Post-Game Show: Eagles Win 20-16

they get to two and one on the season. But how fitting is it that on the day when two members of the Gang Green defense and Set Joiner and Clyde Simmons are inducted into the Eaels Hall of Fame, the defense comes up huge in a big way. First of all, they wanted to make up for last week's disappointing effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and limit those

explosive big play touchdowns. Twice the Colts had short field after Carson Wentz turnovers, won an interception, one of fumble, and the Eels both times were able to hold the Colts to add infinitary field goals, making sure the game stayed close until Wendell Smallwood came up with the game winning four yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, but again twice the Eagles had to hold after that, and knowing that in the first game back for Carson Wentz,

you didn't expect the fireworks. So I think everyone's expectations got kind of blown out of proportion after the opening drive when he went five or seven all passes to tight ends, all receptions made by the tight ends, capped off by Dallas Godder who hauled in his first career touchdown reception, and it looks so beautiful, pristine and surgical. You just felt, Wow, the man is back, the general

is back. This is what the spark that the Eagles needed, and they're gonna be able to take it from here and take flight. But after that drive, did you notice anything in particular that the Colts were able to do to style me the Eagles offense and not allow them to get into that rhythm. Again, what the biggest thing is they don't fear. They didn't fear the Eagles wide receivers. I mean that was the biggest thing. And the fact that the Eagles didn't necessarily push the ball down the field.

You really started playing football in the phone booth. And so what I mean by that is is basically if you don't threaten that you can go deep, then those safeties are going to start creeping closer to the line. The linebackers as well, and you saw on that interception they started getting to read on where Carson was going with the football. He jumped the linebacker jumped that a pass to zachers and that was a huge interception there.

But the Eagles are gonna have to figure out how to start getting the ball to the wideouts and more importantly, start pushing the ball down the field a little bit. Yeah, so that's gonna be the biggest shout for this Eagle's offense. Now, certainly you figure with Carson Wentz he's getting back into the rhythm of the things. He'll want to take his shots down the field. He's someone who'll pull the trigger,

but he's gonna need the pass protection. And the Eagles really struggled with the looping and the stunting that the Colts did that the layed blitzes. Darius Leonard was a beast all throughout the course of the game. Marcus Hunt caused a lot of problems in the backfield, lining up both at end and tackle from both spots. He he was wreaking havoc for this Colts defense here today, and that I think made things difficult for Carson Wentz when he would try to get things going not knowing where

those rushers were coming from. And I think really that's where you miss someone like the Darren Sprawls. Okay, the Eagles were without Jagi. They didn't have Darren Sprawls once again due to injury today. So what Darren Spoils is very good at is it past protection from the backfield

and Corey Clement, Wendel Smallwood and Josh Adams. They did well offensively, being able to help move the ball both in the running game and the receiving game, but in past protection at times there were some breakdowns and then led to some free rushers there on. Carson Wentz, he took his shots and fortunately we all I think we're holding our breath for that first time that he would get hit, but each and every time he bounced up

showing no worse for wear. Oh yeah, I mean, listen, you gotta be excited about what you saw from Carson Wentz today. With his first game being back, I think we got a chance to see his full repertoire other than throwing the ball deep to someone, but he took hits in the pocket. He was able to keep plays alive with his legs. I mean, looked just like he did last year. And that's a good thing because here's like you said, you're gonna be a little worried when

you first see him get hit. But the way he played today, it was good to see because that lets you know he's one healthy and ready to roll. Yeah. All right, So in a short time later on in the show, we're here from head coach Doug Pearson and we'll hear from quarterback Carson Wentz, and we also break down the biggest plays of the game in our RICO review, and we'll also offer our nominees for the Toyota Player of the Week and some good candidates for that award

this week here. So as we break down the numbers from this game, looking from Carson Wentzon the running game, it was interesting how they were able to get contributions across the board. I mentioned again once again, no a gi, no sprowls out there today, So Smallwood actually picking up, you know, being being able to pick up the load for the offense there from the backfield. Leading a team in Russian Corey Climate doing things of both running receiving,

and Josh Adams helping out as well. Yeah, I thought, I thought when Deal had had his best game in a long time as an Eagle, may may have had his best game as an Eagle period. Was big in the run game, was bigg in the passing game as well, catching the ball coming out of the backfield. Really ran with a lot of authority today. Ran hard, picked up some tough yardage, was able to get keep first downs lay in that game, and then obviously getting the go

ahead score late in the game. Really impressed with the way Windale Smallwood ran the ball today. Yeah, the yards after the con content the biggest thing that you saw from from Smallwood out there today. Let's send it over now to Link and Fincial Field. We're gonna bring in the insider Davis there and Amy Campbell and Dave. Your thoughts watching this game, Carson Wentz coming back after missing you know, the first couple of games of the season. I think it was two hundred and eighty days since

I started against the Rams. Your thoughts is out in here today as he helped lead the Eagles to the twenty and sixteen wins. Well Chris, thank you so much. We've got a lot to talk about, Amy and I really we're gonna start on the we're still catching our breath. First of all, the crowd filing out of financial field another band bunner here at the link. Let's begin with the offensive thoughts. That what you saw here Carson Wentz and the running game in the middle of the field

get going. Yeah. I thought it was really interesting that no receivers were targeted until almost near the end of that first half there. This is a good win for Carson Wentz in his first game back. You expect there to be some bumps on offense, especially with this weather today, having it kind of be the way it is. Eagles dominated in time of possession and in yards on offense, and yet it was a four point game. So obviously the miscu's there, the mistakes, the penalties kind of got him.

But to come out with a w for Wentz on his first game back and the way they got it done, And David got to give you a credit on your Dallas Goddard predictions. My goold prediction nailed a couple of things here. The Eagles fourth quarter and other fourth quarter comeback victory success in the red zone. They used Corey Clement and Wendale Smallwood effectively. I thought it was a chance for Wendale to earn the trust of the coaching

staff and he did that. And then the middle of the field, the way that Zach and Dallas control the middle of the field very impressive. Now, Carson Wentz great mobility, tremendous energy on the sidelines early in the game, kind of lulled. They picked up the ten full late, but for Carson daring Amy aggressive it clearly did not hold back. Yeah.

Great to see him really physically looking like his old self there, and of course mentally it's going to take a little bit more time for him to get that rhythm. But physically, like you said, aggressive, I think that's a really good sign for him and for this team. Now, the defense holding down the Colts for much of the game. Two Wentz turnovers resulting in only six Colts points, and then Derek Barnett steps up late in the fourth quarter and then the hail Mary from Jacobe Brissette to the

back of the end zone falls incomplete. This defense is relentless, Amy, They were relents in at home. Absolutely terrific. Yeah, I think an eraser is kind of the way that I was thinking about it, especially like you mentioned, seeing those Wentz turnovers kind of deep in their own territory. Only those turning into six points instead of fourteen huge for this defense here. So the rain has stopped, the sky's clearing up a bit, Chris, back to you at the

novicare complex. Time to go into the locker room and see how this team feels at two and one after another nail biter. Excellent, Thank you so much, Dave and Amy, And again you can read Dave's on the Inside Coom featuring Carson Wentz is outing today as well as listening to the Eagles Life podcast which will be available later on this evening, and we'll talk more about the defense here. How difficult is it when you know that a team like the Colts or Angela came into this game averaging

fewer than six yards per attempt. I think in the AFC, I think Tyra Taylor and Blame Gabbert were the only quarterbacks in the conference with the lower yards per attempt. But you know at some point they're going to take their chances deep. So it's almost like you're lulled into thinking it's going to be short play, short play, short play, and at some point with a Pro Bowl, why not like t Y Hilton who can strutch the defense. You know they're gonna take their shot. How difficult is it

