On Desean Jackson's first drive returning to the Eagles, he had more penalty yards (15) than receiving yards (11). He then followed that drive up with not one, but two 50+ yard TD receptions, something that has not been done in an Eagles uniform since Ben Hawkins in 1967. It was no secret that bringing Desean into this offense also meant home run plays; but also would open things up for other Eagles receivers. See: Alshon Jeffrey.
Alshon finished the day with five catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns, one being scored a rushing touchdown from a screen pass at the goal line. Alshon was getting open for much of the second half against one of the best corners in the league, especially in key 3rd down situations. After a year where Carson was getting criticism for not targeting his wideouts enough, and leaning on his all pro tight end Zach Ertz, it was refreshing to see the top two wide outs put up such big numbers on the day. The numbers were so big, that a certain hall of fame DB brought the WR duo on his segment on NFL Network after the game.
While it is not expected that Desean goes for nearly 200 yards and 2 touchdowns each game, having the threat to take the lid off the defense is a welcoming sign that the team was missing last year. When comparing Alshon's stats from 2017 with Torrey Smith and 2018 with the lack of a real deep threat, Alshon's yardage actually went up slightly in 2018, but his touchdowns were cut down by 1/3. Everyone knew that this Eagles offense was going to be a force in the NFC, and dropping 30 in the first action together proves that point. While it was only the first game, the Birds still flew high to a 1-0 start.
