Wentz, Eagles carve up reeling Broncos in rout
Philadelphia scores 51 in moving to 8-1
PHILADELPHIA – It shouldn’t have looked that easy. Not against the topranked defense in the NFL.
But there they were, Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles offense: passing at will, running at will and lighting up the scoreboard in a 51-23 rout Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field to improve their league-best record to 8-1 as they enter their bye.
The matchup should have presented Wentz & Co. with one of their toughest tests of the season, but instead, the Eagles — tired of repeated reminders of the Broncos’ greatness — attacked the visitors with a vengeance, and Denver offered little resistance.
The Broncos (3-5) entered the game having never allowed more than 29 points in a contest this season. But the Eagles found the end zone seven times. Denver hadn’t allowed more than 278 yards to an opponent, but Philly racked up 419.
Wentz recorded another four-touchdown outing (his second in three weeks), and the Eagles running backs combined for a 197-yard, three-touchdown rushing day.
“That’s a good defense and that’s a good rushing defense, and they are that way for a reason,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said after his team’s seventh consecutive victory. “I just think that when you hear that all week — everybody’s got a lot of pride. They want to do their jobs and do them right. It’s a good test for our offensive line, and they really stepped up to the occasion, and, gosh, they rose up and did a nice job today.”
Indeed, the Eagles players heard from the outside that they would likely struggle against the Broncos. But in their meetings and on the practice fields, they heard repeatedly about how they could use Denver’s aggressive style of play to their advantage.
So when the Eagles gave them the look they wanted and Wentz & Co. lined up and ran an option play where the quarterback first faked the handoff, scrambled to his right as if to run, sucking defenders toward him, and then floated a 32-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jef- fery for their first score of the game, the success came as no surprise.
“I think we felt really confident in our plan and the looks that they were showing,” said Wentz, who further strengthened his case for MVP and extended his league-leading touchdown total to 23.
Said Jeffery, “It’s just something the coaches seen and something we’ve practiced all week. (Eagles cornerback Ronald) Darby can tell you, all week we practiced it and it worked on him, so that’s something that we did a good job of scheming the game plan of. Carson did a great job. We practiced it: If he pulls it you take off running, and that’s what we done.”
The Eagles also let the overaggressive Broncos pass rush to work to their favor in the run game. With defenders out of place and off-balance, the backs gashed Denver for runs of 46, 28 and 26 yards. New addition Jay Ajayi gained 77 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and Corey Clement ran for two touchdowns to lead the way.
Broncos players lamented after the game that it felt as if the Eagles knew exactly what was coming on defense and how to attack. Wentz, Jeffery and their teammates said that basically was the case and praised their coaches’ gameplanning.
Meanwhile, the Eagles defense had equally as impressive a day. All game long they harassed newly installed Broncos starter Brock Osweiler, sacking him three times, hitting him seven more times and intercepting him twice.
Denver found the end zone once offensively — a fourth-quarter connection between Osweiler and Demaryius Thomas. And the Broncos defense tacked on a garbage-time touchdown after Eagles backup Nick Foles fumbled on a Von Miller sack that Brandon Marshall returned 19 yards.
But the Eagles didn’t even care after the game. Considering their record entering their bye week, they had reason to smile.
“It’s hard to win in this league. It really is,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “Every single one of them, you get excited about and cherish. With everyone you stack up, you know the opponent is going to come at you that much harder. We embrace that. … Obviously, we’re happy going into the bye at 8-1. That doesn’t happen many times. … Having a start like this sets us up for where we want to go.”