It wasn't pretty, but the Eagles did just enough on Sunday night to defeat the Dallas Cowboys and remain in first place in the NFC East. There were a few specific players who impacted the game, but this article will detail the impact former Eagles made on their teams this past weekend.
Malcolm Jenkins
The New Orleans Saints defense has struggled in recent weeks, especially in the passing game. This week, Jenkins and the Saints played Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears, and the pass defense struggles continued as the Saints gave up some long passing plays. Even with those big plays against them, New Orleans still had some key plays on defense late in the game, and Jenkins was in the middle of them. He made three key plays with under two minutes remaining in the game -- he knocked a pass away that was intended for Jimmy Graham and then on the next play stopped a David Montgomery run denying him a 1st down. A minute later with under 30 seconds left in the game, he made another key stop on another pass to Jimmy Graham. Those key plays helped their defense force overtime and then helped them pick up the win. Jenkins finished with eight tackles, two passes defended, and 1.0 sack.
Trey Burton
Though best remembered for throwing the touchdown pass to Nick Foles during the "Philly Special", Burton now plays for the Indianapolis Colts under Frank Reich, who was Burton's offensive coordinator in 2017 with the Birds. This season Burton is averaging a pretty solid five targets a game from Philip Rivers. This past Sunday, the Colts defeated the Detroit Lions 41-21. Burton was a factor in the game as he was targeted 4 times and caught three passes for nine yards. His biggest play was a two-yard rushing touchdown as a wildcat quarterback.
Golden Tate
The New York Giants played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week which seemed like it would be a blowout but the Giants held their own. The Giants were a successful 2-point conversion away from forcing overtime. This week for Tate was a repeat of his game last week, he was not used much on offense but he made a difference when he was the target. Tate was only targeted three times this week, he caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Tate continues to show that even though he isn’t the top option he has helped his team as a solid redzone target for Daniel Jones.