almost waiting for that moment to happen. You gotta be prepared, and you're right, you know you never know when it's gonna happen. You certainly have to do your homework and you understand that the offense isn't an explosive of offense. They want to get the ball out of Andrew Luck's hands quickly as possible. I think that's really why his yards per attempt or because they don't want him sitting

back there holding the football taking hits. But inclement weather like it was today, they're gonna be times where he had to hold the ball, and you saw late in the game he was able to get the ball down the field when he needed to. So it certainly isn't necessarily because he doesn't have the arm strength, although they did bring in Jacoby Brissette late in the game to throw to hell Mary. As a defense, you just have

to make sure you stay sharp. You can't fall asleep out there because, like you said, with a guy like t Y Hilton lined up across from you, you know, he has the ability to get down the field. Indeed, he was testing Jail Mills a couple of times, two pass interference penalties. I thought Mills was much more aggressive, much more physical with his tackling. Tackling was a big thing for the Eels today because you're getting a lot short passes in the open field. That Ronald Darby did

good job. Sidney Jones as well. You have to limit those plays to make sure that the five yard cash sort of like what happened with the Oj Howard touchdown against Tampa Bay last week. It's a fifteen yard reception over Mill that turned out to become a seventy five yard touchdown. You have to stop and make those plays. I'd sell. The other thing I noticed, you know, being in the stadium watching Jalen play, he switched up how he defended the wide receivers. He didn't play off coverage

all the time. He sometimes he went up on the line of scrimmage, even when he was lined up across from t Y Hilton. He didn't mind getting up there and being physical with the line of scrimmage. And that's what he's gonna have to do as a corner. You can't play afraid to get beat over the top. You gotta get these wilde receivers a different look. Mix it up for him, and I thought he did a nice job.

But at today and when he was up on the line of scrimmage, he was physical with t Y and there were a couple of times where he's running stride for stride with Ty out there. So I thought he played much better today than he did last week. And mixing up how he was going to play his coverages, you could actually say on both passinger Ferris Pelis he was in position to make the play. Yeah, you know, he just ended up, you know, drawing some contact and

it got called for the flight. But both times it wasn't like he was getting beat so bad that he had to hold the guy to restrict his movement there, which is a matter he had to give himself, you know, from a technique standpoint, in a better position to knock down the pass instead of hitting the receiver in the process. But overall, it thought much more physical, like you said,

much more aggressive today. I remember talking to him earlier this week and he just said he just wasn't himself last week, and you saw that across the board from the defense, it just didn't seem like they were up to the task, whether it was the weather, whether it was they took the bucks lately, which is a possibility. You know, they knew that even though this Colt's offense was limited now they didn't have Jack Doyle in there, they have Marlon Mack their top running back, so crossboard,

they're dealing with injuries. Anthon Cassanso, their starting left tackle, was out as well, but still they knew they had to help things, help the offense out because they didn't want Carson wants to have to be superman in his first game back. It was great that the Eagles got off to the early start, the fast start there where

they got the three and out on defense. Give the ball at Carson, he drives down the field, goes five or seven, throws a touchdown pass to Dallas Gallard, and for most of the game the Eagles are in the driver's seat, unlike the first two weeks where they're to play catch up early on. Yeah, you look at those those numbers right there, and you would think the Eagles completely dominated the Coats today. But penalties got in the way.

I thought the defense did an excellent job both times the fields got changed on them and they had to go out there with their backs up against the wall, against the goal line to hold the Coats to field

goals as opposed to giving up touchdowns. That's really why we were able to win this game to day, because if you give up touchdowns off those two turnovers, now the Coats, that's that's what That's twelve extra points that you're looking at at least, and with the way the office was struggling to put the ball in the end zone,

we may have a different outcome today. So I thought the defense once they got sudden change, they had to go out there the Coats already basically in field goal position, and for the defense to hold them to field goals as opposed to giving up touchdowns. That was huge, including that last drive where yeah, the Coats they took the ball down the field and you wish the coverageod have been a little bit tighter, but again with their backs again it's the goal line, they were able to keep

the Coats out of the end zone. The biggest thing is if they get one of those touchdowns off the turnovers. They don't need a touchdown at the end of the games. That's the biggest thing right there, that changes the end of the game situation more than anything else. Now, the Eagles got the lead with a four yard touchdown run by Wendel Smallwood, who actually tied with Corey Clement to

be the game's league rusher. And small also had a huge thirty five yard catch out of the backfield on the wheel route that we've seen from the likes of Todd Gurley and others throughout the course of this season, and I believe we'll actually have break it down later on in the show. But Eagles Insire Dave Spadero caught up with Smallwood, one of the heroes of the game, over at Lincoln Financial Field, running back Wendelle's Smallwood the

winning points touchdown runs fifty six rushing yards. Let's go into the huddle that last drive. What was it like? And the line just told me they was gonna get me in there, and they told me just run the ball hard. Now they moved the line from now I got an end zone. Good job the entire your running game. How did it feel out there, Wendell, do you feel you were winning the lining scrimmage. I think we were winning the line scrimmage the whole game. Every running back dominated.

I think we took that workload. We had two guys down and we kind of stepped it up to the to win the way this team on. What is to say about the Eagles. It shows a lot shows how much we fight. We played to that. We played to that clock a zero. We get. We're gonna do whatever that we gotta do to get them wins. Wendell small We congratulations, thanks man. All Right, there's Wendelle small one again. We're gonna hear from coach Doug Pearson as well as

quarterback Carson Wentz in just a little bit. But I like that quote at the end because this time of year again, Carson Wentz making his season debut. You're missing two of your top running backs. You're missing alshon Jeffrey, you know, Mike Walls and maccollins are on ir. You're just trying to figure out what the team is gonna be with the identity this franchise is going to be here in twenty and eighteen. Any win you can get

at this point in the year is golden. As you're just trying to stack them up to get yourself Freddy for the months of October and November, because certainly Carson wentz to going to come in tomorrow, He's gonna watch the film, realize the mistakes he's made, and obviously pick up his game to another level going next week when the Eagles have to travel down to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. Yeah, I mean, that's what this league is all about. It's a week to week league.

And I know it sounds cliche when coaches use these sort of times, but that's what it is, man. It is a week to week league, and the only thing, the only objective you have is to come out of the week one to know that's what you want to do. It doesn't matter how pretty the wins are. He has no such thing as an ugly win. The win is a win, So I mean, has no such thing as a pretty loss. Yes, so you want to get to

win regardless of what it looks like. And the good thing for this team is that they have championship medal and they aren't going to just be satisfied with the way they played today. They're going to certainly go look at the film, they expect more of themselves. But when you look at the offensive side, the biggest thing that stood out to me was that final drive that they scored on. They got the ball with fourteen minutes and

something to go in the fourth quarter. They ate up over eleven minutes, a seventeen play drive over eleven minutes to get the go ahead touchdown. That's championship football right there. Seventeen plays, seventy five yards and as you said, eleven eighteen, that's unheard of to having eleven minute drive. Look at the different time of possession forty minutes to nineteen and eteen two to one, and that's how the Eagles won

games last year. They led the league in time of possession, picking up first downs, and listen, they aren't beating beating you with explosive plays. They certainly have got to their fair share of third downs in those drives, but they converted on them. Doug knew when to go for it on fourth down, things of that nature, and they just refused on that final drive to come off the field without six points. And you could see the determination and Carson some of the plays that he made with guys

hanging on his legs. You know him trying to escape sacks Man. It was. It was really a hard fought type of win out there today. They took everything that the coaches throughout him today and they responded. And it's an interesting cold seam because you mentioned they gave Washington more than it could handle a week ago, being up on them the previous week. They couldn't be in Cincinnati. They're in position at the end of the game to

