They did it. The first time this year, I can say the Philadelphia Eagles played a complete game from start to finish, and looked like how I thought the Eagles could look coming into the season. They had a lot of young guys who stepped up on both sides of the ball and made some great plays all day. They took a Dallas Cowboys squad who dominated the Los Angeles Rams a week before, and only let them get up for a few gasps of air. Let’s go into who we’re the studs and duds of this game. (Spoiler warning, only two duds)
STUD: Miles Sanders
Miles Sanders has come out as a future star in this league. He can do whatever you need him to do. Power run? You got it. Speed on outside runs? Good luck catching up. Make some guys miss? Please call an ambulance for the broken ankles he leaves behind. Catch the ball for big plays? Throw it over to him. Block for Wentz? Just call him bodyguard jr.
It’s incredible how well rounded this guy's game is and he can be the first guy under Doug Pederson to dominate that backfield with touches because he has earned it. He has now made Jordan Howard expendable for the fact that he can do what Howard can plus more. Sanders is an amazing talent, as you can see for another 100+ scrimmage yards and could have had two touchdowns, but slid to secure the win for the Birds. This guy is special and has had an outrageous rookie year.
DUD: Jake Elliott
He has gotten inaccurate in recent weeks, and it terrifies me beyond no end. This needs to get fixed or we are going to be up creek with no paddles if our kicker keeps doing this. It’s even worse since he was so reliable the first three months of the season. Please please please fix this, Jake.
STUD: Dallas Goddert
Was a young Brent Celek on the field? That’s what I see with Goddert. He not only makes catches that he shouldn’t, he also just powers past defenders and makes more out of plays that look like they are doomed to fail. He also is able to go up high to make plays like he did on the TD. Goddert even was able to step up more when Ertz went down with what looked like broken ribs and just put himself as TE1 as if it was always his position. The 12 personnel that they have run majority of this game is something that should be ran 60-70% of the time. Goddert needs to be on the field as much as possible the rest of the season.
STUDS: Defense (minus 1 guy)
They stepped on the Cowboys offense’s throat and just let them take little gasps of air here and there. The Cowboys tried to run with the best running back in football who has dominated the Eagles every game of his career, and the defense said sit down and get some food cause he wasn’t feasting on the field. They tried to throw and get bulk amounts of yards, and the secondary just smacked them around and didn't let up a lot of RAC. The only issue I really saw was that they still missed a few tackles. This needs to change if they do make the playoffs.
DUD: Ronald Darby
You saw how he played and what he did. I don’t want to talk about how he gets beat by guys every week now and it’s time to move on. He clearly is now the worst corner we have on this roster.
STUDS: WR Corps
First off, Greg Ward is a legit player and a threat on the field. He is the best slot guy we can ask for, and can be used with some great trick plays too. He made a lot of plays on Sunday and it was incredible to watch him make key plays over and over this game. The other two receivers on the roster, Robert Davis and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, stepped up and made plays when they needed to as well. This was the first time I felt confident in our WRs since Week 1. These young guys are coming into their own and showing that they can play and Wentz clearly likes it. If they keep heating up, the Eagles can make a serious run with this squad.
Honorable Mention STUD: Sidney Jones
That’s two game closing plays for him now in the past three weeks. This guy's confidence should be completely shot now, but when he is called to arms he does his job. I applaud Sidney for that big play against Michael Gallup at the end of the game, and I would consider letting him see the field a little more than he has. Maybe he’s finally turning the corner.
