He’s baaaaaaaack.
In a game that was wayyyy too close, the Philadelphia Eagles won their first game of the 2019 NFL season, beating the Washington Redskins by a final score of 32-27.
The good:
DeSean Jackson: Could he have played better in his first game back Philadelphia? The reunion was splendid, as Jackson caught eight balls for 154 yards and two massive touchdowns. Rumors of Carson Wentz and Jackson’s connection throughout training camp proved to be true today. The two looked electric on the field today. One side note: Jackson did have a dumb personal foul penalty on the Eagles first drive, but he more than made up for this throughout the game.
Carson Wentz: Despite a rough start, Wentz was able to shake it off and show flashes of his 2017 season. Wentz completed 71% of his passes and threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns. More importantly, Wentz had ZERO turnovers, something he’s struggled with in the past. Though his deep balls to DeSean were a bit under thrown, looked pretty sharp elsewhere.
Jordan Howard: Between veteran Darren Sproles, rookie Miles Sanders and newcomer Jordan Howard, it was Howard who looked the most dominant. Though Sproles led the team in rushing with 47 yards, Howard wasn’t too far behind with 44 yards (not to mention he had three less carries than Sproles). Howard ran through Washington defenders, read his holes correctly, and always fell forward. We didn’t see a lot of him today, most likely because it was his first game in a new system. But I have to believe Doug Pederson finds ways to incorporate him into the playbook a lot more moving forward.
The bad:
The Eagles swiss cheese of a defense: Midway through the second quarter, it was 17-0 Washington. Though it’s nice to see that this team doesn’t give up easily, the first quarter and a half of football was some of the most infuriating I’ve ever watched. All the expectation of this team stomping the Redskins was quickly replaced with fear that they might actually lose to this measly Redskins team. Case Keenum effectively did what he wanted to the Eagles throughout the first half.
This play to Vernon Davis:
No description necessary. Just all around poor tackling on the very first drive of the game. Another thing: Andrew Sendejo played poorly today, but his recklessness almost took Rodney McLeod’s head off, effectively costing McLeod a chance to save this from being a touchdown.
The Eagles secondary: Particularly against Terry McLaurin. The speedster from Ohio State repeatedly ran straight past Rasul Douglas, Sidney Jones, Ronald Darby and McLeod downfield. The only reason Malcolm Jenkins is not included on this list is because he played in the box throughout most of the day. McLaurin burned the Douglas in the first half with a 70-yard touchdown. He almost blew by Jones for a 73-yard touchdown, but an over thrown ball by Keenum kept that from happening. It almost seemed as though the secondary simply couldn’t keep up with McLaurin, however there were also missed assignments, poor positioning, and poor execution throughout the game.
The Eagles pass rush: Something didn’t look right. The Eagles to their credit had nine hurries, but they only resulted in ONE measly sack to a team that supposedly has the worst offensive line in the league. There’s a lot of speculation that Fletcher Cox might not be fully healthy, and based on today’s performance, that speculation might be correct. Fletch simply wasn’t as dominant as he’s been in the past. The double teams worked. The single teams worked. While we’re on the pass rush, Derek Barnett played flat out stupid football. A blatant roughing the passer call gave Washington life after being stopped on third down. An offsides negated a false start penalty and as a result allowed Washington to attempt an easier field goal. This is Barnett’s third year; he has to play smarter than he did today.
The I don’t know’s:
Doug Pederson: Though Pederson was able to rally the troops at halftime and come out of Week 1 with a win, the head coach had some questionable decisions. A 3rd-and-long wide receiver screen pass to Jackson, as well as a 3rd-and-two pitch are particularly confusing. Despite this, Pederson’s aggressiveness was never in question. Down 20-7, the Eagles faced 4th and short from their own 35 yard line. Pederson made the gutsy call to go for it. Wentz sneaked forward for two yards, and the Eagles eventually capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown. The call was undoubtedly a game-changer.
Overall: They say a win is a win is a win is a win in the NFL. And they might be right. But the theme remains constant from last season: starting the game slow. The Eagles need to find a way to come out of the gates firing. This type of first half performance simply will not do against teams such as Seattle, New England and Green Bay. Nevertheless, the Eagles are 1-0 to start the season, and there are reasons to be encouraged moving forward.
All statistics came from ESPN and Pro Football Reference.
Daily Sports Blogger 