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Ten Takeaways from the Eagles’ 33-10 Eventual Drubbing of the 49ers

Anthony Mazziotti|

Blame it on the weather, but the Eagles played a kind of sloppy game Sunday afternoon at The Linc.

Carson Wentz threw an interception, and, at times, the offensive line looked incapable of blocking anyone. On the flip side, the defense looked just as incredible as ever. Two interceptions, one touchdown, four sacks, and six three-and-outs.

A win is a win, though, and I’m thrilled to see the Birds with a 7-1 record. With that said, let’s get to my top ten takeaways from the game:

1. Carson Wentz looked … just okay.

You know, compared to what we’re used to seeing out of him the past few weeks. He is still without a doubt the heart and soul of the offense and the future of this franchise, but Sunday he went 18/32 for 211 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Carson Wentz missed a wide open Alshon Jeffery for a would-be-touchdown and a wide open Brent Celek for what could have been a touchdown, definitely a first down close to the end-zone.

It’s never good to see your quarterback throw an interception, but aside from those three throws, Wentz had a pretty average day at the office. I’m excited to see how he fares next week when the Broncos come to town.

2. Alshon Jeffery sighting!

Ask and you shall receive. Today we (finally) saw Alshon Jeffery do what he does best, go up and make a contested catch. The whole play was incredible. Carson put the ball in a good position for Jeffery to make the catch (with a defender in his grill), he broke a tackle and found a way to put six on the board.

Alshon only had one other catch that went for nine yards.

Alshon Jeffery needs to come back next year. Even though he only had two catches he is important to this offense.

Oh, and this celebration was my favorite so far of the season.

3. The running game is hit or miss, but still pretty important to the Birds’ success.

The Eagles couldn’t get the run going too much in Sunday’s game. It didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but it was good to see Pederson stuck with it.

LeGarrette Blount ran 16 times for 48 yards and a touchdown, Corey Clement ran 10 times (at least 6 coming on the last drive) for 54 yards, Wendell Smallwood ran once for five yards, and Wentz had two rushes for seven yards.

This totals to a combined 114 yards and a touchdown. While the yards per carry (4.2) isn’t a record shattering number, it is re-assuring to see Doug Pederson called an even game, he ran the ball 46% of the time. Granted he picked up some rushing attempts on the last drive of the game, he still called a pretty good game. No complaints from this guy.

4. Rookie Watch 2017.

This will be a weekly segment in my takeaways. Let’s start at the top:

Derek Barnett: The first round pick blocked a field goal and recovered the ball on the play. He added two tackles and some pressures. His motor is relentless and he adds great depth to the defensive front.

One of my favorite formations comes on third and mid-long when the line consists of Barnett-Cox-Graham-Long. Notice the Eagles lean on the rookie in that situation and shy away from Vinny Curry.

Mack Hollins: He keeps finding ways to get on the field. Today he had two catches for 30 yards. He does it all for this team, he is a special teams ace and is earning more and more play time with the offense. Hollins could be one of the steals of the 2017 draft.

Rasul Douglas: With Patrick Robinson exiting the game early with a head injury, Rasul Douglas found himself on the field more than usual. The only thing worth writing home about was a pass break up that he had on a deep ball thrown his way. He looks to be a high upside defensive back with plenty of room for growth.

Corey Clement: South Jersey’s own! Corey Clement had a pretty pedestrian day with the exception of the last drive of the game. He ran for 54 yards on ten carries, most of it coming on the final drive of the game. Regardless, it was nice seeing him get those carries to close out the game.

Jake Elliot: Good news, he nailed his two field goal attempts from 51 and 40 yards. Bad news, he went 1/3 on extra points today. I still think he’s head and shoulders a better kicker than Caleb Sturgis, but it’s worth noting that he didn’t have the best day today.

5. Jalen Mills, shutdown corner?

It’s no secret that opposing offenses target Jalen Mills when they play the Eagles, this only makes the Green Goblin stronger.

He has faced some of the top receivers in football over the past two seasons: Alshon Jeffery (now in practice), Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., Dez Bryant, AJ Green, just to name a few.

This week he was tasked with covering Pierre Garcon, and he covered him like a blanket. He even jumped a route and took a 41 yard interception to the house for his first touchdown of his career. This is his third interception of the year, too.

Don’t let the fact that he was a seventh round pick fool you, the man can play football. Today he cemented himself as a legitimate NFL cornerback.

6. This whole secondary is soon to be the best in football.

Think about it: on the horizon you have three cornerbacks in Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills, and Sidney Jones. Jones and Darby on the outside with Mills on the inside. As you just read, Mills is proving to be a legitimate starting caliber corner. Add in Darby who is a proven corner with shutdown capabilities and Jones who was arguably the best cornerback in the draft before rupturing his Achilles, and this secondary just got terrifying.

Even deeper than that, Rasul Douglas has some serious upside. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts learning to play safety to try to get on the field more on passing downs. His ball skills are some of the best on the team.

Next year this could be the number one defense in football. Let that sink in.

7. Life without Jason Peters and Jordan Hicks.

This sucks. I’ll address Jason Peters’ absence first. Big V didn’t do bad today, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Howie Roseman calls every team in the NFL and asking what the price is for a starting caliber tackle. Big V is still a project, he isn’t a bad back-up. In fact, he’s a pretty good back-up tackle, I just don’t know if you want to rely on him knowing this team appears to be ready for a (deep) playoff run. This will be an exciting couple of days for sure.

The offense misses Peters a lot more than the defense misses Hicks, at least for now. Considering the NFL runs more 11 personnel (three wide receiver sets), the defense doesn’t need to run with three linebackers. Also take into consideration that Mychal Kendricks and Nigel Bradham have been playing like men possessed, the defense is doing just fine without Jordan Hicks.

I know they’re both out for the year, but prayers out for a speedy recovery.

8. Jim Schwartz is a god.

He is part of the reason the Eagles are so successful this year. As I noted earlier, the defense had six three-and-outs, two interceptions, one touchdown, and four sacks on Sunday. The defense is eating under Jim Schwartz. He has his guys fired up week in and week out, he is everything you would want in a defensive coordinator

Due to his success this season it is looking like Schwartz will be one of the hottest head coaching candidates this offseason. This is something to keep an eye out for come February. Until then, enjoy the moment Eagles fans, the defense hasn’t looked this good since the days of Jim Johnson (pour one out).

9. So is Dave Fipp.

There wasn’t a special teams touchdown, but I feel like Coach Fipp doesn’t get the credit he deserves. His unit is constantly one of the best in football. They don’t take many penalties at all and they contribute in ways that don’t really get noted.

For instance, Donnie Jones pinned the 49ers inside their own ten yard time a couple of times on Sunday.

The special teams unit blocked a field goal today too, shout out to Derek Barnett on blocking and recovering the ball on that play.

Dave Fipp is one of the unsung heroes of this team, he always has his unit prepared and ready to go. Shout out to Coach Fipp!

10. The Mike Trout connection.

I swear this dude gets a game ball every home game. I love the bromance between Wentz, Ertz, and Trout.

Judging by the fact that he has season tickets to the Eagles, I would assume he wants to play baseball for his home city. Here’s hoping Matt Klentak can work a trade to bring Trout to Philly.

If he can’t, it’s still cool that the best player in baseball bleeds green just like us.

Bonus: WE’RE STILL THE BEST TEAM IN FOOTBALL! #FlyEaglesFly

Next week, our 7-1 Eagles take on the Denver Broncos at home. Let’s defend our turf one more time before the bye!

 

You can follow Anthony Mazziotti on Twitter (@AntMazziotti) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram

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