunities before late mistakes ended their comeback hopes. The record demands urgency; it does not prove this roster is incapable of recovering. What happens next will tell us far more than a September obituary would.

Up Next: Los Angeles visits Seattle on Sunday. An 0-4 start would make the path back considerably steeper.

5. Buffalo can overcome anything

The overreaction: Winning despite five turnovers means the Bills are so good they can afford to be careless.

The reality: Buffalo’s 24-16 victory over the Chargers showed toughness. Josh Allen scored twice on the ground, and the Bills found a way to win a game their mistakes could have given away. But five turnovers are a warning, not a badge of invincibility. Against a stronger finishing performance from an opponent, the same afternoon could have produced a very different headline.

Up Next: Buffalo hosts New England on Sunday. The Bills can strengthen their 3-0 start by taking better care of the ball.

4. Houston is headed for a total collapse

The overreaction: Falling to 0-3 after another close loss proves the Texans’ season is finished.

The reality: Houston’s 19-17 defeat in Indianapolis was painful because the Texans were close enough to win. Their offensive problems have lasted long enough to be treated as real, and moral victories will not help them climb out of the standings. Still, a 2-point road loss shows a team struggling to finish, not that every part of its season is beyond repair. The next game brings both a rivalry and a chance to stop the slide.

Up Next: Houston hosts Dallas on Sunday. The Texans need a complete offensive performance and, above all, their first win.

3. The Raiders are taking the AFC West

The overreaction: Three wins under Klint Kubiak mean Las Vegas has already completed its turnaround and is the division’s new team to beat.

The reality: The Raiders have earned the noise. They scored 35 in New Orleans to move to 3-0, and their ability to finish games looks substantially different from last season. Kirk Cousins and a healthier receiving group give Las Vegas reasons to believe its start can last. But Kansas City is also 3-0. The Raiders have established themselves as a division threat; claiming the division requires beating the team that has defined it.

Up Next: Kansas City visits Las Vegas on Sunday. The winner will stand alone atop the AFC West, making this the Raiders’ clearest measuring stick yet.

2. Case Keenum should keep the Bears’ starting job

The overreaction: Keenum’s 27-7 demolition of Philadelphia means Chicago has discovered its answer at quarterback.

The reality: In his first appearance since 2023, Keenum completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns, added a rushing score and did not throw an interception. Chicago’s defense forced 3 takeaways. It was an exceptional performance under difficult circumstances, especially with quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent unavailable. It was also one game. Keenum gave the Bears exactly what they needed Monday; what it means for the quarterback depth chart depends in part on Williams’ health and what happens next.

Up Next: Chicago hosts the Jets on Sunday. Keenum’s encore, if he is needed, will draw far more scrutiny after this national-stage breakthrough.

1. Philadelphia has been exposed as a fraud

The overreaction: Getting blown out by Chicago’s third-string quarterback proves the Eagles were never true NFC contenders.

The reality: Monday’s loss was ugly enough to invite that verdict. Philadelphia managed only 7 yards on its first three possessions of the second half, committed 10 penalties and finished with 7 points. Jalen Hurts threw for 153 yards and an interception, while Keenum repeatedly found answers against the Eagles’ defense. Those are substantial concerns, particularly for a 2-0 team expected to impose its will. But Philadelphia is 2-1, and one disastrous night doesn’t define its ceiling. The response against another NFC contender will reveal whether Monday exposed a persistent problem or produced the season’s worst outlier.

Up Next: The Eagles host the Rams on Sunday. It is an immediate chance to show the Bears game was a setback instead of a warning about what is coming.

W.G. Ramirez is a veteran sports writer from Las Vegas and a Staff Writer at TeamFB7.com. Follow him on X at @WillieGRamirez.

Editor's Pick
NFL Power Rankings Week 3: Rams Still Team To Beat But Super Bowl Race Is CrowdedNFL Power Rankings Week 3: Rams Still Team To Beat But Super Bowl Race Is Crowded

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.