With supporting cast of fillins, Birds play to their strengths
After another year without a Super Bowl parade, Howie Roseman compiled a list of qualities the Eagles would demand of their players going forward.
The general manager put them on paper and showed them to head coach Doug Pederson: “Can he run, is he healthy, does he love to play?”
On this Sunday night you could look at the roster and say yes, no, and absolutely.
Carson Wentz ran for a touchdown and threw one to Travis Fulgham, recently activated from the practice squad. The defense forced three turnovers, linebacker Alex Singleton taking an interception to the house. That pick turned out to be the winner.
All of it sparked the Eagles to a 25-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. And just like that the Eagles (12-1) vaulted from winless to first place in the lowly NFC East.
The game had a Super Bowl
ending, Niners quarterback C.J. Beathard throwing a Hail Mary into the end zone toward tight end George Kittle. Rodney McLeod skied to help bat it away.
“You saw it,” Wentz said. “It wasn’t perfect. Obviously tonight it was just a huge team win all the way around, offense, defense and special teams.”
For one night, it all came together for the Eagles and Pederson, whose plan to unclutter and free Wentz’s head with the hurry-up offense paid off with a victory. Think “The Matrix” when Orpheus makes a believer out of Neo. On this night, with Eagles players checking in and out with injury and heat issues seemingly every other snap, Wentz was The One.
“He played very well,” Pederson said. “He played inspired. He led the football team tonight for the win. Quite frankly, it might not have been perfect but he gutted out several plays tonight and my hat’s off to him for just continuing to battle.”
After throwing an interception, Wentz rushed
for two first downs and an 11-yard score, then lobbed a throw to Zach Ertz for the two-point conversion as Doug Pederson and the Eagles made good on their vow to show up and play aggressively.
That came after Wentz’s seventh interception of the season, a tipped ball that matches his total from all of last season.
The Eagles played to their strengths. They got the ball to the tight ends, the staple of their attack the previous two seasons.
No team targeted their tight ends more last season or received more production from that group than the Eagles, who averaged over 100 receiving yards among the group.
Ertz, getting doubleteamed more with Dallas Goedert out of action, caught three passes in the first half and ran his routes aggressively enough to open up the field for Greg Ward, who had four catches for 38 yards in the first half. Ward was the only experienced receiver as DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and JJ Arcega-Whiteside all were scratched due to injuries.
The run game showed up despite injuries giving them a starting offensive line of Jordan Mailata, Nate Herbig, Jason Kelce, Matt Pryor
and Lane Johnson, who didn’t make it through the first half due to the ankle issue. Johnson had been experiencing considerable swelling. The cross-country flight may have added to the inflammation. He gutted it out and returned in the second half.
W hen r o ok ie Ja c k Driscoll replaced Johnson in the second quarter, the Eagles basically had four players up front with a combined eight games of starting experience, including this game.
Running back Miles Sanders, who predicted the Eagles would get their first victory Sunday, shrugged of a glute injury and rushed for 35 yards in the first half. Sanders also caught a 28yard pass.
Even Jalen Hurts contributed as he ran 14 yards to dig the Eagles out of a hole.
The Eagles also got a couple of defensive takeaways, their first of the season. McLeod intercepted Nick Mullens ending a threat at the 14-yard line of the Eagles in the second quarter.
Malik Jackson recovered a Mullens fumble forced by Cre’Von LeBlanc at the 45yard line of the Niners with 9:58 left in the game.
The defense that led the league in three-and-outs last year got back on track
as well. It forced three threeand-outs in the first half.
The coaching staff also delivered. There would be no questions about punting instead of throwing for the end zone on fourth down with time running out in overtime like last week. Not after Pederson decided to go for two points after the first touchdown. That set the tone.
Pederson didn’t blink keeping his guys on the field to convert two fourthdown situations in the second half.
One was a sneak by Wentz on fourth-and-one that set up the field goal getting the Eagles within 14-11 with a minute left in the third quarter.
Wentz drilled a nine-yard pass to rookie John Hightower on fourth-and-four at the 36 of the Niners with eight minutes left.
And Wentz’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Travis Fulgham with 5:50 left gave the Eagles an 18-14 lead. Fulgham, wearing Nelson Agholor’s old No. 13, was promoted from the practice squad earlier in the weekend.
“After we broke the huddle, Carson said ‘get ready,’” said Fulgham, whose first NFL catch came earlier in the series. “I knew there was a good shot he was going to throw the ball to me. I was able to locate it. It hit me right in the breadbasket.”
Minutes later Eagles special teams ace Singleton contributed a pick-six, returning a Mullens pass 30 yards with 5:50 remaining to give his team a 25-14 advantage.
“This guy is kind of the unsung hero,” Pederson said of Singleton. “He’s a fourcore special teams player. He’s a backup role player on defense. He just battles. Guys rally around him. Just a great play by him.”
The Eagles gave up a touchdown with 2:02 remaining, Jerrick McKinnon bulling over, but McLeod got just enough of George Kittle to break up the twopoint attempt. That cut the Eagles’ lead to 25-20.
At the end of the day, the Eagles were where they wanted to be.
“Well, having played four games first place sounds really good right now,” Pederson said. “But we’ve got a long season ahead of us. We’ve got a long road ahead. But I’m going to tell you something, these guys don’t quit. I’m so happy to be able to coach and lead them.”
Can they run? Yes. Are they healthy? LOL. Do they love to play? Ask the 49ers.