PHILADELPHIA – Eagles coach Doug Pederson said he didn’t make the final call on who his starting quarterback would be for the Atlanta Falcons game until Monday, even though Carson Wentz had still not been medically cleared for contact.
For the past two weeks, he was chippy with the media over quarterback questions and reports, and was visibly frustrated during and after the team’s “dress rehearsal” against the Cleveland Browns when the first-team offense, again, failed to score a point.
The product on the field Thursday night helped explain where some of that agita was coming from. The unit that Pederson oversees – the one that soared during their 2017 Super Bowl season, finishing third in the NFL with 28.6 points per game – hasn’t looked right, and still doesn’t look right.
He created a spark by dusting off the “Philly Special” that resulted in a 15-yard Nick Foles reception and led to a Jay Ajayi touchdown in the third quarter, but otherwise the offense was dormant.
Foles did not look his Super Bowl MVP self. He finished 19-of-34 for 117 yards — 3.4 yards-per-completion average — with a touchdown and an interception. The pick can’t be pinned on him – rookie Dallas Goedert had the ball dislodged from him by Damontae Kazee – but there were other throws that could have, and should have, been intercepted. Generally, the approach was conservative and uninspiring.
Foles and Wentz split reps for parts of the summer, including the week leading up to the game. Imagine seeing Wentz step in, looking healthy and mobile, and watching as wind fills the offense’s sails in a way that only happen when a franchise quarterback is at the controls, and contrasting that with how the group has otherwise looked this summer.
That’s no knock on Foles – he helped this franchise to the highest of heights and is a capable NFL quarterback, but this group has not had much work together as a whole due to various injuries, and Foles has been unable to develop the necessary rhythm for him to be at his best.
The Eagles were able to squeak out an 18-12 win thanks to a top-notch defensive performance, capped by a goal-line stand that was eerily similar to the ending in the divisional round of the playoffs against Atlanta last season. Philly also had some timely plays on offense – most notably on the “Philly Special” drive and again late in the fourth quarter. That sets them up well as they set their sights on the Tampa Bay Bucs next Sunday. Wentz might not be back by then, but that’s OK. They now have some wiggle room and are more than capable of winning with Foles behind center.
But the offense likely won’t be where Pederson wants it until Wentz is back, which helps explain his grumpiness just about anytime the subject has come up of late.
He can breathe a little easier now, though, that his Eagles are 1-0.
Source:ESPN
