Decision day approaching for Pederson. Eagles

The Eagles don’t do anything easily, and that likely will be the case again this week when they make the decision they’ve avoided for too long.

The Eagles can put up with another slow start of mistakes and penalties or put Carson Wentz back in the lineup after he receives medical clearance, which is a foregone conclusion.

Internally the decision to play Wentz at this point belongs to the Eagles, not the doctors and specialists monitoring his recovery from torn ACL and LCL tissue in the left knee. It’s been more than nine months since the surgery.

Trust us when we say there is almost no way the Eagles would be playing so sloppily when they have the football with Wentz, and not Nick Foles in the lineup. Teammates confirmed the quarterbacks are totally different dealing with mistakes. Wentz won’t tolerate mental errors, while Foles is a little more laid back and forgiving.

You don’t want Wentz to see you make the same mistake twice. His attention to detail is off the charts.

In the Eagles’ first two games, particularly the 2721 loss Sunday to the Buccaneers, the offense has crippled itself with blown assignments and unnecessary penalties. Subsequently the Eagles have scored a total of just 13 points in two first halves.

Doug Pederson declined to discuss Wentz and the clearance, saying he would talk about it later this week. He appeared shell shocked after the game, especially when asked about the slow starts.

“I don’t know,” Pederson said. “It’s a scenario we’ve got to address the next couple of days. We’ve got to fix it moving forward. It’s every man has to look at themselves, me included, and make sure that we’re ready to go.”

The quarterback situation has a lot to do with it.

••• While rumors swirl that Wentz will return to action this week, just remember that his ability to make teammates better won’t necessarily extend to the defensive side of the ball.

The Eagles still cannot stop their former secondround draft pick, DeSean Jackson, from having monster games against them.

The Eagles knew Jackson was a threat but defended him with just Jalen Mills on the first play of the game. Seventy-five yards and six points later, the tone had been set.

Jackson is 5-1 in games he’s played against the Eagles. He had four receptions for 129 yards Sunday.

Bucs tight end O.J. Howard beat Nigel Bradham and Ronald Darby for a 75yard scoring pass as well.

If you’re keeping track – and you should – the Eagles’ defense has given up 1,158 yards and seven touchdowns through the air in its last three games, an average of 386.0 yards per outing.

The long TD plays irritate safety Malcolm Jenkins.

“Those can’t go for touchdowns,” Jenkins said. “We’ve got to make them earn their way down the field.”

••• The Bills didn’t quit Sunday, but one of their starters did.

Vontae Davis, 30, literally retired at the intermission.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said the cornerback “he was done” at halftime of a 31-20 loss to the Chargers.

Davis gathered his effects and left the Bills, who were on the wrong side of a 28-6 score, courtesy of three Phillip Rivers TD passes.

Which leaves us with this trivia question answer, one.

The question: How many tackles did Davis have in his final NFL game?

••• Hard to believe Sam Darnold was unable to lead the Jets to victory, what with that incredible rookie debut.

Darnold was sacked three times, intercepted twice and fumbled in a 2012 loss to the Dolphins, affirming what Jets head coach Todd Bowles said after the kid helped lead his to a season-opening success.

“It’s only been one game,” Bowles warned the New York media this past week. “To sit here and say whether he’s great or whether he’s trash or whether he’s anything else, it’s way too early for that.”

••• Karma is catching up to Antonio Brown, the Steelers’ receiver who recently threatened to break a reporter’s jaw in a tweet.

Brown, who delivered an apology to the reporter, caught nine passes for just 67 yards and no touchdown in a 42-37 loss to the visiting Chiefs.

The Steelers are 0-1-1 and desperate starting the season without Le’Veon Bell, who hasn’t reported yet due partly to unhappiness with the lack of the kind of longterm contract commitment the Steelers made Brown.

Brown inked a fouryear $68 million extension, much of it guaranteed. In March he restructured the deal to open up enough money in the salary cap to sign Bell to the $14.5 million franchise tender for a running back.

There is speculation Bell – a free agent after the season - is trying to tick the Steelers off to the point they rescind the tender and he becomes a free agent.

••• NOTES » Did anyone else grossly underestimate Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes? He threw six TD passes to lead his team to its second straight victory, this one over Ben Roethlisberger (three TDs) and the Steelers … Fitzpatrick is just the second NFL quarterback to throw four TD passes of 50 or more yards in his first two games, joining Joe Namath, who did so in 1972 per ESPN Stats. Fitzpatrick has thrown four TD passes and 400 or more yards first two games … Fletcher Cox showed his Reggie White-club move on the second defensive series against the Bucs, tossing the 300-pound blocker away like a rag doll and sacking Fitzpatrick for a seven-yard loss … Eagles running back Corey Clement had 98 all-purpose yards, including a TD run in place of Darren Sproles, who was scratched. Clement was robbed of 54 yards in the first quarter alone due to Eagles penalties – an illegal block by Joshua Perkins on a 43yard punt return and a Nelson Agholor crackback block during an 11-yard run. The Eagles were in third-and-41 at one point in the first half. The cameras caught Pederson and Foles jawing after the quarterback checked down on third down … Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters left the field with 7:40 left in the first quarter with a quadriceps injury. Receiver Mike Wallace exited with an ankle injury … Eagles tight end Joshua Perkins had four receptions for 57 yards. Zach Ertz led the team with 11 catches for 94 yards.