Complete conquering of Cards has Eagles confident, not content
PHILADELPHIA » Anybody who still thinks Doug Pederson isn’t a head coach, take a knee with Mike Lombardi.
Pederson and the Eagles didn’t just beat the Arizona Cardinals 34-7 Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, they annihilated them. Start with Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who always dropped big numbers on the Eagles before exiting with a win.
Malcolm Jenkins made Fitz look ordinary with six worthless catches, all in the second half, none more than 15 yards.
The Eagles won on third down, in time of possession and in the kicking game.
“It was probably the most complete game since I’ve been here,” said tight end Zach Ertz, in his fifth season. “It was a dominating performance. It was a lot of fun. Probably the most fun game I’ve been a part of in a long time. Our offense was playing at an extremely high level against a good defensive team that’s had our number the past couple of years. We’re not where we’re going to be in a couple of weeks but we’re happy with where we’re at right now.”
The Eagles (4-1) have won three straight games. They’re on top of the NFC East.
Just watching how the Eagles attack opponents with variations of their ball control style is entertaining. They did nothing to hurt their frightening comand of third down and time of possession.
For example, when the Eagles found it tough running the ball Sunday, Carson Wentz loosened the opponent up, throwing three of his four touchdown passes in the first quarter, including a back-breaking 59-yarder to Torrey Smith.
The baseball-themed celebration for the Smith score went almost as well as the play, even though Ertz really wasn’t supposed to be in it, mistakenly figuring it was group picture.
It was Alshon Jeffery’s idea, and he was the catcher, Wentz the umpire, Smith the batter and Nelson Agholor the pitcher. Jeffery was supposed to give Agholor a sign. He didn’t. Smith used the ball as a bat and swung for the fences. Long passes, home runs, get it?
“I thought he was saying, ‘Take a picture,’” Smith said of Jeffery. “He said ‘Nellie’s the pitcher, we’re up!’”
Trailing by 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals tried to blitz. Faster than Merrill Reese could say ... “There goes Agholor; he’s at the 10, the 5, touchdown!” ... the game effectively was over. The 72-yard bomb of a touchdown made a believer out of former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who says Agholor is the comeback player of the year.
Agholor capped his TD with a Nestea plunge celebration, falling backward into the end zone. It was a tribute to former Eagle DeSean Jackson.
“Everything was awesome except for his celebration,” Smith said. “That was trash. But everything else … ”
The Cardinals couldn’t punt successfully. Kenjon Barner set up a score with a 76-yard return. OK, a little credit to Joe Douglas and Andy Weidl for adding Barner to the roster.
The Cardinals couldn’t kick a field goal, either. Patrick Robinson snuffed a 51-yard attempt by Phil Dawson that would have pulled the visitors to within 20-10 at the intermission.
Fittingly, Eagles safety Rodney McLeod rerouted J.J. Nelson out of bounds at the goal line with 1:12 left in the game. After the replay, the initial call of touchdown was reversed and the fumble from the collision turned Eagles line.
The decision just kept coming at you like scenes in a play, including the epilogue, with Wentz performing the kneel-down in victory formation for the second straight week.
“He’s soon to be a top-tier quarterback as he continues to grow,” Cardinals Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “His ability to get his receivers open with his legs was the most impressive. We sent pressure at him and he was able to escape, especially in the second half.”
Wentz was particularly deadly on third down as he completed 11 of 12 passes into ball a touchback — at the 20-yard for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Part of it is Wentz. The rest is a pretty good game plan.
“Third down is key for us,” Smith said. “For any team, you look at that, oftentimes you can tell who won the game. And we’ve been doing a pretty good job. That’s one of the secrets to our success.”
The Eagles converted 9 of 14 (64 percent) third downs and limited the Cardinals to 4 of 14 (29 percent). There was one turnover in the game, a Wentz interception.
“We’re understanding where the chains are,” Ertz said. “We’re understanding the down and distances. Our O-line is playing great. So we’re able to have deeper routes on those plays instead of just check-downs. So we’re attacking the defense on those downs. We’re not taking them as a disadvantage.”
It’s fun to watch the Eagles, unless you’re two-time NFL coach of the year Bruce Arians.
“This is one of those games where everyone is looking for an excuse or somewhere to point the finger,” Arians said. “But I’ve got to point it at me because our team obviously was not ready to play in all three phases.”
Counterpart Pederson was ready. And with a three-game win streak and a team still figuring out what it can do, it’s hard to dispute his qualifications for the job.