Ajayi wastes little time in making an impact
PHILADELPHIA » Through eight games, there was at least one thing evident about the Eagles: They didn’t need Jay Ajayi.
Through nine, there was this: The rest of the NFL didn’t need Jay Ajayi with the Eagles.
“You bring guys in,” Jason Kelce said, “and you don’t know how they are going to fit until you start playing them.”
The Eagles acquired the Pro Bowl running back last week from the Miami Dolphins for a fourthround draft pick. They played him in a 51-23 victory over the Denver Broncos Sunday, and the fit was fine. With eight carries, Ajayi led the Birds with 77 rushing yards, 46 on a second-quarter touchdown blast. Nor did it disrupt anything but the Denver defense, as Corey Clement rushed for two of his three touchdowns and LeGarrette Blount averaged 4.1 yards on his 10 carries.
So much for the warnings about disruption …
“He’s got some explosiveness,” coach Doug Pederson said of Ajayi. “We saw some things on film. We didn’t want to give him a big workload, but at the same time, we wanted to get him in the game and see what he could do. “And he did a nice job for us.” Ajayi had played seven games for the Dolphins, twice rushing for at least 122 yards. But he had not scored a touchdown this season until 1:20 before halftime Sunday, when he made it down the left sideline and powered just inside the pylon to help stake the Birds to a 31-9 halftime lead.
There is no certain way to fit in with a new club. Touchdowns, though, help.
“I’m excited to have him here because I’ve been a fan of his all the way back to last year,” Blount said. “He’s a really good player and is an exciting and dynamic player to watch. I like him a lot, and for the few days he was at practice this week, he said we are going to be good and get this.
“They told us that we had to run the football on these guys, and that’s something he was really excited about, as you could see.”
Ajayi made his first carry less than a minute into the second quarter, drawing a loud ovation from the Linc crowd with a six-yard gain.
“It was great,” Ajayi said. “God is good. I am excited to be here. I am just trying to be a part of this team.”
Pederson didn’t campaign for another running back and did not make any promises last week about Ajayi’s workload. And while Blount commanded the first-quarter carries, every running back had opportunities. Even Wendall Smallwood received five carries, if only after the game was virtually decided.
“I knew that I would have some packages,” Ajayi said. “It was just about being ready for whenever my number was called and just taking advantage of the opportunity.”
He took advantage of the opportunity to score his touchdown when the Birds’ offensive line created the second-quarter room.
“It is a special offensive line,” said Ajayi, repeating what so many Dolphins said when they’d trained with the Eagles for a week in the summer. “We definitely believe we can do a lot of special things here. I am glad to be part of the dynamic that we have here.
“That’s a great defense that we just ran on. So I think you have to tip your hat to all of us that ran the ball today.”