With week 3 of the 2014 NFL season almost over, there are only three undefeated teams remaining: The Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals, all with a 3-0 record.
Losses to the Buffalo Bills (at home against the San Diego Chargers), the Houston Texans (on the road against the New York Giants), the Denver Broncos (on the road in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks) and the Carolina Panthers (at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers) ruined that undefeated bid for four different teams, leaving only three alone at the top after everyone except for the Bears and Jets has already played three games this season.
Of the three teams, the Bengals have been the most dominant. After a road victory in Baltimore to start the season they carried on with a two-touchdown win over the Falcons. The struggling Tennessee Titans weren’t going to pose a problem, and the Bengals beat them 33-7 in a win that included Andy Dalton playing the part of a receiver, catching a touchdown pass. They scored the first 33 points of the game before the Titans managed to get on the board in the fourth quarter.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been remarkable in their perfect record because of how they’ve managed to come back each time. This week it came against division rivals the Washington Redskins, winning 37-34. The Redskins held a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter but failed to show any kind of defensive fortitude past that point. The Eagles have come back from a 10 point deficit or more in each of their three wins so far.
As for the Cardinals, their wins defy logic. They aren’t playing that well, but they’re making the most of penalties being called against them, and it doesn’t matter that they’re playing with Drew Stanton, their backup quarterback. The season began with something of a fluke win over the Chargers, carried on by playing ugly and still winning against the New York Giants and now has improved to 3-0 with a 23-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers to make things very interesting in the NFC West.
As for teams without a win? Three teams are still win-less and look extremely pathetic up to this point: The Jacksonville Jaguars, who just lost 44-17 at home to the Indianapolis Colts; the Oakland Raiders, putting on a respectable performance in New England before losing 16-9; and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also at 0-3, losing 56-14 to the Falcons.