Philly snaps losing streak to Washington
LANDOVER, Md. — Dousing the head coach with Gatorade after a Week 1?
Forgive the Philadelphia Eagles for their excessive celebration Sunday, but they hadn’t beaten the Washington Redskins in their last five tries. So their 30-17 victory — punctuated by a 20-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Fletcher Cox — was just a little more exhilarating than the typical 1-0 start.
“It was something we were talking all week about,” said Eagles coach Doug Pederson, referring to the recent losing streak against Washington. “We wanted to get the monkey off our back down here against the Redskins, particularly on the road.”
There were some setbacks — the Eagles couldn’t run, they had some dumb penalties, they lost cornerback Ronald Darby to an ugly ankle injury — but the game was a big step in the right direction for second-year quarterback Carson Wentz, who showed no signs of a sophomore slump.
Wentz, who frequently wheeled away from trouble, completed 26 of 39 passes for 307 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 58-yarder to former USC standout Nelson Agoholor, who had slipped behind the defense on a broken play on the opening drive.
“You know,” Agholor said, “Carson just put on a scramble drill.”
The big setback for Wentz came on a tipped ball that Ryan Kerrigan plucked out of the air and returned 24 yards for a touchdown. That kept the linebacker’s career numbers pristine — three interceptions, three touchdowns.
“It was a duck when I got it, but just made the play,” Kerrigan said. “It’s what we practice all the time.”
Gators alum Caleb Sturgis had three field goals for the Eagles and provided them with a narrow lead until inside of two minutes when defensive end Brandon Graham stripped Cousins, who had dropped back to pass on second-and-three from the Washington 32. Cox scooped up the ball and scored, giving the Eagles a comfortable lead.
Officials ruled it a fumble, even though replays appeared to show Cousins’ arm moving forward in what might have been an incomplete pass.
“Right away I looked back at the ref and went like this,” said Cousins, motioning his arm forward. “But they have the time to look at it and get it right. So I’m not going to lose sleep over that. It’s the plays that led up to the moment, and those are the ones I want back.”
The Eagles got good pressure on Cousins, sacking him four times on a day when he had a 72.9 passer rating, his lowest since a 72.7 in last season’s opening-day loss to Pittsburgh.
Neither team could establish a running game, with the Redskins averaging 3.8 yards a carry, and the Eagles a paltry 2.4.
Their recent struggles with Washington notwithstanding, the Eagles have won eight of their past 10 season openers.
“At the end of the day, we won,” said Wentz, whose team will play at the rested Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday. “Were there other things that we left on the field? Totally. We made some mistakes — the turnovers, some different things here and there, we have to get those fixed. But we made enough plays to win, and we’re going to enjoy that.”