be right there and coming up just short. But yet you look at the numbers and offensively, nothing explosive whatsoever. A very young defense, you know, but they fly around the football. It's a Dallas scheme with Matt Eberfluss, you know, taking over as a coordinator and kind of bringing in what he learned from Dallas. So a lot of the same things you'll see there with the Cowboys in terms of a pressure standpoint. But still, you know, you just

didn't know what to expect. Me. It's not a familiar opponent. It's not a division rival, it's not a conference rival you're playing pretty much every year. It's the team that you haven't seen in four years. I gotta be honest, The game sort of played out how I thought it would you know, you're talking about two coaching stats. Particularly with Frank Wright as the head coach. They know each other, right,

that's the exact right, Yeah, they know each other. And the one advantage Frank Wright had is that he actually knows the personnel of the Eagles, and by that, I mean he knows the strengths and the weaknesses of guys on the defensive side of the football. So you knew that this wasn't going to be some blowout win for the Eagles, Carson's first game back. You got rain pouring down, You knew the scoring was going to be low, and it really was going to board down to who took

care of the ball the best. Eagles gave up two turnovers, but luckily their defense only allowed two field goals, didn't allow those turnovers to convert in the touchdowns, and I thought the game was going to be a tightly contested game. You know, the coach defense, I think it is very underrated when you look at how they play and listen, you you'll take the win any way that you can

get the win. We pretty much came out of the game healthy, I believe, other than Rock Mud Rodney McCleod, but Carson and the way that he played today makes you're excited about next week. Sitting over the coach Peterson at the lake told your wins, Now, what stands out about that group down there? Gosh, it's a it's a group that just you know, they bow their neck when I have to um and uh, I think it's what two for ten, two out of ten last you know for the Atlantic game and at home anyway, Um that

our defense has stopped. So it's a um, they understand sense of urgency down there. You know, they understand that things things can happen faster, balls out faster. Um. You know, the space is obviously limited down there, so it's an advantage defense a little bit. And and they they they play well. I mean it's been it's been one of the one of the positives on defense. I was on your first drive and your left drive and a couple of players in there said that there's a magic when

when Carson's in there. How to denigrate when Nick has done? But what was it like having him back and what did you think of his performance? Well, it was exciting to get him back out there, and uh, you know, all week really started back in on Tuesday, you know, with our walk through and stuff, and then the whole week just seeing him, you know, just how he got in the huddle, talking to the guys, communicating with the you know, the skill guys, um throughout the game today

and just kind of getting back to his old self. Um. You know, and again, like always, you know, we will evaluate. I know he would probably have want want to get the fumble back, he'd want to pick back and things like that, and and those are things that can't happen, especially you know when our backed up on our end of the field. But I thought overall, he did some nice things. Moved around well, extended extended some drives for us um whether he was running or you know, escaping

the pocket, and making some plays down the field. But um, I thought, for the first first time back, not too bad. There seemed to be several plays where maybe a year ago or two years ago, Carson might have tucked it and run as opposed to like hitting Dallas Goddard a couple of times, hitting the running back a couple of times. Do you think the knee has anything to do that to think it's natural maturity? Do you agree with that?

I don't think it's a nee at all. I think it's just maturity of playing the position and and and seeing the field and and it comes from playing, you know. And and uh um he did that several times today. Um, dumped it off into the flat, got got positive, you know, eight yards, ten yards whatever, and that that just comes from playing and just the maturity of playing the position. Over time, he's quarterback diving into the sideline for that

first down. What's going through your mind the second quarter? Um, Well, for me, I was standing right there. I mean, it's definitely obviously a safe as a safe dive. You know, there was no contact other than him hitting the ground really, and um, that's just him, you know. I mean that that's the that's the aggressive nature that he plays with. And those are types of plays that you know, you just you know, um, you just make you just do.

It's just it's just instinct, you know, and and something you don't you don't coach, and and uh um, you know it just it was a great, great play, great way to get a first down and keep us on the field. Didn't appear that obviously he worried, didn't even think about the injury. How important is it for a quarterback who comes off an injury to go out there and just be who he was before it seemed that way.

Any Yeah, I mean I think it's important. I don't want to, you know, I don't want to put you know, restraints on him at all, and and and put him in bubble wrap. And it's not that's not how we play the game. It's not how he plays the game. And he wants to be you know, just as aggressive on the field too, and and so I don't think

about it that way. I just want to, you know, do us right for obviously him, but for the offense and the other guys out there that are that are strained in their bodies to to just execute one play. But I thought he you know, protected himself pretty pretty well today in the game. I think Carson's first seven targets or so, we're at tight ends and he played in a lot of thirteen. What made you think that

was the way to go going into the game. Um, just by scheme, you just, uh, we felt like with our three tight ends, that gives us a little bit of a personnel advantage. Teams want to play, you know, a base defense. They eventually went to nickel defense, and we still had some success to on that, and then we began to run the ball. Just bigger people, athletic

people on the field. Really worked for us on the you know, the opening drive and and just wanted to get the quarterback in a rhythm too, you know with that. But um, part of the plan, part of you know this game plan was was to do do some of that in this game. You spoke after the last game about wanting big plays on offense. You had to really get together a long drives. I think the final drives a sixteen play drive. Is that good enough for you

or do you want to have more explosive plays? Well again, well we'll take a look at the film. I mean you definitely want more. I mean, you know it goes out so you love to score you know, five play drives and put yourself in the end zone. But um, sometimes it doesn't happen that way. And again without evaluating the take, been seeing if whether we miss somebody or you know, protection breakdown whatever stuff we can fix, then then we can we can continue to uh you know,

stay aggressive. There. We had some opportunities, we made some plays down the field. Um, you know, urs had a couple of nice ones. Dallas had a couple when Dale had a nice long pass in there, so you know, we're getting them. We just got to make sure that we continue to stay aggressive. And obviously, as a play caller, you know, I gotta I gotta call to play. Play drive was the key. Just the resiliency of the offense, quite honestly, Um, offensive line began to dominate a little

bit at that point. Um and and uh gosh, you know when Dale Corey running extremely hard and then and then we were fortunate a couple of penalties went our way and and extended a couple of those drives. But um, you know, it's just, uh, I had just a team effort at that particular time. Were there things that you didn't do you thought he might diagnose. Were there things that you think he diagnosed today that you know, sort

of blew up for you. What was it like basing a guy that you've been so close to the last couple of years. And yeah, it was a lot of fun, a lot of fun getting chance to visit with him

before the game. And um, you know, we were aware of of a couple of things that that he might pick up on, whether it be by formation or personnel, and kind of vice versa with us, you know, with with their offense, and and really, quite honestly, once you're into the you know, the heat of the battle, you're into the game, you know, you just you're just focused on calling the next play and executing that next play and and uh and trying to trying to score. And

