2018 draftees loom large vs. WFT
It’s not the greatest draft in the history of the Eagles.
But give pass rusher Josh Sweat, tight end Dallas Goedert, cornerback Avonte Maddox and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata a few more healthy years together and the Class of 2018 will have to be part of the conversation.
The Eagles wouldn’t be 9-7 with their second victory over the Washington Football Team in 12 days without the group looming large in the 20-16 win Sunday at FedEx Field.
Few impacted the game like Sweat, the fourth-round pick, who was in on two sacks of Taylor Heinicke, giving him a career-high 6.5 on the season.
Sweat took the right side of the field away from Heinicke, batting down two passes and adding a tackle for loss.
It’s no accident Sweat and all of those draftees signed contract extensions this season.
“I’m happy for everybody,” Sweat said. “They’re showing exactly why they deserve what they got.”
Maddox, also a fourth-round selection, was flagged for pass interference but later on the same possession broke up a couple of passes to short circuit the WFT, which reached the 49-yard line of the Eagles with less than eight minutes to play.
Maddox had four tackles on the day, three of explosive wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who was limited to seven receptions worth 61 yards with no touchdowns.
Goedert, a second-round pick. led the Eagles with six catches for 71 yards and made a seal block freeing Boston Scott for the first of his two rushing TDs. On third and four on the first possession of the second half he hauled in a ball Jalen Hurts looped over the defense. After a hit just inside the sideline, Goedert nearly tumbled into the seats yet regained his feet to celebrate the 18-yard gain by signaling a first down at the 27 of Washington. It set up the Birds’ first-half TD.
“I was able to get two feet in but shoot, it was tough to stop my momentum,” Goedert said. “I ran into the kicker net, fell over the table. But that that was just a musthave drive. We needed to score. The play doesn’t care who makes it but we had to make it.”
Seventh-rounder Mailata killed it all afternoon, the 6-8, 360-pounder caving in a tough WTF defensive front to give the Eagles a run game and Hurts a place to run on fourth down.
The Eagles limited the WFT, which led 16-7 at the intermission, to one touchdown on three trips into the red zone on the day. They shut their hosts out on the scoreboard in the second half.
“We had a rough start but we took care of it,” Sweat said. “That’s all that matters. We just executed better. I think that’s all it boiled down to.”
The Eagles didn’t wait for results from around the league to have fun with this victory. The locker room was festive. Any playoff merriment would have to wait.
“I mean, we celebrate all the wins,” Sweat said after the game. “We’re hoping we get what we want but now we’ve just got to wait.”
The Eagles were an NFLworst 5-for-17 (.294) on fourth down entering the game Sunday.
That dipped to a .277 conversion rate when Jordan Howard was stopped on fourth-and-two in the first half.
But Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stuck with it converting three straight fourth downs, including a couple of fourth-and-goals to cool the “hot hand” of Heinicke, who completed his first six passes for 95 yards to six different receivers.
“Did you see some of the throws Heinicke was making early in the game getting away from the pressure?” Sirianni said. “The guy was playing good so I felt like in those scenarios we had to be aggressive. I’m also going to look at the chart, see what it says and I’m going to make a decision based off of what I think is necessary with that game. And that’s why I did what we did today.”
Scott scored twice from two yards out to make Sirianni’s strategy work and keep the Eagles in the game. That trust on fourth down goes both ways.
“It turned out playing a pivotal role in the football game,” Hurts said. “It’s about trusting us to go out there and get it done. It’s a testament to the preparation we put into it. We all trusted each other to execute it.”
The Eagles are 8 of 21 (.381) on fourth down on the season.
NOTES » With three catches worth 54 yards, DeVonta Smith now needs 38 to break DeSean Jackson’s rookie receiving club record of 912 yards in 2008. Smith needs 125 yards for 1,000 yards … Listed questionable for the game, running back Jordan Howard (stinger) got 11 rushes for 26 yards for the Eagles … Veteran Ryan Kerrigan, the former WFT player, got a complimentary start at left defensive end for the Eagles, although he wasn’t credited with a tackle … Right guard Nate Herbig got back in the game after getting his knee rolled in the second quarter … WFT pass rusher Montez Sweat was scratched Sunday, the 25-year-old grieving the loss of his older brother in a shooting. Sweat was second on the club with 5 sacks … Among five players activated as COVID replacements was running back Wendell Smallwood, formerly of the Eagles. Smallwood had four rushes for 12 yards and two catches for 10 yards. Smallwood was activated so late in the week his number 38 was attached to his helmet with yellow surgical tape.