Adrian Fedkiw
Carson Wentz was surrounded by a host of defenders behind the line of scrimmage like he had been all night, but this time he had the power and strength to rip through and charge forward to move the sticks on a critical 3rd-and-8.
Despite a ferocious Washington Redskins pass rush, some more shoddy officiating by Mr. Night’s Out Guns Out Ed Hochuli and his crew, a sluggish start by the offense and severe injuries to Jordan Hicks and Jason Peters, Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles swept that drama under the rug and beat the Redskins for the second time in seven weeks.
Wentz tossed four more touchdown passes and has 11 in his last three games.
MVP!
The Eagles opened up a 2 1/2 game lead over the Redskins following their 34-24 victory on Monday night and for a second straight occasion, a primetime audience got to watch the second-year Wentz grow in front of their very eyes.
#KingOfThirdDown #GingerJesus #MVP pic.twitter.com/d1hlJLSXCY
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
Wentz finished with a surgeon-like 17-of-25 efficiency for 268 yards with one lone interception, which essentially worked out as a 54-yard punt, and added eight rushes for 63 yards on the ground, with five of them moving the chains. It was how that production was achieved, which reminded me of an MVP quarterback.
The Eagles started flat, tallying just a field goal over their first four possessions and trailing 10-3 past the midway point of the second quarter.
That’s when Wentz flipped the switch.
He first uncorked a beautiful 64-yard bomb for a score to Mack Hollins to suddenly tie the score, and then flipped another dime on the Eagles’ next drive, this one right into the lap of Zach Ertz for a 46-yard gain. He found Ertz to complete the drive and suddenly the Birds led 17-10 at the break. They proceeded to register touchdowns on four of five series, with Wentz capping the quartet of scoring drives with TD tosses.
That’s what MVPs do!
#AirYards pic.twitter.com/ZcyM2tETor
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
So the Eagles seemingly out of nowhere had the lead at the break after being outplayed for a quarter and a half. Then they went and drove all the way down the field again to start the second half as Wentz led Philly on a 10-play, 81-yard march. Wentz picked up 27 yards on a scramble to move the chains on one third down, a 3rd-and-3, and was also able to somehow hoist this TD pass to Corey Clement after showcasing incredible pocket presence on a 3-and-goal from the 9-yard line.
That's Wentz's 3rd TD of the night, simply took over this game when the team started flat #MVP pic.twitter.com/3XSic125Xm
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
Wow!
Kirk Cousins, who was 30-of-40 for 303 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, found Jordan Reed for a 5-yard touchdown on Washington’s ensuing possession, but Wentz answered right back with a 75-yard TD trek. He flipped a 10-yard score to Nelson Agholor along the right seam and it was 31-17 Eagles early in the fourth.
The defense put the game away and in a very similar fashion as Week 1. Brandon Graham got the strip-sack in Week 1 which led to Fletcher Cox’s scoop-and-score, and his pressure tonight forced an interception by Corey Graham to essentially put this game away. Jake Elliott tacked on a 42-yard field goal for the Birds to up the margin to 34-17 with just over six minutes left.
While victory was sweet, a pair of devastating injuries will significantly alter the roster moving forward. Jason Peters was carted off the field with an apparent knee injury which might have his career in jeopardy.
Losing the Bodyguard Jason Peters is obviously a devastating blow, my heart sunk pic.twitter.com/6zSiScYmlY
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
Jordan Hicks was also lost earlier in the game and he might be done for the season with a ruptured Achilles, which was reported by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Derrick Gunn.
Looks like Hicks ruptured his Achilles
— Derrick Gunn (@RealDGunnNBCS) October 24, 2017
The Hicks injury impacted the Eagles even more because Mychal Kendricks missed the game as well. The Redskins immediately attacked Philadelphia’s linebackers with Vernon Davis and Chris Thompson, who scored from seven yards out for Washington’s 10-3 advantage early in the second.
Malcolm Jenkins was outstanding and get the game ball on the defensive side. He had a sack, but this 3rd-and-1 stop of Jordan Reed was a thing of beauty. Reed already has the advantage into the flat due to the motion pre-snap, but Jenkins took the perfect angle and stopped Reed short of the sticks.
This is an outstanding play by Jenkins, takes the perfect angle with Reed motioning and heading into the left flat on 3rd-and-1 pic.twitter.com/ZVK9di3pYj
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
Derek Barnett had a pair of sacks, his first one coming on a key 3rd-and-2 when the Skins inexplicably matched up Reed against him on an island.
Not a good idea to match up Jordan Reed against Derek Barnett, who bends the edge and gets the sack on a key 3rd-and-2. pic.twitter.com/EMv7U6IxFh
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
In addition to catching another touchdown pass, Nelson Agholor picked up seven crucial yards after the catch early in the second quarter to set up Elliott from 50 yards out, a much more manageable field goal and he nailed it to tie the score at 3-3. Agholor racked up four receptions for 45 yards. Zach Ertz led all receivers with five catches and 89 yards receiving to go with a touchdown.
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