I know he was the same way. But he's got a good football team. He's got a great quarterback. Obviously, Um, they're gonna win a ton of games. And then it was it was fun to play against building on a dead chart after the trade last year. What made you trust him today? In that situation with with with two guys out darren Sproles and Jed I weren't playing no, um no, I mean listen, Wendell has always has always

impressed me. I mean, he's he's worked extremely hard. He um, he's really proved its craft and and uh put himself in a position to help us. And and he did it again in training camp this year and in the

first part of this season. And you gotta have guys like that, you know, might might be role players, but you know what their role is pretty big in games like this when you know your two top guys are down in the backfield and along the same lines, I thought Josh stepped in and made some nice runs too, you know. So, um, we continue because they also play you know, special teams. Um, we continue to rotate guys and make sure they're fresh throughout the game. Had a

big game. Was that because you saw matchups because of necessity considering the injuries that you're dealing with in the depth issues, or because he's earned it because he's progressive to this degree. I really think it's a little bit all that what you just said. Um, he's earned it. Obviously, he's smart, he's talented. We see it in practice, Um, you know, and and it's it's it's just time to play,

you know. And it cut him loose a little bit, and and and don't keep him back and and so it was part of the game plan again to do that with two tight ends, three tight ends. But at the same time, UM, as he gets more and more comfortable with the offense and and and find um specific plays for him, he's just gonna get better and better. And uh, it's it's a combination really of all those comments you mentioned. The committee at running back without Jay

and darn Darren, what gives you the competence? Other coaches might shorten their bench show to speak, but you still went with the three guys, went Donald, Josh, what gives you the confidence? And those guys, you know, I trust Deuce during the week to make sure that those guys are prepared, trust the players that they're doing their jobs to UH, to make sure they understand the game plan. And really, you know it, I talk a lot about it takes all fifty three, you know, and and then

of course it takes the forty six. On a game day, whoever dresses is going to play. And um, you know, these first three games, it's it's really come down to everybody's had to play. And you know, this is the National Football League. And um, again, I'm not going to hold a player back just because you know, he's a rookie or he doesn't have enough experience. UM, it's our job as coaches to uh to coach him up, you know,

and to get him, get him ready and prepared. And so the next time Josh is in this situation, you know, each each time gets a little better and better. So, um, whether he's a rookie or a you know, twelve thirteen year vet and we have to make sure that they're all coached up the same involved in another big I think it Eric Barnett involved in another big you know, strip sack bumble than what has his progress been like since you since you guys drafted him? And where is

he right now? That was one of the big plays if we got Yeah, I mean great play. Um, this kid just keeps getting better and better. UM been pleased with how he how he works in practice. Um, you know, he's he's an unselfish ball player. I mean he'll play special teams. If you ask him, he'll rush the pastor if you ask him. I mean he just he does some so many great things. And we're so excited to have a player like Derek and a young player like Derek who who who can who can play extensively and

and and work in the work in the rotation. Um just seems like, you know, somewhere in the game ninety six is gonna show up, you know and make him play. And he did that you know several times. Today. It was the message to both Carson and the in the locker room. UM, I just can congratulated Carson just on

the win. You know, Um, nothing further than that really just uh, you know, we found a way, you know, make it work, and we won, and it's to be proud of, you know, and you know, for the team, it's it's a matter of just we gotta just learn from our mistakes. I really feel like, you know, good football teams find ways to win and and we've we've been able to do that in tight, close ball games. We've been able to you know, figure it out and and win and that and that's a tribute to the

guys in the locker room. And so that was kind of my thoughts after the after the game to them and you know, to enjoy it um. And we're right back to work on Tuesday, all right. So that's head coach Doug Pearson. Again. We're gonna hear from quarterback Carson

Wentz in just a little bit. But game ball for me here goes to the Eagles medical team for making sure that Carson Wentz had the right amount of time being sidelined before he was thrust into action and able to do the things he did on the field today. So certainly the Eagles made the right call from that standpoint, taking a few extra weeks into his season. Although Carson Wentz wanted to be out there for the season opener.

We all wanted to see him against Atlanta. But the Eagles doing right by him, not just for the short term, but the long term as well, to make sure they give him the best chance of recovery and in a long career here in Philadelphia. So something that's not lost today seeing him spin and escape from defenders, because while he may be maturing in the way that he's attacking defenses and not you know, going for the run each and every time, he is, still he was not afraid

whatsoever to use his legs. And you know a couple times in that first quarter where he's making spin moves to elude defenders and get extra yards. Yeah, and I mean just this, and I've said it several times before, Carson Wentz probably could have played two weeks ago. If he's doing what he did today, you can't tell me that that guy couldn't have played two weeks ago. I mean, he's out there as if it's been a full year

since he's been injured. I mean, he's diving for first downs, he's avoiding sacks, he has guys hanging on his legs. He still refuses to go down, he's throwing, he's completing passes. How about the one sack where they had him in the grass, He's trying to get out of that. Yeah, he was trying to get out of that place. So um but no doubt about it. They did right by him by his career by holding off a few extra weeks, even if that meant we were gonna have to wait

for him a little longer. And I know it was tough on him because he was so eager to get out there. But man, watching him play today, Wow, I mean, he does not look like he's suffering any type of other effects from that injury. I mean he was out there and you saw the full rep pertoire of Carson Wentz out there today, from the athletic standpoint, from the

armstring standpoint, all of those things. His ability to extend plays his ability to make the magical play where you think he's going to be sacked and he somehow gets out of it and finds a guy for a big, a big reception. Um that that has to have all Eagle fans feeling good, because that was one of the things I wanted to see more than anything. Certainly, it

was important for them to get to win. But watching Carson Wentz play today and see if he was going to be out there favoring that knee, see if he was a little gun shy, I mean, none of those things. He's he was able to hang in the pocket, take big hits, and he was he was off on a couple of throws. But that's just rust. That was just ya that type of thing. I mean, that's totally to be expected. And there's Carson Wentz and the Kelly Green. How do you valuate your batch it? You know, it

felt good to find them be out there. It's kind of a long time coming obviously a lot of excitement, a lot of emotions. But um, coming out the way we did with that hot star going right down the field, Uh, we going some no huddle tempo. I felt good, feel good that no huddle and tempo. Is that something you requested?

What did that give you guys to at the beginning of the Yeah, Doug and I talked about it earlier in the week, and UM thought it would be something UM just kind of get get me started, get the offing and started to get us all starting fast. Um, and and he trusted us with it. And obviously the result was a good one. The turnovers in the game at the end of the game, did you attribute those to rust or just or decision making? This decision making, I mean the interception, the guy made a great play.

You know, that's a it's a Rodway throw. It's all the time, and uh, he just he just read it right, it well, and I gotta I gotta be smart with that one. Another one's unfortunate stepping up in the pocket getting it hit. Um, you know, you gotta clean up those things. Obviously. You never want interceptions, fumbles, especially um when you're backed up like we were, put our defense in a couple of tough situations, but they st up and played a play a good football game. Drive seventeen

plays and a lot of them. You guys were behind the sticks. A few players said that you brought them together at one point and said, you know, head boards, encouragement. I guess what what was the message you wanted to convey to the guys there, Yeah, I mean, just in the middle of a drive, especially in that situation. You know, I think it was just we had the sack and

then the whole thing. I think it was and it was all of a sudden second and thirty or something like that, and I just told the guys, let's get half of this. Let's get at least half of this, get us in a third and manageable, UM, and just stay together. Everyone's kind of, you know, all up in arms over the holding or whatever it was, and I said, they just stayed together. Let's stay on track. And the next play we had the wholding defensive holding pick up

the first down and then we were rolling. We get very many big plays today. Was that we could frustration of setting it at all or did you just kind of expect that coming in? You know? That's I mean, credit the Colts defense on that, honestly. You know, I thought they played, um did some things different than we saw on film and really just forced us to drive. You know, they put a lot of soft zone coverage and I forced us to take a lot of things underneath.

So so really credit the Colts defense and UM. At the same time, we just played our game and we put people in the right spots. Obviously you saw us with a lot of two and three tight end personnels out there, so UM, that's kind of part of the game plan. Knowing what the Colts like to do thinking about your knee. I mean not at all. Didn't sec

reporter when you made that dive first down? Can you describe that play and is that indicative of your willingness to play with the same a bandon you played with before you got hurt. Yeah, I mean I thought it was just a normal scramble to me, you know, obviously made a guy miss in the pocket, and UM, it's all the first down marker and no for a pretty standard standard for him. What did Alice gott straeted it? Yeah? I mean I think with Dallas Um, he's showed me

first of all, he's a smart football player throughout training camp. Um, and then you know, being able to go the no huddle stuff, and I'm getting him in different situations, get him in different spots, Um, making calls at the line, checks at the line. You know, he was very instinctive and good football player. And obviously Um came up big with a couple of plays. Managing emotions landed up to this game after it was such a much ances. Yeah,

I thought I thought it went pretty well. You know, I thought, obviously emotions were running high from the moment I woke up this morning. But Um, you know, for me, I was just putting on worship music and just getting in the zone like that. I just felt like another game at the end of the day. Be able to get your first hit today and getting you bounced right back up, how the nervous calmed down. It felt great,

felt great. The running game help you today. It looked like that was a real focused effort to Yeah, I mean the running game was huge. You know, we had a lot of um, no huddle kind of checks at the line based on what we were getting covered wise, and they were playing a lot of soft U zone coverage. So you know, the running game helped us slot in

the passing game. And um, you know, obviously we're down a little bit with scrolls and a giye out, so um getting Windale getting you know, Josh Adams going and then Corey. I think those those guys all stepped up and played a good football game. All the skill spots were pretty far down the dead charm. What effect is it is that having one on the offensive role. Yeah, I mean I think that's that's just kind of football.

