Well, that was fun. There were some tense moments in the second quarter when the offense stalled and the start of the third after the Browns pulled to within three points, but one bad snap-turned-safety helped put the Eagles on track to coasting to victory. Overall, this new era started off with a bang Sunday afternoon and people are salivating over the potential of the franchise’s chosen quarterback. I know I’m all horned up. Let’s go.

THE GOOD

Carson Wentz

Real Fucking Deal, with unteachable traits galore. He had ups and downs, but mostly ups in his first game as a pro, going 22/37 for 278 yards (7.5 YPA) with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 101 QB rating. That’s rarified air for a rookie quarterback making his first start, and only Robert Griffin III (ironically), Cam Newton and Jim Kelly matched or exceeded those stats. Not bad.

Yes, it was against the Browns, who will be one of the three worst teams in football this season, and yes, there will be struggles down the road. Even so, it was just the way Wentz looked that should squash any poo-pooing about the legitimacy of his accomplishments based on the opponent. There was no nervousness, no jitters. He was composed, patient and went through his progressions instead of dropping his eyes and taking off running if the first read wasn’t there. Wentz made at least five “wow” throws, and not only did he not turn the ball over once, he didn’t even come close. Hell, his first completion as a pro was a back-shoulder throw to Ertz, who made an outstanding one-handed catch while contorting his body in the air. This is just one of the many ways Wentz will differentiate himself from a milquetoast chump like Sam Bradford — he’s not afraid to take advantage of one-on-one matchups and trust his receivers to make a play. Then to cap off your first drive with a perfect bucket throw to the back of the end zone? Come on, that’s fairy tale stuff.


Wentz’s command of the offense and execution during the two-minute drill at the end of the first half was top notch, and the throws he made on back-to-back plays in the third quarter to convert on fourth down and then score the backbreaking touchdown were simply remarkable. On the fourth down play in particular, he stood tall in the pocket (a theme) as a free-rushing lineman got a clear shot at him within a split second of the snap and, while staring down the barrel, delivered a strike into Ertz’s gut at the sticks before Jordan Poyer could get there.

Here’s a compilation of Wentz’s five best, most telling plays of the game:

I bet Carson was good at sex on his first try, too. Just kidding, he’s a God-fearing fella and is waiting until marriage.

https://twitter.com/JoshPaunil/status/775174503529844736

Needle: threaded. This is the closest Wentz came to an interception, but it’s also the kind of mentality and throw that separates quarterbacks in this league. Just the willingness to make this throw tells you so much about Wentz (and that it came on third-and-9). There will be interceptions that result from the risks he takes, but there will also be plenty of big plays — plays that don’t even have the possibility of happening with Bradford.

https://twitter.com/JoshPaunil/status/775180776317001728

Aforementioned fourth-down conversion that turned the tide. Poise, moxie, decisiveness, arm strength.

Very next play following the fourth down, Wentz goes for the kill shot. Again, love to see this kind of mentality. He knows exactly what he’s going to do. Wentz takes two steps after getting the snap, bounces on the balls of his feet at the top of his drop, plants his back foot to shift his weight and momentum forward to get set, then all in one motion opens his shoulders and quickly releases a 40-yard rainbow touch pass that drops right into Nelson Agholor’s hands, despite a miniscule window and the receiver being less then a yard from the sideline, and leads him to pay dirt. The combination of mental acuity and physical skill that Wentz shows off here is the pinnacle of quarterback play.

Also, let’s take a moment here to acknowledge Agholor’s performance. Four catches for 57 yards isn’t lighting the world on fire, but it was a step in the right direction — and he didn’t have a single drop! Agholor has taken a beating, deservedly, so I hope having Wentz is what gets him to play up to his potential. The route on the touchdown here was tremendous. It’s a straight go, and Agholor shuffles his feet/gives a shoulder shake to beat press. Joe Haden bites inside, Nelson accelerates outside. The ball leaves Wentz’s hand as Agholor hits the 25-yard line, and he runs under it for the catch at the 3.

https://twitter.com/JoshPaunil/status/775314882547871744

It’s possible that Wentz’s most impressive play was an incompletion. How many quarterbacks don’t panic in this situation and, if they’re lucky, just fall on the ball and take the sack? This is the kind of play that results in memes of terrified quarterback faces. It’s a bad snap but not only does Wentz not panic, he looks for where the ball squirted to and then looks back up at the field to see where his receivers are. He calmly picks up the ball and throws it to Jordan Matthews with a defender in his face. The pass was broken up, but still, that’s Aaron Rodgers-type shit and encapsulates what Wentz is like on the field.

