Sportsnaut
NFL Week 3 in the 2025 season is in the books and offered up quite a few surprises. But which were the biggest stunners this weekend? We look to answer that question with our rundown of the 10 biggest NFL Week 3 surprises.
Week 3 in the 2025 NFL season was wild because not one, not two, but three field goals were blocked late in close games. The Cleveland Browns blocked a field goal late that would have given the Green Bay Packers the lead. The New York Jets returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but still lost. While the Philadelphia Eagles’ blocked field goal and touchdown closed a wild come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Rams. Overall, five field goals were blocked on Sunday, two returned for TDs.
There were quite a few surprising results in NFL Week 3. And the Chicago Bears running through the Dallas Cowboys was one of them. After some underwhelming performances to begin the season, young QB Caleb Williams looked outstanding as he tossed for just under 300 yards and four TDs against the ‘Boys struggling defense. However, the Bears’ defense also surprisingly pushed around the Dallas offense and limited them to just 14 points.
The Browns’ block on the Packers was a massive moment in the biggest upset in NFL Week 3. The Packers entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the league in what seemed like the early stages of their march to the Super Bowl. However, they hit a wall in Cleveland’s defense — which is eighth in our latest rankings. Their pass rush took advantage of injuries to the Pack’s O-line and hounded Jordan Love all day. With the team on the brink of a 0-3 start, the defense carried them to a huge first win this season.
There was speculation all week about the Atlanta Falcons trading Kirk Cousins. Since several teams around the league were starting backups in Week 3 and Michael Penix Jr. seemed entrenched in the role. Then Sunday came. The former first-round pick had a nightmare performance as he connected on just 18 of his 36 passes for 172 yards, 0 touchdowns, and interceptions. It forced head coach Raheem Morris to bring in Cousins. And potentially start a QB controversy after a 30-0 loss on Sunday.
Speaking of backup QBS, the Minnesota Vikings vs. Cincinnati Bengals game was a clash of QB understudies between Carson Wentz and Jake Browning. However, the NFC team got a far better performance. The former first-round pick missed on just six of his 20 passes and led the Vikes to a pair of first-quarter TD drives. While they scored 48 on Sunday because of the outstanding play of their defense, Wentz helped bring...