You know, that's hard of football. And then I think that's where where good coaching comes into playing and getting our best guys out there. You know, obviously you saw us a lot with with two and three tight end personnel out there tonight, um, and I think that just was indicative of those injuries and just um finding a way to to just um, get our best guys on the field and m you know, coaches has a great job always just scheming things up, getting the right guys

in the right positions. And so unfortunately you don't you don't want injuries. But at the end of the day, you got to adapt with them, and I think coaches done a good job of that. Gets said trouble getting the ball to Agilor, but on that last drive, two third down conversions out of him, you know, and both were with yards after the cash. What were the plays? You have a third and five and there's a third nine And what did he do to make this possible? Yeah, I mean at the end of the day, you know,

obviously Nelson today obviously didn't get it. You get a bunch going early, and UM, that's just part of it. You know, it's not something by any by schemer design, you know, it's just their coverage. And um, like I said, we had to take some things underneath and um, the tight ends, all of them kind of stepped up and played. They played a good football game. And um, you know on third downs, I mean those ones late in the game, Nelson just always has a feeling and being in the

right spot. And so, UM he's a guy you know, especially like him and Zach are two of the main targets that we look far on third down and UM, those he stepped up there at the end, car watching your defense stop him in the red zone. How much of debt fire your offense up? Yeah, I mean I

think we both feed off each other, you know, offensively. Um. Seeing our defense just continually step up late in games like they have, um, even going back to last year and then the first game of the year, UM today, UM, just that that gives us a lot of um energy and excitement on the on the offensive side, and knowing that if we just put one together now that defense is going to get a hold. And that's what they did. Or a hit, but you took where you said, okay,

shoot unrelieved. Now I know I can I know I can do this. There are a couple of times where you got hit. A couple of scrambles, you made a couple of times you were very elusive in the pocket,

left right, left forward, that sort of thing. Did any of those register like, hey, that's great, Not really, you know, because at the end of the day, I've been doing so much in practice, you know, whether whether you guys saw it in training camp or I was off to the side with the trainers or whoever, I've been doing so much of that stuff for a while now. Obviously getting hit was new, but I felt like felt like riding a bike again, hit and popping back up again.

Your teammates have mentioned different times in practice, different places where they said, all right, Carson's back, there's gonna be no limitations. Was there a play like that for you in the past whatever, three or four weeks. I don't think so, you know, nothing really sticks out. You know. It was a lot of going against the defense as a scout team quarterback. That was a little new for me. But um, yeah, I just I felt good for a while. I was just good to finally get out there to

get this first on all the way for me. How much was the report to get this first one done and then just be out back one focus. I mean it was huge. I mean, obviously it's huge to just pick up a win in a hard fought game with some some tough conditions out there. Um, guys really rallied around each other. Uh. The resilience I thought was huge today. You know, we had, like we talked about that long drive at the end, we had something really unfortunate situations

we were in in second and extra long third downs. Uh, the fourth downs. You know, it's a couple of things and um, guys just stayed together and then the defense stepping up at the end. That was huge for us to get us back on track. So we mentioned a soft stone a couple of times. Looked like a lot of cover too. This was an emotional game for you some nine plus months, is it was? It kind of a little bit harder to not want to press and

you seeing that cover too. Not really, you know, I like to think I'm ature off as a player to just take what they give me. Obviously they had some um that that might have fooled me, um coverage wise and kind of tricked me a little bit. But that's football. That's football, and that comes with it. And um, you

know that's that's a good defense over there. Is there anything that you were curious about you how you would respond that today's sort of told you or I think you got to learn that you note this point, not really, you know, not really. I think once I got back out there, I got that first in completion out of the way, kind of threw that one down the field a little aggressively. We were rolling from there. All right, there's Carson Wentz stylish with a Kelly Green jacket. I'm

telling you, I need that jacket. I need that jacket. That's pretty make it what make it happen this week? That's pretty nice. That's a little bigger than I am, so he can't give it to me. Yeah, but well that's perfect, a little bigger you can tailor down. That's where works at. Mess up a jacket like that. He

had his a game suit, certainly. But so we've heard from coach Peters, we've heard from quarterback Carson Wentz, and we're gonna have analysis from fran Duffy and Greg Cosell a little bit later on in the show, as well as an interview with Titan Dallas Goddter, who led the way with seven catches and getting his first career touchdown.

Going back to Doug for a quick minute, I love how he talked about coaching up the young guys and so that when guys like Josh Adams and you know, small Wood and Perkins are in similar situations later in

the season, they're gonna be ready for the moment. And I feel like that's probably the one silver lining of having all these guys in now the lineup right now, is you're getting the guys a valuable experience just in case if something happens to al Sean down the line, or you know, Darren Sprowles again or what have you. These guys can step in and be ready a moment's notice. And I guess really, when you look back to the last season, it's one of the reasons why the Eagles

were so successful. Yeah. I mean this is in college, you know, not on scholarship. So you're gonna play if you're active, and you have to be ready to play. I made my career in this leave for nine years having to be ready whenever called upon and you don't know when it's gonna happen. Guy can go down in practice, guy can go down the first series of a game.

You have to be ready to go. And like Doug said, if he's going to activate these guys on Sunday, then he's gonna have to trust that he can use them or why I activate them, because he doesn't know when they're gonna need to need to be out there on

the field. So I like the fact that he puts the responsibility first of all on the position coach guy like Duke Staley, and you know, Deuce is coaching these guys up heart and letting them know, hey, when your opportunity it's called, you had better be ready to go. And kudos for the coaching getting these guys ready to play this week. And then hats all to the players for going out there and taking advantage of the opportunity.

When you're young and you're playing for a team with high expectations and you got a guy like carsonz set to make his return in the league. Sometimes you can play mind games with yourself, right you can. You can put more pressure on yourself to not try to screw up out there. But it looks like all three guys were calm, certainly poised, and didn't have any real mistakes out there. Didn't They took care of football number one

on one day. I don't remember any drops by any of the guys out there, so you know when Dale Smallwood had a big catch down the field, Josh Adams gave us a nice change of pace back, had some big runs, especially in the first half, and then Corey Clement doing what he typically does when he gets his chance to run the football, running hard, picking up key first downs. Got a nice group of young running bags

that you can rely on. The thing with Smallwood and coach Pierson was asked this during a press conference with why Smallwood, why do you have such a big role? Coach was like, no other option, right, you know, and that's the reality of the situation. But Smallwood, who has been through the ring of the first couple of seasons in the league where he's been set back by injury and maybe it's kind of limited his ceiling here in the NFL, and some question whether he was going to

make the team come out of training camp. Well, he got his moment and he stepped up and again some hard fought yards after contact. That was the biggest thing. That nice catch on the wheel route, very very impressive. You really haven't seen much of that how Smallwood's games. So he stepped up in a big way when the team needed him most, and delivered the game winning touchdowns, So that's gonna be a special moment for him on

his mantle. Now what's great is we're gonna look at the highlights later on tonight and realize, look, we can enjoy the deals one. Okay, during the game, you know, work looted the TV. What's going to happen? Drama unfolding there at the link, But the two men who captured the action brilliantly, as they do each and every week, meror Reis and Mike Quick, the Hall of Fame duo. Let's listen to the highlights through Meryl Camp presented by

Sports Radio ninety four WP. It is second down at about eight and a half, three receivers once again with earths and the slot inside of the agilard of the fourth side. Wentz back looking, stepping up, firing touchdown. He's got gutter, He's got Gunnard, the rookie for his first NFL touchdown. Save that ball, kid, hold on to that football. Listen.

