Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have heated exchange in Chiefs win, Eagles make thrilling late comeback: NFL Week 3 Sunday review
Thornton (No. 80) has been a bright spot for the Chiefs through the first three weeks of the season.
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Between division rivalries, playoff rematches and cross-country affairs, Week 3 in the NFL had everything you could want.
Sunday’s action was blighted by a host of quarterback injuries, though, which meant that a number of star players were absent; Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Minnesota’s JJ McCarthy, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Justin Fields of the Jets all missed out.
Here’s everything you need to know from Sunday’s action in Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season.
Kelce and Reid argue as Chiefs get first win
It’s been a frustrating start to the season for the Kansas City Chiefs and, more specifically, their superstar tight end Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs started the new campaign with two losses for the first time since 2014, with Kelce making two critical errors. In Week 1, he accidentally collided with receiver Xavier Worthy and injured his teammate’s shoulder, and in Week 2, his costly bobble of the ball resulted in a critical interception in the defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.
And that discontent seemed to bubble over in Week 3 during Kansas City’s crucial game against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football.
Midway through the second quarter and with the Chiefs leading 6-0, Kelce was seen in a heated discussion with head coach Andy Reid on the sidelines as he left the field.
The two could be seen shouting at one another, with Reid bumping the 35-year-old with his shoulder during the conversation.
After the 22-9 victory for the Chiefs to give last year’s Super Bowl losers their first win of the season, Reid downplayed the incident.
“I love Travis’ passion, man,” Reid told reporters. “I’m OK with that. We didn’t have enough of it in the second quarter. It wasn’t where we needed it to be, so, within reason, he knows when to back off the pedal and knows when to push it, too.
“That’s the part I love about him. The guy is all-in. Sometimes, I have to be the policeman. He’s an emotional guy.”
The moment brought comparisons to a similar incident in the Super Bowl last year, where Kelce pushed Reid so hard he momentarily lost his balance.
And like that moment in Super Bowl LVIII, the fiery encounter between the two veterans seemed to galvanize the Chiefs, not derail the team.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw two second-half touchdown passes and Harrison Butker kicked three field goals as Kansas City were able to put away the Giants to get in the winning column for the first time.
It still wasn’t a vintage Chiefs performance, but they appear to be figuring things out as they go, with the emergence of wide receiver Tyquan Thornton a notable positive.
The 25-year-old had a touchdown and a highlight-reel catch in the fourth quarter to set up a one-yard touchdown run for Kareem Hunt.
Eagles make thrilling late comeback
It’s not always been pretty, but the Philadelphia Eagles have begun their Super Bowl title defense perfectly.
Two heavyweight wins against the Cowboys and Chiefs raised the curtain in emphatic fashion and Week 3 saw Philly face the Los Angeles Rams in what was a rematch of last season’s divisional round match-up in the playoffs.
In that game, it was Saquon Barkley who stole the show with 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns. This time, however, it was the special teams who came away with the headlines.
After what had been a thrilling encounter at Lincoln Financial Field and trailing by one point, the Rams had a 44-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer to clinch an impressive road victory. But the Eagles, and more specifically defensive tackle Jordan Davis, had other ideas.
Davis broke through the Rams protective line and stuck two arms up to block Joshua Karty’s attempt. And to make it even more dramatic, the 336-pounder scooped the ball up and ran it 61-yards to the endzone for a touchdown, sealing a thrilling victory.
“I don’t know what (miles per hour) I hit but I’m pretty sure it was something crazy,” Davis said afterwards. According to Next Gen Stats, Davis ran 18.59 mph, the fastest by a player over 330 pounds since at least 2017.
It was the second blocked field goal for the Eagles in a dramatic fourth quarter in Pennsylvania.
First, Jalen Carter had blocked a Karty effort with the Rams holding a 26-21 lead. A 17-play, 91-yard drive by Philadelphia ended with a Jalen Hurts touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith to give the home team a one-point lead.
And Davis’ late heroics as time expired to seal a 33-26 victory capped off a perfect start to the season for the defending Super Bowl champions having trailed 26-7 midway through the third quarter.
The Eagles’ 19-point comeback was their largest comeback win since Week 15 of the 2010 season, the game known as the Miracle at the Meadowlands II, per the NFL.
Historic achievements across the league
Around the NFL on Sunday, there were important performances not just on the field, but also in the history books.
One of the stories so far this season has been the effectiveness of the Indianapolis Colts offense with new quarterback Daniel Jones at the helm, and they continued their hot start in a 41-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
In their undefeated 3-0 start, the Colts have now scored 103 points and are the No. 1 offense in the league. Those 103 points are more than any Colts team helmed by Peyton Manning ever amassed through the first three weeks of the season.
In his first three starts for the Colts having been cast aside by the Giants, Jones has three passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and zero giveaways. No player in the Super Bowl era has ever begun a season hitting those marks.
“I think we certainly expect to play at a high level. I think every time we step out there, every time we get the ball, we expect to execute and go down the field and score,” Jones told reporters. “So no, I don’t think the expectation changes at any point, whether we’re playing, regardless of how it’s going.
“I mean, that stays that way and we’ll see. There’s still things we got to clean up and work on. I think still some missed opportunities, things that weren’t as sharp as they should have been and we’ll go back, look at that and clean it up.”
Elsewhere, Sunday was a momentous afternoon for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
In the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s 21-14 win over the Patriots, Rodgers connected with DK Metcalf for a 12-yard score. The touchdown pass was the 509th of his storied career, moving into fourth place on the all-time career touchdown passes list and breaking a tie with his former Packers teammate Brett Favre.
The 41-year-old is still some way off the top spot, currently held by Tom Brady with 649 touchdown passes. Drew Brees is in second with 571 and Manning is third with 539.
Finally, the opening three games of the new season has seen a return to form for San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The 29-year-old, who missed 13 games due to injuries in 2024, leads the NFL with 77 offensive touches through Week 3 and is the first player since Thurman Thomas during his 1991 MVP season with at least 50 carries and 25 receptions through three weeks.
McCaffrey has been extremely productive with that opportunity and is averaging 5.1 yards per touch through three games. He is the first player since DeMarco Murray in 2014 to average at least five yards on 75-plus touches through Week 3 in a season.
Week 3 Sunday scores
(Home vs. away, winners in bold)
Carolina Panthers 30-0 Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns 13-10 Green Bay Packers
Jacksonville Jaguars 17-10 Houston Texans
Minnesota Vikings 48-10 Cincinnati Bengals
New England Patriots 14-21 Pittsburgh Steelers
Philadelphia Eagles 33-26 Los Angeles Rams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 29-27 New York Jets
Tennessee Titans 20-41 Indianapolis Colts
Washington Commanders 41-24 Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers 23-20 Denver Broncos
Seattle Seahawks 44-13 New Orleans Saints
Chicago Bears 31-14 Dallas Cowboys
San Francisco 49ers 16-15 Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants 9-22 Kansas City Chiefs
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