NFL · Week 3 · Sunday wrap
Mariota stuns the champs. Browns go back-to-back. Broncos edge Rams. Bucs fall to 0-3.
Fourteen Sunday finals plus Sunday Night. TNF already in the book — Falcons 35, Packers 14. Monday Night — Eagles at Bears — now final: Bears 27, Eagles 7 (see mnf-bears). Scores and named stats from ESPN / CBS Sports / NFL.com / team wires. Desk colour labelled as such.
Monday Night — final
Bears 27, Eagles 7 at Soldier Field. Keenum started for injured Williams and accounted for three TDs. Desk call hit. Full MNF wrap: mnf-bears.
Week 3 Sunday had a clear headline: Washington, with backup Marcus Mariota, beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 33–31. Desk notes briefly tagged the champs as the Eagles — sourced correction: the defending champs on this slate are Seattle; the Eagles play Chicago on Monday Night. Browns won again. Broncos–Rams went to the wire with unresolved officiating claims. Buccaneers are 0-3. Source: ESPN scoreboard / CBS Sports Week 3; desk colour labelled below.
Sunday scoreboard
Bills 24, Chargers 16 · Browns 21, Panthers 18 · Lions 31, Jets 24 · Colts 19, Texans 17 · Chiefs 24, Dolphins 10 · Giants 12, Titans 7 · Steelers 30, Bengals 27 · Commanders 33, Seahawks 31 · Jaguars 35, Patriots 6 · 49ers 36, Cardinals 30 · Vikings 23, Buccaneers 16 · Ravens 34, Cowboys 31 · Raiders 35, Saints 27 · Broncos 30, Rams 26 (SNF). Source: ESPN / CBS Sports Week 3 scoreboard.
TNF callback: Falcons 35, Packers 14 — already final (Thu 24 Sep). Source: ESPN / Packers.com / CBS.
Biggest upset — Mariota, White TD, champs fall 33–31
Washington 33, Seattle 31 at Northwest Stadium. Marcus Mariota started for injured Jayden Daniels and threw three touchdown passes; linebacker Kain Medrano returned an interception 50 yards for a score. Rachaad White scored the opening touchdown — a 6-yard catch from Mariota — confirming the desk’s fantasy call on White. Three Seattle turnovers fed 21 Commanders points. Desk colour (labelled): Mariota looked stout and found receivers all over the field. Seahawks enter as defending Super Bowl champions; their 12-game win streak dating to that run ended. Commanders move to 1-2; Seahawks to 2-1. Source: ESPN / AP via The Sun Papers; Yahoo Sports recap; Commanders.com video of Mariota-to-White opening TD; desk colour labelled.
Browns — unexpectedly, again
Cleveland 21, Carolina 18. Second straight win; Browns are 2-1. Desk colour: unexpected board after the early weeks — two in a row for Cleveland. Source: ESPN / CBS Sports; desk colour labelled.
Best contest — Broncos 30, Rams 26 (wire)
Denver 30, Los Angeles Rams 26 at Empower Field — Sunday Night. Broncos trailed 16–0 at half and rallied; Bo Nix finished with two passing TDs and a rushing score in the comeback framing from CBS. Desk colour: the best contest on the Sunday slate — down to the wire. Officiating claims (unresolved — not asserted as fact): a late defensive pass-interference call on Rams CB Josh Wallace (erasing an apparent interception) drew public pushback, including NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay saying the receiver initiated contact. Separate late illegal-hands framing and a high Rams penalty count also circulated in recaps. Those are claims and analyst opinions; this desk does not stamp missed calls as fact. Final score and the comeback board stand. Source: CBS Sports / Denver Gazette / ESPN scoreboard; Awful Announcing on McAulay; claims labelled unresolved.
Biggest concern — Buccaneers 0-3
Minnesota 23, Tampa Bay 16. Buccaneers are 0-3 for the first time since 2014 (AP / CBS). Vikings are 3-0. Desk colour / analysis (not a roster or injury diagnosis): the desk’s concern is whether Tampa needs stronger WR depth to help Baker Mayfield — labelled analysis, not a sourced injury or roster fact. Separate sourced note from the Buccaneers wire: Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand late in the game — that is the team/AP report, not desk invention. Source: Buccaneers.com / CBS Sports / AP; desk WR-depth colour labelled separately.
Rest of the Sunday slate
Bills 24–16 Chargers (Bills 3-0; Chargers 0-3). Lions 31–24 Jets. Colts 19–17 Texans (Texans 0-3). Chiefs 24–10 Dolphins (Chiefs 3-0; Dolphins 0-3). Giants 12–7 Titans (Titans 0-3). Steelers 30–27 Bengals — late Boswell kick; Rodgers 292/3 in ESPN framing. Jaguars 35–6 Patriots. 49ers 36–30 Cardinals (49ers 3-0). Ravens 34–31 Cowboys in Rio. Raiders 35–27 Saints (Raiders 3-0). Source: ESPN / CBS Sports Week 3.
TNF callback — Falcons 35, Packers 14
Atlanta closed Thursday Night at Lambeau. Bijan Robinson 194 rush yards and two TDs; Penix returned. Both clubs 1-2 after. Source: Packers.com / CBS / Reuters.
What this item is not
MNF is now final — Bears 27, Eagles 7; see the dedicated wrap on mnf-bears (this Sunday item does not re-score MNF in detail). Desk note that named the Eagles as the defending champs Mariota beat is corrected to Seattle (sourced). No stamp that Broncos–Rams officials “missed” calls — those are labelled unresolved claims/analyst views only. No invented snap counts, diagnoses, or WR depth as roster fact — Bucs WR-depth line is desk analysis. Paid sit/starts stay on the weekly.
Sources: ESPN Week 3 scoreboard (all Sunday finals + SNF Broncos 30–26 Rams; TNF Falcons 35–14 Packers; MNF now final — see mnf-bears; this Sunday wrap held the board at close); CBS Sports Week 3 scoreboard; ESPN Week 3 Sunday takeaways (Commanders–Seahawks early-window framing; Browns second straight); The Sun Papers / AP via ESPN (Mariota 3 TDs; Medrano 50-yd INT return; White 6-yd opening TD); Yahoo Sports (White opening TD; three Seattle turnovers → 21 Commanders points; streak context); Commanders.com (Mariota-to-White opening score video); CBS Rams @ Broncos recap (30–26; trailed 16–0); Awful Announcing / McAulay (DPI claim — unresolved, not asserted); Buccaneers.com / CBS / AP (Vikings 23–16; Bucs 0-3; Mayfield late dislocated thumb); Packers.com (TNF 35–14). Desk colour labelled wherever it is not a box-score fact.