This is Carson Wentz at his best. He's gonna look to the left, and if you watch that middle safety, he holds him over to the middle of the field, knowing full well he wants to drill the ball to the rookie. Goddard hits him right down the seam for his first NFL touchdown, thirty three yard attempt, exactly the same as an extra point. Alien spotted kicked up and good, and the Eagles take the lead. Second and eleven for the Coats at their own thirty six hinds to the

left of Luck, who steps up. He is hit and carried backwards to the twenty five Cocks and the barn end. Yeah, there's a whole posse meeting at Andrew Luck in the backfield. They get him down. Here is Elliott with a twenty four yard field goal to tie the games. Spotted kicked up and it is good, and we are tied. Fence in the gun motion aikin. Give Smallwood up the middle. He's in touchdown. Eagles take the lead. Boy, you put it on the back of those bags in the bigs.

Just blow the coats off of the football. Smallwood just to burst to the end zone for the touchdown. The Eagles go up. Is a very important extra point, a very important extra point because it would give the Eagles a four point lead with three h two remaining. Okay, here it is the game. On the line, fourth and three. Luck black it up, pumps he has had, he stumbles, he's down, and the Evils take over. The Eavils take

over downs as Luck pounds the ground. He is pounding the ground and prostration as Derek Burnette, who came up with the sack of the Super Bowl, has just won another game. Listen, he has come up. Derek Burnett has come up big all afternoon, but none bigger than this place. He beats the tackle around the edge and he gets two. Andrew Luck gets him on the ground, and boy, oh boy, this may be the biggest play, well since his Super Bowl SEC. It could be Prest that's trying to throw

it into the end zone, former Patriot. He's back, he's being chased, he's running, he's running, he is looking. He loads up, he is going deep and it is batting around and complete. The game is over. The Eagles win. You got a lot to do here. Well, it went down to the final play. Well, that's the National Football League. I'd run a heaven that way. Oh that's fun. But it's over. The thing worked down. What a win. It

was a gutsy win. Yes. I love seeing Merrill there with the Hall of Fame jacket Mike Quick had on pregame for the halftime ceremony where Seth and Clyde were inducted.

Gets rid of it as soon as he can waits of no time whatsoever, but again deep helping win the day on the day when Seth and Clyde are inducted into the Eagles Hall Fame, And like, as a former linebacker yourself, your thoughts on their play over the years, especially that of Seth Joyner, who was named if you remember, the NFL's defensive player, no, not just defensive player of the the Year, the NFL Player of the Year in nineteen

ninety one. Yeah, I mean it. Seth has a strong case to being being in Canton, Ohio as an NFL Hall of Famer. So obviously these guys are a part of the rich tradition of playing here in Philadelphia. We know what they meant to this organization. We know they what they stood for when they played in the eighties up to the early nineties. And I just remember growing up as a kid in Cincinnati, Ohio, my introduction to

the Eagles was that defense. It was Reggie, it was Clyde, it was Seth, it was Jerome it was Eric Gallen. It was all those guys that was my introduction to the Philadelphia Eagles as a football team. And it was because of that defense and the way that they played. And so for them to finally get their just due by being Eagles, being inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame, Um, what a great honor. Couldn't couldn't be happier for two guys, And I know it means a lot to them because

they gave it their ally. They left whatever they had in them out there on that field and at the vet. And uh, those other players that played alongside Reggie White and Jerome Brown sometimes get overshadowed because of how great Reggie and Jerome was. But guys like Eric Allen, all those guys, man, uh, just great players. And Sethton Cloude, I believe, are the final two from that defense that

leaders should This should be in the Eagles Hall of Fame. Yeah, there's that infamous picture of all five members the Pro Bowl members from the Angry defense, and they are the last two to go in. And you mentioned players getting overlooked. Clyde Simmons, look, yeah, nineteen sacks to lead the league. Think about by himself. Okay, he did that. Third enfranchise history to this day, third enfranchise history, it's Reggie, it's

Trent Cole Clyde Simmons. Okay, you can have someone who is arguably the best of all time on the other side. You're gonna get your one on one matchups, but you still gotta win those battles. That doesn't matter. And Clyde did just that and it was great because they were both late round guys. I believe eighth and ninth round

consecutive selections by the Eagles. Buddy Ryan knew they weren't addressing the defensive spots too high, said they liked what they saw from the athleticism standpoint, they would fit in with that forty six defense, and they came in. They won jobs. Actually, set Joinian was cut, was home in New York for two weeks in upsate in New York, and then called by Buddy Ryan said you're starting in week three, and that was it. Seth Joinia said, from then on, I'm not going to be on the bench.

I'm not gonna have someone else dictate my NFL future. I'm gonna be in control. You're not gonna outwork medi You're not gonna out hustle me and I'm gonna do what I need to do to be on the field. So congratulations to both of those guys. So one of the stars of today's game, the rookie tight end Dallas got it. Dave Spadero had the Bowl prediction pre game

that gott I will have a big outing. I'm gonna take it a little bit of kudos, I said our pregame show Kickoff Show present by Exalted, that Goddard would be on the receiving end of Wentz's first touchdown of the year. There you go. So I'm gonna go play the lottery and if you don't see me next week, that'll be why. But in the meantime, check out this interview with Dallas Goddard and Eagles insider Dave Spadero. Your career seven catches, seventy three yards. How to feel to

really be part of the passing game today? It felt really good to be out here. You know, obviously, anytime we get a win, it feels a lot better. So everybody really played well offense, defense, special teams. There was a good team win. It was a lot of fun out there. Tell me about the touchdown you know, Carson did a good job getting the play right, rap my route and he threw it there and there wasn't a

lot of people. There was pretty cool, really fun, feeling glad to have the first one out of the way. How was it playing with Carson Wentz? It was really good. You know, we got a lot of good quarterbacks on the team, but you know, when he's out here, he runs a game. Whatever he sees he likes, you'll switch to it, so you gotta be paying the time. But it's really fun playing with him. Congratulations Dallas first touchdown of a very long and very successful It's very rare

where you hear fans cheery for Dallas. Okay, all right, but we're gonna get used today. That guy, the guy, the guy that's not zach Ert to tight end pretty much and what you'll say, so great outing by Dallas. God Now is he one of the nominees for the Toyota Player of the Week award. You're gonna have to find out. After this break, Ike and I will break those down. We'll also have film review courtesy of Great cost and Frank Duffy. However, if you are following us

right now on Facebook or Twitter. You need to come on over to Philadelphia Eagles dot com or the app to watch the rest of the show. We'll be back after these messages. Well, I'm trying to gain hold, but it feels like another lie. Yeah, I'm trying to stay strong sometimes realize and further the more that I go home, when you and your money are treated with respect, your prosper at fontand bank respect adds up. Come see what's

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Actually I prefer a nice mead r keep bud lights for everyone and a mead is it autumnal bud lights for everyone? And one autumnal mead? Is it multi and full bodied? Because I like it? Cancel that mead bud light for the many, not the few. At Santandair Bank. We want you to prosper. That's why we treat you and your money with respect. Learn more about how respect adds up at santand Air by visiting Santandair bank dot com. Now is your chance to vote for the Toyota Player

of the Week. Go to Philadelphia dot com slash Toyota Player of the Week to cast your vote and get a chance at a brand new Toyota. So let's break down the nominees for the Toyota Player of the Week award, and we'll start off with defensive end Derek Barnett stepping up big today in his second season, getting the sack on the fourth and short there right by the goal line,

tripping up Andrew Luck. And I love the video of Andrew Luck being frustrated, shaking his fist up and down, knowing that he probably had a play but was not able to stay on his feet. And Barnett caused problems all game long. It wasn't just that one sack there. He was in the backfield all day long against this Colts offense and really becoming more than just a speed

pass rusher. It's really starting to make his mark as a run defender as well, and it's only fitting that Derek had a type of game he had to day and made the huge play on that fourth down sack of Andrew Luck when Clyde Simmons is going into the e was Hall of Fame ninety six. Do you beta believe we look at that very fitting right there, showing great bend off the edge. Even drew a penalty holding penalty during the game, so overall great outing by him.

