UPDATE: Landon Dickerson has been placed on IR
“Good” is not the word to describe the feeling in the aftermath of needing a defense stand on a 2 point conversion to win a game you were leading 14-3. More like relieved. Do not despair though. There was an awful lot to like in the Eagles 24-22 opening win over the Commanders.
Jalen Hurts was the best player on the field. He made great throws, looked decisive, and when there was nothing there, he took off and ran. Best of all, his big throws were mostly from the pocket rather than on the run. The new offense looked to fit him perfectly.
The new offense is what everyone came to see and it was… incomplete. The good stuff included the plays getting off on time, no cowards draws on 3rd down, and we weren’t able to diagnose the designs from our couches. However, we didn’t really get to see what was so different because damn near every play was busted from the start.
If Jalen Hurts was the best part of the offense, Landon Dickerson was the worst. I love the guy, but this was rough. He was only flagged for holding twice, but he had to hang on for dear life all night because he was getting abused. Washington was blowing up plays consistently from the interior and usually from in front of either Dickerson or center Cam Jurgens. Saquon Barkley looked good, but he had to beat defenders behind the line of scrimmage again like last year. If Hurts didn’t have his first read, he rarely had time to move to the second. The Eagles have good back up options in Willie Lampkin and Drew Kendall, but it’s too early to pull those levers. Update: It wasn’t.
On the other side, the Eagles defense was fantastic with two exceptions. First, by the 4th quarter they were toast. It was certainly hot and humid but they were gassed beyond Washington. Was it bad rotations? Was it short offensive drives? Was it week1? Probably all of it. The d-line wasn’t getting home, but they made life hell on Jayden Daniels all night. Once Jonathan Greenard gets here and adds to the rotation, we’ll be back on top.
Of course, that leaves the other exception. Two players were all over the screen on defense. Zach Baun looked great and was everywhere we needed him. Cooper DeJean was under attack. He looked awful. The Commanders couldn’t do anything until they raised DeJean was a step slow. It’s only one week, but he looked an awful lot like 2009 Cole Hamels the year after running the World Series. If he had an off season not dedicated to football, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Had the Eagles played a better team than Washington, they probably would have lost. At the same time, if Dickerson and DeJean weren’t total liabilities, we probably win this game in a route. Those problems can be fixed. This was not 2025 all over again by any means. Thankfully we have Tennessee next week before the big showdown with Chicago on Monday Night Football.
In a week where the Rams, Chargers, Patriots, and Packers lost while A.J. Brown and Myles Garrett both hit IR, getting a win and knowing our QB will be fine is a pretty good outcome.
Eagles: 1-0
Game Ball: Jalen Hurts
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