 

Jordan Matthews

The chemistry with Wentz was on point from the start. Matthews dropped Wentz’s first career pass attempt, but after that he was lights out. His routes were crisp and he was open plenty, finishing with seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. Matthews is a legit #1 and will break the 100-catch mark this season.

 

Doug Pederson

Pederson’s debut shouldn’t be lost in Wentz mania. He and Reich devised an ideal game plan for a rookie making his first start. They blended easy throws for Carson with the freedom for him to let it rip and take shots deep, made adjustments at halftime to help better protect him in the pocket, and the balance of run (32) and pass (39) calls was perfect. I’m excited for when some of those designed runs are options that Wentz decides to keep, and the quarterback draw should be a staple for this offense inside the 5. With regard to the play call balance, there’s an obvious commitment from Pederson to controlling the game flow. The Eagles dominated time of possession, holding the ball for over 39 minutes. The defense was on the field for just 50 snaps, which was the equivalent of, like, one half with Chip Kelly.

The ballsy fourth-down call that changed the game still has me in giddy disbelief. I thought there was no way they’d snap the ball. I figured, given the distance (fourth-and-4) and field position (Browns’ 40), that Pederson would have Wentz hard count until the play clock hit zero and hope the Browns, being the Browns, would jump offsides. If they didn’t, fine, punt and pin them deep. That’s what the majority of coaches would do in that situation, even though they should go. It went down like that until the play clock hit one. The next second happened in fast slow motion. Wentz snapped the ball (at first I thought he went rogue) and, with the protection failing instantaneously, hit his hot read before getting clobbered. The next play, Doug told Wentz to rip their hearts out. I wouldn’t mind getting used to Doug Pederson being an assassin.

 

The running game

Nothing flashy (132 yards on 32 designed carries), but it was steady and effective and consistently got the offense into manageable second and third down situations or moved the chains. Ryan Mathews had as good a 3.5 YPC game as you’ll see. His long was just seven yards, but 11 of his 22 carries went for 4-7 yards. Kenjon Barner transferred over his strong preseason and proved to be an explosive weapon on his four touches. He was the only ball carrier to break off runs longer than seven yards (a 17- and 19-yarder). I hope Barner gets more touches going forward.

 

Special teams

Everything appears to be in order here. Coverage teams were suffocating, Darren Sproles had a 40-yard return, Donnie Jones was lights out and averaged 49.2 yards per punt on six attempts (including three downed inside the 20 and two downed inside the 10). We take this for granted.

 

Defense

As a whole, the unit did what it should have and stifled the Browns’ impotent offense, despite a pass rush that took a while to get going. The unit held RG3 and friends to nine yards and no first downs on 10 plays in the first quarter (this includes the hilariously inane fourth down attempt that lost six yards). If not for the refs doing their thing and blowing multiple calls (missing the hold/tackle on Vinny Curry and then calling phantom PI on Malcolm Jenkins) on that third and goal in the second quarter, the Browns would have been held without a touchdown. Take away the two long passes for 102 yards, and the Browns offense gained 186 yards on 48 plays. If you omit the stat-padding window dressing that came at the end of the first half and on the final drive of the game, the Browns’ total yardage was 213 on 43 plays.

 

Jason Peters saving Ryan Mathews’ life

Peters catches an airborne Mathews, who was headed for a hard/awkward fall, and gently places him down upright like he’s a foldable table. I felt like I was watching a cartoon or something. We’re talking about snatching a 230-pound human in mid-flight and making it look routine. I’m fairly positive this isn’t an easy task, but JP makes it look effortless so maybe I’ll try it sometime and see how I fair. Note: This game recap is brought to you by the #OpenChallenge (sponsored by Fink’s Hoagies), every Wednesday at 5:53 pm sharp at the corner of 18th and Catherine.