We can't leave out number eighty eight. Dallas got okay, seven catches on seven targets seventy three yards, led the team into receptions, caught that first career touchdown, and it was very interesting because I think there was such an outcry after the game last week against Tampa Bay how come there wasn't more of Dallas got in the offense.

But I think the way the game unfolded with Mike Wallace getting hurt, they needed more of a player who had receiving experience playing on the outside at tight end, and that's what Josh Perkins brought to their table. So with the week the game plan, it made sense that

they found a way to get got it more involved. Yeah, I mean, this kid is just going to get more and more put on his plate as the season goes along, and you know, people just had to be patient and understand that with the way the offensive skill positions personnel is set up right now, it's gonna be hard for one guy to be featured weekend and week out. You know, this week it was Dallas' turn to be a big part of the game plan. And great job by him

catching all of his targets. And you know Carson loves his tight ends, so you know, the tight ends in this offense are gonna get their fair share of targets weekend and week out. Great job out a rookie doing his part by coming up with all seven of the catches. You know, after his first game and the bright lights against the Falcons, had that ball popped up for a late interception, man way to bounce back for Dallas. Goddard

Injeed so again. He had just thirty four offensive snaps the first two games, much more featured than the offense. But he had to win to develop a report over

the summer. You were just waiting to see that transition now to game action all right, Last, but not least, the player who delivered the game winning score running back when Delle Smallwood tied for the team lead in rushing yards the game lead in rushing yards with Corey Clement with fifty six yards on the ground, but also had a big thirty five yard reception, but again from four

yards out with the Eagles down. How fitting that Carson Wentz comes back first game, a fourth quarter, come from behind victory, Smallwood again stepping up in the clutch, delivering the big score. And it wasn't just the big yards he got, it was the yards after context, fighting for those extra yards that made his efforts so impressive. Yeah, three tough ones to choose from when you look at these three guys. I mean when Dale Smallwood had a real nice game today, nice job of running hard, running

with authority. We don't get to see him do this very all thing, catch the ball out of the backfield. That certainly was a nice thing to see. An then, like you mentioned earlier, I just liked the fact that he ran with toughness today and sometimes refused to be brought down by the first defender. And like you said earlier, we've harped on that they took care of the football. Yep. Okay, the Eagles had two turnovers. Look, it was I loved the emotion that from number eleven bringing that fire to

the table. But you know, Carson Wentz had the interception he had to fumble, you know, when he was hit in the backfield there by Marcus Hunt late in the game and that led to the sixth points. But the running backs on a wet day, rainy day, rain soakedball able to do a good job of holding onto it to make sure that they didn't you know, complicate things that much further for the Eagles offense to try and make things tougher because after that first drive, it was

a tough go of it. It was Eagles offense, but they were able to do just enough. And that's the biggest thing right now is with this offense, with this team, is just stack the wins here in September. You know, you look at some of the teams who are and two threatening to go oh and three, and at that point your season's already over. You know, with a couple

of ties we've had in the NFL. You're looking at the NFC standings early on, some teams are one one and one across the board gets a second one, it just puts you at a different level. You know, they're tie for first place in the East with Washington. That would be something to watch it and there's a live season left, but you just want to get especially with as banged up as the Eagles are on offense right now. Again, no Al Sean Jeffrey, you know, no mccollins, no Mic Wall.

So you know, three guys you were expecting to pretty much be three of your top four receivers go into the year are out right now. Al John potentially could be back next week against Tennessee. That would be great to see. But no Jay train, no Sprowles train either today. So the young running back trio stepping up in a big way. Josh Ams making his NFL debut, Smallwood we talked about, and Corey Clement, you know, has been mister everything.

He was very versatile last week against Tampa Bay and did the same thing today, not just contributing an offense, but in a huge way on special teams, fulfilling that punt return role. So let's take a quick look at the standings here in the NFC East. Here at the Eagles are up on top now Dallas, they're playing Seattle right now. They're the you know, afternoon National game, no score in that contest. And the Giants, they're one of the teams that was looking at that O and three hole.

They beat Houston to avoid it, so they are one and two and you know they're gonna be lurking. So the Eagles have a couple of weeks before they take on the Giants in their first divisional matchup of the year, And of course you'll see a lot of those division matchups late, but interesting to at least get a sense of where the team's gonna be fitting in early on

in Washington. Looks like that with Alex Smith a quarterback, they're gonna be in the hunt here in the NFC's yeah, I mean the first month of the season, it's difficult to really pin down what any team's identity is. I mean, with the lack of players that participate in in the preseason, and if you have teams that are dealing with injuries so you're missing personnel, I think the first month of the season and it's it's it's league wide. These coaches

are trying to figure out what their identity is. They're trying to establish an identity. So you're right when you say, hey, you gotta stack the wins where you can get them at and sitting at two and one right now certainly feels a lot better than being at one and two. It's a lot of football still left to go. A lot of things will change around the NFL as you get into October and November and teams trying to set

themselves up for December. When you're trying to make a playoff run right now, you want to be able to take care of business at home. And that's exactly what the Eagles have been able to do. And I never call at fail teams inferioror opponents, because that old saying of any given Sunday certainly applies. Just as the Minnesota Vikings they lost to the Buffalo Bills today, got routed at home against the Bills. So you can't take these

wins for granted. Certainly the coaches will go back, look at the film, look at the video, and there's plenty of things to fix. Carson his just his first game. He's going to get better from here on out. But again, it certainly lets you sleep a lot better when you know you've won the ball game that day. Indeed, and knowing that number eleven comes out no worse for wear. You know that he took those first head and he

got hit. He got hit today, and you forget that not only is this his first game back, but there's no preseason right, very little training camp. Okay, it's very easily similar to his rookie season where he had the first preseason game against Tampa Bay, got the rib injury, missed the last three games, and then they traded Sam Bradford was like, all right, go out out there and lead the way. And what do you do On the first drive of that game, led the way for a touchdown,

capping off to a touchdown thrown to Jordan Matthews. So Jordan Matthews getting a little bit involved in the offense here today and his return to the Eagles nice to see. So I'm still getting used to eighty though, right jersey for the jersey number, and I see eighty one, I'm thinking Matthews, but of course that's kamar Akin at this point. But still, it's gonna be interesting to see how they can generate these explosive plays in the weeks to come.

And maybe it's as simple as getting Darren backing a giant backing Alshan back and you know those are three home run hitters who certainly can provide those for you. But you know that's gonna be the thing is, especially how does Nelson Agilor's role, how does that develop in the weeks to come, because at first you thought he

was gonna be the slot guy. Now he's being used more on the outside and you know, he's been more of like, you know, the guy who could take the short catches, which he did today and convert them in the first down so he could do the jet sweeps and you know that was a huge first down. He was first down, yes, because he had to fight for the yard too, because he caught the ball short. Yeah.

