My take on the big Eagles victory over Washington, 34-24 I predicted 31-17 Eagles. I have picked all 7 Birds games correctly this season ( but who's counting?).
* It all starts and ends with Quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz had another outstanding game last night, tossing 4 touchdowns and throwing zero interceptions. The Birds didn't commit any turnovers, always a key factor.
Wentz made some pretty remarkable passes against the Redskins. But last night's performance will always be remembered by a third quarter Houdini act, with Wentz somehow escaping a collapsing pocket and breaking free from a pile of players, both Eagles and "Skins. Instead of losing 9 yards, Wentz gained 17 yards with his scramble,keeping a critical drive alive.
He is great, and only in his second year. You need a good QB to take a team to the playoffs and beyond, and Philly has a good, young signal-caller. NFC East rivals Cowboys, Giants and Redskins have to be grinding their teeth, knowing the "Wentz Wagon" may be rolling for 15 seasons or so.
The Cleveland Browns have to be kicking themselves by passing on Wentz in the draft. Come to think of it, the hapless Browns also passed on Jarad Goff They also didn't select DeSaun Watson, who is starring for the Texans. It's no wonder the Browns are always in Football Purgatory.
* Injuries blemished the victory. Jason Peters and Jordan Hicks both sustained major injuries, Peters a knee and Hicks a foot. Both get MRIs this morning. The Eagles are hoping for the best.
But this flock of birds is very resilient. It's the next man up philosophy. Injuries are part of the game. You expect it going into each season, as the Birds have already lost Darrin Sproles and Chris Marogoes for the year. Some players ar irreplaceable, such as Wentz. Otherwise, it's important to have depth and Philadelphia is fortunate to have depth. Kudos to GM Howie Rossman for adding key additions through the draft and free agency.
* There were justified questions about Coach Doug Pederson going into the season. Even in the third game, the home opener, he made a somewhat shaky decision to go for a 4th-and-8 near mid-field at the end of the 1st half.
But winning goes a long way to dispel that non-confidence, and so far, Pederson has made good, solid decisions, and his game-plans have been almost flawless, mixing the pass and run well.
I still hold my breath sometimes on certain occasions, but give the guy credit- Doug Pederson is making Jeffrey Lurie and Rossman look like geniuses.
* The refs were calling too many penalties early on, most on the Eagles ( no surprise there). Either someone got to them at halftime or there weren't as many infractions in the second half, as the refs decided to let the players play. Too many flags breaks up the flow of the game. It almost becomes unwatchable. Add in the frequent breaks for commercials and it's no wonder TV ratings have fallen off for NFL games.
* Mack Hollins caught a long TD pass agains tWashington. I wondered where Hollins had been. Each time he appears on the field he has impressed. He's big and fast and should play more. Trouble is, the receivers have generally done well. Torrey Smith has been a bit of a disappointment. And Marquis Johnson hasn't really contributed yet. Hollins is a valuable special teams guy, especially with Marogoes gone. But hopefully he gets more touches as a wide out.
* After not playing for 11 days, missed tackles early indicated a bit of rust from the defense. Later, the D picked it up, limited the yards after the catch and the front line put a consistent pass rush on Redskin QB Kirk Cousins.
* The up-tempo offense seemed to work well against Washington, which made sense. Washington has given up more points in the last two minutes of each half then any other team in football. So, running the two-minute drill, even in the middle of the game, proved to be effective.
* I was never a big fan of Jon Gruden, both as coach and now analyst.He tried not to show it, but you gotta believe he was secretly pulling for the "Skins, as his brother is head coach and his son is also on the staff.
* So, what does it all mean? The Eagles move to 6-1. They have two more home games on the horizon: this Sunday against 0-7 San Francisco and then the following Sunday vs Denver. They can easily be 8-1 going into their bye week, before traveling to Dallas.
They have swept Washington, making it really tough on the Redskins to win the division. The Eagles have the head-to-head tie-breaker. The Birds are now 3-0 in the NFC East, with two games with the Cowboys and a game at New York on tap.
Meanwhile the Redskins are 3-3, tied with Dallas in the division. Still a long way to go, but realistically, Washington needs to focus on a wild card spot to get into the playoffs. They go home next weekend to play the Cowboys, in a game which will decide who are contenders and who are pretenders.
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