Flying in face of logic
Yet Eagles aren’t the only comeback team
Thanks in large part to the Eagles, wild comebacks are becoming an every-week staple of the NFL this season.
Philadelphia kept its record perfect Sunday when it rallied from a large deficit for a third straight week to beat Washington, 37-34. The Eagles became the first team ever to start 3-0 after being down by 10 or more points in each of the games.
After last Monday’s fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Colts, coach Chip Kelly warned that the Eagles wouldn’t keep winning if the slow starts continued. But that didn’t apply Sunday when they fell behind, 17-7, in the second quarter.
“I know Coach Kelly is losing some hair,” said rookie receiver Jordan Matthews, who had eight catches and two touchdowns to help power the win.
There have been nine games in the first three weeks in which the winner came back from a deficit of at least 10 points.
The Cowboys joined that party Sunday when they rallied from 21-0 down at St. Louis to claim a 34-31 win. And the Cowboys’ victory extended another comeback streak. There have now been four games through three weeks in which teams came back from a deficit of at least 17 points.
Dallas overwhelmed St. Louis in the air, on the ground, and on defense, as Bruce Carter’s 25-yard interception return provided the game-icing score. But the comeback did not impress QB Tony Romo.
“We were able to execute under pressure or whatever you want to say, blah, blah, blah,” Romo said. “We got it done.”
It was the second win in a row for the Cowboys. The warts that led to the 21-0 deficit notwithstanding, coach Jason Garrett was pleased with the grit of his team, which now must gird for a stretch against the Saints and Texans and at Seattle.
“It’s a sign of maturity in a team,” Garrett said of the comeback. “That’s what you have to do.”
Bad news bearer
It’s still far too early to project the playoff field, but it’s fair to start identifying teams who don’t look like they’ll sniff the playoff race.
There’s a huge dropoff in the probability of reaching the playoffs among teams that start 0-2 vs. teams that start 0-3. Only three teams have made the postseason since 1990 after 0-3 starts.
So that’s bad news for the Raiders, Jaguars, and Buccaneers, who all sank to their third straight loss this week. There were four 0-2 teams that won Sunday (Indianapolis, New Orleans, NY Giants, Kansas City), and they felt extra pressure to win this weekend and show they weren’t headed into a lost season.
“It does take a lot of pressure off and a lot of weight has been lifted off our shoulders,” Saints running back Pierre Thomas said. “It’s the start of a change.”
Two weeks ago the Dolphins were riding high after beating the Patriots in the opener. Now they’ve lost two straight and are one of four teams (along with the Titans, Vikings and 49ers) who are 1-2 after opening weekend wins. Conversely, the Patriots, Ravens, and Chargers are all now 2-1 after losing their openers.
Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Arizona remain the only undefeated teams after losses by Buffalo, Houston, and Denver. More than 75 percent of teams that start 3-0 have made the playoffs since 1990.
Different route
Some quarterbacks can do it all. On Sunday, we saw a couple try.
The Bengals’ Andy Dalton and the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson both caught passes on designed plays.
Dalton, after pitching to Mohamed Sanu, caught a pass on the left side and lumbered 10 yards — complete with a dive for the pylon — for the Bengals’ first touchdown. He was aided by Titans cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson misplaying the ball.
In Seattle, Wilson ran a similar route for a 17-yard catch that set up an opening field goal for the Seahawks.
Also, Johnny Manziel sneaked into the game against the Ravens and hauled in a 39-yard catch for the Browns, only to have it negated by a penalty. And Derek Carr lined up wide with Darren McFadden set for the snap before a Raiders timeout wiped out the play.