Eagles - Commanders: Bringing The Pain
> A second bullet because the defense deserves it: you don't normally see a pass rush at the end of a football game, honestly. Rushing the passer is hard in the modern game with so many short throws, and if you throw it long enough, linemen get gassed. This was the second straight game where they got to the QB late and made the opposition not even get cheap fantasy points. Wildly encouraging.
> The most times that Wentz has ever been sacked in a game. (Edgar G Robinson voice on) Where's your Jehovah now, Carson?
> Have to feel good for DE Brandon Graham to have a big day and show full recovery from last year's injury. He's an all-timer in the laundry for the Super Bowl strip sack alone, but it's great to see him controlling his late career narrative.
> I'm all for aggressiveness and ending a game as early as possible. But going for it fourth down twice in the red zone, so you can make it once and get seven points at the buzzer instead of six with a sense of calm... this just seems unnecessary. And potentially something that will bite this team in the ass when they play a real team.
> WR Devonta Smith had the best half of his time in the laundry in the first. His ability to dance a sideline is insane, and he keeps crushing on deep balls. Winning the contested ball to end the first half was a play he did not make last year.
> QB Jalen Hurts' comfort with WR AJ Brown is obvious and earned. Brown, for his part, is the best-looking WR in the laundry since, sigh, Terrell Owens. Please, for the love of God, AJ, stay not like that guy outside of the lines.
> Best WR duo in the laundry since the halcyon days of Young Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. And neither of those guys are as undeniable on handfight balls as Brown.
> Just a bad game for Commanders HC Ron Rivera. Didn't get a challenge flag out fast enough, didn't adjust his offense to take advantage of winning in the running game, and seemed to just think that doing the same thing long enough was sufficient. You don't get too many road games that are this inviting to the opponent. It's not as if any of his players did a lot to help, but still.
> It's nice to have linebackers. After a decade of not having them, I'm not going to take for granted for a long time. It also makes trying to engineer a quick strike comeback really difficult, because they just tackle well.
> If you are looking to nitpick, there's a lot for a road game that you won easily. The offensive line isn't winning as much as you might expect in the first three games. Hurts has been covering a lot of sins, and you'd think that with a big lead against a 30th ranked rushing defense, you'd be able to do more to grind clock. It's also the second straight game where the offense came out in the second half with a lead and didn't seem very interested. And DT Jordan Davis' 15-yarder to give a fresh set of down on a made field goal is inexcusable. Giving up a safety on a predictable give to scatback RB Boston Scott also isn't great. Just a lot to clean up for what looks like a top five kind of team.
> PR Brandon Covey isn't acclimating to NFL speed, is taking bumps like a pro wrestling jobber, and probably needs to be replaced. It was telling that when the game was close and the Eagles were looking to force matters, they gave Smith a shot.
> P Arryn Siposs with multiple misses into the end zone early, when he had a chance to pin the Commanders' deep, but at least he got two to check up later. Add this to the blocked field goal last week under things that need work and isn't mattering. Yet.
> By the third quarter, this was a majority Eagles crowd, and even Fox knew it. They also could not have flogged Bucs-Packers in this game more; just not humanly possible. Whatever, you mooks: neither of those teams looks like the class of the conference right now. My team does.
> Fourth and four, Commanders out of timeouts, the Eagles chose to end it with Hurts throwing to Brown, as easy as it gets. Baller.
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