Victoooooory!
Finally, a tally in the win column for the Eagles in 2020. It wasn’t pretty, but not much about this team is — and that’s ok. Coming away from a cross country trip with a win, amidst all the adversity was what this team needed. The next step is to get healthy.
While the win wasn’t pretty, the takeaways both on the field and from the game are mostly positive.
Turnovers
The Eagles finally did it. The defense forced a turnover! Three, actually. The defensive line play has been outstanding, and they really came to play last night. Mullens was flustered by the pass rush all night, and the 49ers never really got their vaunted rush game going. The first turnover was an easy interception for Rodney McLeod thanks to a great pass rush, then there was a strip-sack off a corner blitz from Cre’von LeBlanc. Later in the game, with the Eagles up by a score, Alex Singleton picked off a pass from Mullens and returned it for six.
While Wentz did have an interception if his own on the night, the Eagles won the overall turnover battle. Good things happen when you force more turnovers than the other team!
Wentz Played Free, Like a Bison
Carson Wentz showed flashes of the 2017 Carson Wentz. He was not perfect, but there was progress. Wentz showed us, there’s still life in those legs. On this play, I thought maybe Mahomes may have stepped in for Carson — as Wentz escaped the pocket, stiff armed a 6’7 280lb Arik Armstead and delivered a dime across his body to Boston Scott.
Darrius Slay — Shutdown Corner
Coming into a new defense, Slay has been playing as advertised. He has allowed only a 76.3 passer rating through four games while following teams' top receivers. Slay has helped sure-up an Eagles secondary that ranked near the bottom in 2019. The more this defense learns, and trusts under Jim Schwartz - the more dangerous they can become.
