When the Philadelphia Eagles found themselves trailing the Los Angeles Rams 26-7 early in the third quarter, most observers thought the game was effectively over. By the final whistle, however, the Eagles had pulled off a 33–26 comeback capped by Jordan Davis’s last-second blocked field goal return. It was history—the first time the Eagles blocked two field goals in a game in 17 years.

But that’s not the only thing that stood out.

Tush push under fire again amid refereeing inconsistencies

From the very start, controversy was brewing with all eyes on what is now the Eagles’ signature play. In the first quarter, on a fourth-and-1 at the Rams’ 3-yard line, the Eagles ran the tush push. Right guard Tyler Steen appeared to move before the snap, which, by the rules, is a false start, yet no flag came. The Eagles converted the first down and later punched in a 1-yard touchdown with yet another successful tush push. Analysts were quick to note the missed call, with rules analyst Mike Pereira pointing out that, in slow motion, Steen clearly jumped early. 

“It is a difficult play to officiate … in real time, it probably didn’t look like much, but it was a false start,” Pereira said.

While the Philadelphia Eagles got away with another false start. In the first quarter, the New Orleans Saints tried a tush push and were called for moving too early. On fourth-and-less-than-one, New Orleans made a strong attempt but was flagged before they could get the ball over the line.

This was not an isolated event; following similar missed calls in Week 2, the NFL had already directed officials to keep a closer eye on tush push plays. Although the Eagles’ command of the formation is still effective, the erratic refereeing fueled the ongoing discussion about whether the play goes too far.

Jalen Hurts led from the front

Get this. Jalen Hurts was 4 of 8 for 17 yards at halftime. But when the dust settled on the final quarter, his numbers read 21 of 32 for 226 yards and three touchdowns. 

As the numbers suggest, the Eagles QB, coming off a tough couple of games, went into overdrive in the second half, connecting with WR A.J. Brown six times for 109 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, TE Dallas Goedert’s sole reception in the game was a crucial one—a 33-yard touchdown reception to cap a 5-play, 79-yard drive that cut the Rams’ lead to 26-14, and triggered a momentum shift. Finally, the game was sealed with Hurts finding DeVonta Smith in the 4th quarter for a 4-yard touchdown with 1:48 remaining, giving the Eagles a 27–26 lead. 

Eagles’ defense rose to the occasion

Jalen Hurts’ heroics set the stage, but the defense made sure the victory would stick. With 8:46 left in the game, Jalen Carter blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt by Rams kicker Joshua Karty, preventing Los Angeles from extending their lead.

And Jordan Davis didn’t just block the field goal attempt that could have won the Rams the game. Known for his size at 336 pounds, the defensive tackle returned it 61 yards for the final touchdown, and created a record while he was at it.

“Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who blocked a potential game-winning field goal and returned it for a touchdown as time expired, reached a top speed of 18.59 mph on the return, the fastest speed by a player over 330 pounds since at least 2017,” Next Gen Stats shared on X. The Eagles made it a legit showdown with a game-winning touchdown, an improbable finish that had fans and players in disbelief.  

When the record was highlighted to him, Davis joked, “I ain’t run that fast since my 40 (yard dash).” 

Davis also recorded five tackles and the only sack for the Eagles. Moreover, he was great alongside Jalen Carter and co. as they stuffed the Rams on a key 4th-and-short. These plays were essential in keeping Philadelphia within striking distance and allowed Hurts’ late-game heroics to matter.

Saquon Barkley had a quiet outing again

Saquon Barkley ran for just 46 yards on 18 carries, averaging 2.6 rushing yards. Not at all flashy, especially not for someone who finished with 255 yards rushing against the same opponent last year in November. Over the opening two games, he had rushed for a total of 148 yards on 40 carries. Nevertheless, he had a clutch carry on 3rd-and-3 to pick up the first down and set up the Eagles’ touchdown.

Sean McVay’s Rams collapsed late, raising red flags

The Rams fought back after the interception on the opening possession with six straight scoring drives. It stretched into the third quarter and gave them a seemingly insurmountable 26-7 lead in the third quarter. But it was all downhill from there. 

The loss of Ahkello Witherspoon at cornerback to a broken clavicle proved too costly, as replacements Darious Williams and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. were no match for Brown and Smith. In fact, Smith was near perfect, grabbing 8 out of 9 targets for an average of 7.5 yards. But then again, the entirety of the blame cannot fall on the defense.

The Rams were way too reliant on field goals. And while they converted four of their attempts, they finished just 1 for 4 on converting their red zone drives into touchdowns. Head coach Sean McVay was justifiably not happy. “Ultimately, not being able to finish in the red area, we weren’t good enough on third downs, some uncharacteristic things that we could execute on,” the coach told the media after the game.

“And then credit to them, they ended up making some plays, they got back in it.” Yeah, that sums it up all right.