Eagles Make Final Call on Dallas Goedert’s Status for Rams Game
The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are 2-0 after the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, with Saquon Barkley and company getting the best of the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs in consecutive games.
Even though the Eagles were able to start the season off on the right foot, the team didn’t come away with dominant performances, which has led to some concern about this NFC heavyweight heading into Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
Eagles Dealing With a Few Key Injuries Ahead of Week 3
Although the Eagles are not as banged up as many other teams around the league after two weeks, the team does have one notable name from the offensive side of the football still on Friday’s injury report. Veteran tight end Dallas Goedert was on the report due to a knee injury he’s dealing with, along with Jalen Carter (shoulder) and Byron Young (forehead laceration), who all participated fully in practice and will play against the Rams.
This is obviously great news for the Eagles against a team that will definitely pose a challenge on both sides of the football on Sunday. Both the Rams and Eagles are undefeated coming into this matchup and appear to be teams that could be Super Bowl title contenders during the 2025 campaign.
The Eagles were without their starting tight end for the Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs in Week 2. Philadelphia came out on top against Patrick Mahomes and company, regardless, with tight ends Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson catching just two passes combined.
However, the passing game wasn’t exactly working up to its potential for the Eagles against the Chiefs, with star quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing for only 101 yards. Hurts threw just 22 passes against Kansas City, with DeVonta Smith being the leading receiver on the squad with four catches for 53 yards, while A.J. Brown caught five passes for 27 yards.
Goedert Makes Eagles Passing Game More Dynamic
Goedert definitely has more of an impact when on the field and healthy, as he’s considered a threat in the passing game, along with star wideouts Smith and Brown. In the season opener against the Cowboys, he caught seven passes for 44 yards.
Last season, Goedert played in 10 regular-season games, finishing with 42 receptions for 496 yards and two touchdowns. During the NFL playoffs, he played in four games, racking up 17 catches for 215 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Although Goedert can do damage as a passcatcher, he seems to be more focused on blocking Rams’ defensive ends, Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner, as he made clear when speaking to reporters in the locker room on Wednesday.
“They’ve got two really good defensive ends, we’ll have to make sure we’re on our Ps and Qs with,” Goedert said. “They are both really good players. High-motor guys. They’ve got a lot of techniques that they can use to win, so that’s kind of what I’m focused on this week.”
Goedert and the Eagles will have their work cut out for them against the Rams, with the defending champions potentially having everything to lose, while a win for Los Angeles would put them on the map as a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the NFC this season.
Ja’Marr Chase Goes After Justin Jefferson Before Vikings-Bengals
At the heart of the NFL’s No. 1 wide receiver debate, Ja’Marr Chase appears adamant about making former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson his rival.
With the Cincinnati Bengals approaching a Week 3 road matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Chase was asked if it would be “allowed” for him to do the “Griddy,” Jefferson’s trademark touchdown celebration.
Chase didn’t have plans to, but with the idea in the air, he showed some consideration — but only if it would upset Jefferson.
“I mean, if he doesn’t want me to do it, I wanna do it,” Chase said. “If he doesn’t want me to do it, then I’m gonna do it, purposely. I wanna piss him off.”
Justin Jefferson Speaks on Rivalry With Ja’Marr Chase Entering Vikings-Bengals Week 3
Since entering the NFL, the former college teammates have paced the NFL as two of the league’s top receivers. Last season, Chase won the triple crown, leading the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17). He also became the first receiver to surpass 1,700 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in a single season.
Meanwhile, Jefferson has been the epitome of consistency, posting the most receiving yards by any player in his first five seasons (7,432).
There are convincing arguments for each player to be named better than the other; however, this week could be a meaningful eye test as both Jefferson and Chase will be playing without their starting quarterbacks. Joe Burrow is out with a toe injury, while J.J. McCarthy is not expected to play after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 2.
“It’s always extra when you have a player like that that’s top in the league just as well as I am,” Jefferson said Thursday before the game. “Of course, that competitive aspect is there, but at the end of the day, it’s about our team and it’s about winning.”
#Vikings WR Justin Jefferson on facing #Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase:
“It’s always extra when you have a player like that, that’s top in the league just as well as I am… At the end of the day, it’s about our team and winning. As long as those 2 things are done, then I’m happy… pic.twitter.com/NmJ115bsrL
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) September 18, 2025
Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase? Ranking the NFL WRs by the Numbers
Approaching Sunday’s matchup, CBS Sports’ Douglas Clawson did a deep dive into the No. 1 receiver debate with Jefferson and Chase.
In summary, Jefferson has an edge as the best pure route-runner in the league:
Jefferson is the best route runner in the NFL. He leads the NFL in yards per route run (2.63) since entering the league in 2020. Chase ranks in the top 10 (2.27). He’s an elite separator. His career explosive catch rate is actually significantly higher than Chase’s (25% vs. 17%). OK, so Jefferson’s route running has to be phenomenal if he’s going to outpace Chase in that category, given what our eyes tell us about Chase’s otherworldly athleticism.
Jefferson might also have the best hands in the NFL. His career drop rate of 4.3% is lower than Ja’Marr Chase’s at 5.5%…
There’s also the argument that Jefferson has averaged more yards per game than any player in league history without a top-10 quarterback.
“Ja’Marr Chase averages 91.4 receiving yards per game with Burrow in his career and 58.4 in seven games with Jake Browning and Brandon Allen (six of those were started by Browning). Obviously, a smaller sample, but I think that illustrates the value of a superstar quarterback to a degree,” Clawson added.
Chase’s case centers around being the best playmaker in the NFL. His combination of size and speed has helped him lead the league in yards after catch (2,505) and become one of the greatest finishers in league history — posting the most 60-yard touchdowns before turning 26 in league history (12).
For comparison, Jefferson’s play style can be likened to Jerry Rice, while Chase’s playmaking is more akin to Randy Moss in this debate.
Overall, Clawson gave Jefferson the slight edge due to rivaling Chase’s production without the benefits of a superstar quarterback.
Jefferson has also done so despite opposing defenses completely selling out to stop him, boasting the highest double-team rates by a landslide from the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
