Yes, Megatron and Matthew Stafford picked on him in the Lions game, after Nolan Carroll broke his ankle. But as most intelligent observers noted, Eric Rowe played pretty solid defense against one of the best wide receivers in all of football, despite being a rookie rushed into the game [editor’s note: set up to fail] and giving up four inches in height to the 3-time All-Pro first teamer.

Tom Brady is not shy about picking on a weak link either, as Curtis Marsh learned in the 2014 Eagles – Patriots joint training camp. The Pats went right at him play after play. Sunday against the Patriots, Brady naturally tested Rowe, too, but the rookie confirmed his talent with an outstanding performance in his first NFL start against football’s best quarterback.

It gets better: he brings safety-level hard hitting to his game. His hit in this GIF stopped LeGarrette Blount short of the first down, and planted nightmares in his psyche that will linger for weeks.

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It’s a mystery why Rowe, a second round pick, has been unable to get off the bench this year, but now that Nolan Carroll is out for the year injured, the Eagles will get a chance to see what he can do. With any luck, we’ll see more of Kenjon Barner and Josh Huff, too (now that Miles Austin was released).

Whether this team gets into the playoffs because of their terrible division or not, they are short on talent in several areas and in the midst of a terrible year. It’s the perfect time to see how their underused younger players can do.