The Wide World of Dirt

Winning always feels good, but some wins are more satisfying than others.

The Eagles 24-8 thrashing of the Washington Commanders was definitely one of those wins. Let’s dive into my biggest takeaways from week 3.

MVP LOADING?

Jalen Hurts is firmly in the MVP race.

He put up another stellar performance going 22/35 for 340 yards, 3 TDs while adding 9 carries for 20 yards.

Hurts has been so good throughout the entire first month that he was rewarded with the NFC’S Offensive Player of the Month Award.

His September stats were completing 66/98 (67.3 completion percentage) for 916 yards, 4 TDs with a NFC-leading 106.5 Passer Rating. Hurts also added 167 rushing yards and 3 TDs.

Doing this made Hurts the first ever player with at least 900 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in a team’s first three games.

That is truly incredible to think about considering how many great dual threat QBs there have been over the past few decades.

Hurts also became the first Eagles player to win NFC Player of the Month since…you guessed it Carson Wentz back in October 2017.*

*(In case you forgot, that was the year Wentz should have won the MVP.)

Hurts very much has improved from last year, and he’s making the Eagles start to think they need to write him a check. 

PASS RUSH PASS RUSH PASS RUSH

This is finally the performance I have wanted to see from the defense, especially the defensive line. The Eagles historically have built through the trenches.

They have had a great offensive line for what feels like years, and their defensive line hasn’t been too shabby either.

However, in years past it definitely feels like the D-Line has been overrated. They just didn’t produce sacks and pressures well.

They have been consistently great at stopping the run, but in a passing league, you have to get after the quarterback.

If you want to have a top-10 defense, you need to be able to get to the quarterback.

Boy did they do that in spades.

The Eagles got to Wentz NINE times. Everyone was eating.

T.J. Edwards 1 sack, Brandon Graham (NFC Defensive player of the week) 2.5 sacks, Haason Reddick 1.5 sacks, Fletcher Cox (good to see he looks like his old self again) 1.5 sacks, and finally Josh Sweat (still have no idea how he fell to the 4th round in the 2018 draft).

The Commanders offensive line was overmatched, and they certainly didn’t get help from their quarterback.

Not our problem anymore

Speaking of which, I am so happy Carson Wentz is no longer the quarterback I have to root for every Sunday.

His piss-poor pocket presence is something that he still fails to develop, and I am so happy it doesn’t have to make me upset anymore.

Commanders fans (let’s be real: there are only like 30, which is still 26 more than Chargers fans) are talking themselves into Wentz the same way Eagles fans did.

“He had no help from his O-Line,” or, “Just wait until his O-Line can block for him.”

Wash, rinse, and repeat. Enjoy Washington!

An Emotional Return
Sunday will be an emotional one for myself, and all Eagles fans.

We finally can welcome back Doug Pederson after his tenure ended. This is going to give me chills. I love Pederson and never will say a bad word about him.

Yes, there were times his decisions bothered me in the moment, but those ultimately pale in comparison for him being the only coach in Eagles’ history to bring the City of Philadelphia the Lombardi trophy.

He is a great coach; look at what he has done in three weeks with the Jaguars.

Has he finally given them stability? Sure, their GM is still a fraud, but he has gotten the most out of the players.

Trevor Lawrence looks like how he should under a real coach.

Just wait until he has a useful crop of tight ends, so he can run his famed 12 TE formations that the Reid coaching tree is famous for.

I knew he would do a good job wherever he went, and the Jaguars lucked out. It’s not everyday you get a Super Bowl-winning head coach in your building.

This Jaguars team is fun too!

They definitely can compete in the AFC South and get a playoff berth. While I think they are a year or two away from being a solid playoff opponent, a great QB and HC go a long way.

This will be a tough test for both teams. This will gauge if the Eagles truly are a great team, and on the other hand, this will show if something truly special is brewing in Duval after an embarrassing year.

All I know is I want Doug to succeed anywhere, just not on Sunday. Go Birds.