Eagles go from winless to first in NFC East

PHILADELPHIA » Earning their first win of the season in October put the Philadelphia Eagles in first place in the NFC East.

They need to improve in many areas to stay there.

Despite missing six starters on offense, the Eagles (1-2-1) knocked off the also injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers 2520 on Sunday night to move atop the division standings at the quarter-point of the season.

“I think the one thing that’s really stood out this first month is just how resilient this football team is,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “We have not played our best football, I don’t feel. We’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the first three, four weeks here. Finally overcame some of the mistakes (Sunday) to put ourselves in a position to be in first place in the NFC East. But there’s a long road ahead. We’ve got to learn from the first four weeks, but at the same time, learn from it and carry it forward.

“We’ve just got to keep working and this is what I appreciate about our guys is they come to work every day no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the situation. They practice. It’s always been a next-man-up mentality and they go to work, and that’s what I’ve learned, and that’s what’s going to carry us these next four weeks.”

Carson Wentz shook off his league-worst seventh interception, again used his legs to make plays and led a group of reserves to a victory the team desperately needed. His perfect 42-yard touchdown pass to Travis Fulgham, fresh off the practice squad, gave the Eagles the lead for good.

Then Alex Singleton’s 30-yard interception return for a score helped seal it. The defense had its first three takeaways of the season against the 49ers.

What’s Working

Wentz has been using his legs more the past two games, keeping the ball and scrambling at times and buying time to throw it other times. He had 37 yards rushing on seven carries, including an 11-yard TD run against the 49ers. That followed a career-best 65 yards rushing and one TD in the tie against Cincinnati last week.

What Needs Help

The defense is struggling in coverage against tight ends. George Kittle is the best in the NFL, but the Eagles couldn’t even come close to stopping him. He had 15 catches on 15 targets for 183 yards and one TD. In Week 2, Rams tight end Tyler Higbee had three TD receptions in a 37-19 win against the Eagles.