 

THE BAD

Eagles’ four drives following the opening touchdown

My elation was tempered as Wentz and the offense sputtered between the bookending drives of the first half to the tune of 57 total yards on 19 plays (including a missed field goal). On that first drive, Wentz faced no pressure. There was only one play (the completion to Brent Celek) where the design was to get him outside the pocket. Unfortunately, for the rest of the half it seemed like Pederson and Reich confined him to the pocket. Between the offensive line struggling with the Browns’ defensive front and Wentz holding the ball too long, he took a bunch of hard hits. The way things were going, I thought there was no way he’d finish the game in one piece. Even during the impressive two-minute drill where Wentz was in complete control of the situation and showed poise beyond his years, there were a few shots that made me hold my breath.

 

Drops

It didn’t end up mattering because A) the Browns are a basket of deplorables and B) Wentz can make other plays and doesn’t need to be propped up by excuses. The one by Sproles on third-and-10 during the two-minute drill was especially infuriating. Wentz led him with the pass and at the very least it would’ve ended up close to a first down, but instead the Eagles were forced to settle for a Caleb Sturgis field goal.

 

Pass blocking

It was better in the second half than the first half, but early on the pocket wasn’t kept clean for Wentz and he took a lot of shots. Some were his fault, but plenty were the result of the Eagles offensive line getting pushed around. This has to be better if Wentz is going to remain healthy/alive.

 

Pass rush

The Browns kept in more than five blockers and went max protect a lot, but, still, this is a front four that’s supposed to hang its hat on making life miserable for the quarterback. I don’t think they even touched RG3 in the first 35 minutes of game action. They started getting home once the Eagles went up by two touchdowns and the Browns were forced to open up the offense, but that tone needs to be set from the start against teams that don’t suck.

 

Preventing “X” plays

Perhaps I’m being greedy since there were only two of these, and the first one to Pryor was undefendable — because he’s 6’6″ and committed pass interference by pushing off Nolan Carroll before leaping for the catch. The second was an underthrown bomb to Corey Coleman in triple coverage. However, since Coleman was the only one of the four players in the area to look back for the ball, he was the only one who made an adjustment and got in position for the catch. On the next play after Coleman’s 58-yard gain, RG3 had a streaking Andrew Hawkins open in the back of the end zone by more than five yards but overthrew him.

 

THE UGLY

Whatever the fuck this was

Hue Jackson channeled his inner Chuck Pagano and it was truly glorious. This wasn’t even a fake punt! Joe Thomas said the Browns saw a mismatch and went for it. Ok, then. Now, I’m no fancy #footballguy, but maybe don’t have a play where your punter lines up as tight end, even if it’s on the backside instead of the play-side and he’s not asked to block. Oh, and as if the punter in formation isn’t enough of a disadvantage, also maybe don’t only have 10 players on the field. Perhaps my favorite part was Duke Johnson’s body language afterward that seemed to indicate he thought the high snap was why the play didn’t work. Uh, Duke, the play was doomed from the start and Eagles had four guys in the backfield immediately. One of the guys was “Albert” Kamu Gurgier-Hill, who runs a 4.45 and made the tackle from the backside. It took only 16 minutes into the season for the Browns to go into their bag of tricks and pull out the Brownsiest disaster of a trick possible. Kudos.*

*By the way, thanks to Hue and Chief (Bad) Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta for being so generous and letting us have Wentz because they felt a RG3 reclamation project and drafting/grooming Cody Kessler was the better route towards contention. I’m sure they won’t regret this decision and ultimately get fired for it in two years.

 

We’ll be talking about Wentz’s debut for years to come. What will he and the rest of the squad do for an encore against the Bears in Chicago a week from today? Probably terribly disappoint us all and put an abrupt end to this wonderful high.  I say they build on this encouraging first act and steamroll their way to 2-0.

I know one thing, I’m listening to killer worship tunes before every game from here on out.