And if you remember it last weekendst. Tampa Bay, he caught the ball, he could have turned up field for the first down, danced around a little bit, it got tackled short. Well, today this week he's able to get the job done. And that was a very huge third down conversion for the Eagles. Two third down conversions, I believe, actually on that drive for the Eagles team. So nine straight wins at home for the Eagles with Carson Wentz as a starting quarterback, and we try to pull some

parallels to the twenty seventeen season. You know, you kind of think about Week three of last year was the win over the Giants, the Jake Ellett field goal that kind of sparks the run and caps you know, gets the team rolling. Maybe this is the win that gets the team running because you get Carson Wentz back, he gets his feet wet, you get the victory, hard faught win over you know, a tough Colts team, and maybe

they take off from here. They can get on a little bit of run starting next week against a Tennessee team, which you know, talk about pretty wins, ugly wins. They beat Jacksonville by a score of nine to six in Jacksonville, in Jacksonville, and this is a Jacksonville team that maybe it was too high off emotion coming on the win over the Patriots, you know, but it's riding the hives

and the lows. That's the biggest thing is last year the Eagles took that Week three win over the Giants and they catapulted them into the number one seed in the playoffs. We're gonna see where this one leads to here. But hopefully there's some magic that's forming here in Philadelphia.

But the thing is you just see you still see the intangibles, that toughness, that fight that made last year's team so good, and you're getting contributions from so many different players that again that you can weather the storm from an injury standpoint, that if you lose a guy here or there, it's not gonna overly hurt you for

the long run. Yeah. I mean, listen, they had a chance to deal with this last year, and I don't think you can't ask a team to lose the type of players they lost last year and go on and do what they did. So I don't need to see a repeat of that. But it's the NFL, and guys are going to get hurt. And Howie Joe Douglas, they've done a great job of putting this roster together. I think they're always scouring the waiver wire looking for ways to improve this team. They'll continue to do that and

this team is still early. Man. This team is going to be so much different a month from now than what you see right now, just from a personnel standpoint, from a whether or not they're in um um, they're in a full like they have the chemistry together right because you're just getting Carson back. You can't expect this team to be at his best when he's playing his first game. Let him get a few games under his belt, let him get the rhythm of the offense down again,

the form of the chemistry with these players. Yeah, he used to go with the first team. So like you said, you gotta you gotta stack the wins though wherever you can, and this team will be at its best. Uh when when the end of October gets around here, it's too early for him to peak. They aren't peaking right now now. They aren't peaking right now. This team is just going to get better. And after overcoming what they did last year. I don't think injuries will break this team. This team

knows how to win football games. It almost pulls them closer together. Doug does a great job of keeping the mindset out of this team in the right place. They aren't looking for excuses, they aren't making excuses. It's next man up mentality, and that's what you gotta have. What's interesting, and it's talking about the defense for a second, twelve point four points per game allowed at home coming into today.

That's dating back to the start of twenty seventeen, including the wins in the playoffs over Atlanta in Minnesota gave up sixteen today. Yeah, slacking a little bit from that standpoint, But okay, side, this defense is so different at home versus on the road. And you can't say, well, you know, Indianapolis is in a high powered offense. I mean you at Atlanta coming in here in week one, you know, and not able to put up a lot of points

on the board. And especially with a veteran quarterback Pro Bowl quarterback like Andrew Luck giving short field a couple times there in the second half and only having to only able to get field goals out of it. Yeah, this given credit. This defense takes a lot of pride playing in front of these fans, and these fans contribute to the way that they play. The fact that this fan, this fan base knows when to get loud, when to make it difficult for the opposing team's offense to be

able to communicate with each other. All that plays into it. And this this this defense and loves playing at home. And I'll bet Chris that if you look at the numbers for every team around the NFL, they are giving up more points on the road than they are at home. The disparity for the Eagles. That's the biggest. Yes, but it's a huge it's almost ten points now. I will say the last couple of games also throw a wrench into it because you look at the Super Bowl and

then it's Ryan Fitzpatrick going bonkers. So the last couple of games kind of throw those numbers. You know, at least dame back to last season in a bit of a lurch, but nonetheless still there's a difference. The thing will be, it'll be very interesting to see what the Eagles do next week going to Tennessee, which itself not a high powered offense, still try and find its way. Marcus Mariota came back from injury. There was you know, some discussion, there were debate whether he was even going

to play. Today, he gets them the victory. So it will be another interesting matchup to file because again it's gonna be another non conference opponent. This week's a little different because you had Frank Reich, who knew you so well. There's no familiarity with Tennessee whatsoever, not with the coaching staff really with the personnel just across the board. There's gonna be two complete strangers. But the Eagels need to go into their house and take care of business in Nashville.

So kudos again, what's good to Doug Pearson for the coaching job he did today. He explained some of the key decisions and much more in this one on one conversation with Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Quick. Take it away, gentlemen, adulations. I guess we can all risk better now. Carson played, he got a hit, and he

still lives to tell about it. Talk about his performance a little bit down, Yeah, I mean, first of all, we were excited that that that he's back in the lineup, and you know, he's really worked extremely hard to put himself in position. So guys were guys were electric. Guy, the stadium was was jazzed up, and we introduced him, and you know, it just brings for him. I thought, I thought there were there were flashes of brilliance and then there were there were there were rookie moments, you know,

and but that's to be expected. He hadn't played in you know, having many days and games, and you know he's coming off an injury, so uh, it's to be to be expected a little bit. But I thought overall, he handled himself extremely well. He put us Uh in and out of bad plays into good plays and and

really manage the game that well. I thought, being able to shoot the ball down the field um a couple of times, you know, Wendelle made a nice catch for him, and he hurts late and again, I mean just just time and time again he flashed and and that's the that's what you like to see about, you know. And with Carson, you're talking about Windell and those guys backing up Sprows. You don't have Jay Gi, you don't have a little bit more about Corey, about Windelle and their performance,

because I thought they both were really good today. Both those guys, I mean, we ask a lot. They're they're they're core special teams players and then they're also situational guys, role players on offense. And you know, these two guys are very special with this offens and you know, we were down Jay, we were down Scrolls, as you said, but two guys that just don't really care. I mean, they just want to play ball and they love playing ball, being out there and whatever they can do to help

this football team win. And it was really exciting for both of those guys to for me to see them both and how hard they ran um and then of course when Dale to score at the end to give us a lead, scars and bring a different energy to this offense, to this football team. He does and and and it might not be in words, but but it's more in his actions. It's how how he can escape the pocket and and extend plays with his legs and you know, keep his eyes down the field and make

some good throws down it. And that's where the energy a lot a lot of the times comes from. And he's a great leader, you know obviously in the locker room and on the team, but um, just an exciting player to have back on offense. Tough to win when you have turnovers. You had two, but your defense only gave up to field goal six points in those situations. How big was that that your defense stood up? Yeah, our defense is playing extra well red zone defense, especially

you know here at the Lank. I mean, you know, I think ten possessions and only only two scorer. So yeah, it's it's tremendous that they they bow their neck and a half to And you know, conversely, offensively, we can't turn the ball over that deep in our our on our zone. But we have a lot of confidence that our defense is going to hold him to at least a field goal. And um, obviously the field gets restricted and and lanes get tighter, things get things get a

little bit faster down there. But our guys rise to the occasion to a nice job. Fletcher Cox is always a constant on that defense. But today Derek Boynett was outstanding. He's really becoming a run stop. Are you want to talk a little bit about what he brings. Derek's just a one. He's a great person. He's a great kid, and I we're so excited to have him. And and you know again, somewhere in ninety six is going to show up in a football game. And he did it

several times today. And I came up with the big play at the end of the game to help us, um, you know, win this football game. And you know again, he's an unselfish player. He just loves to play, wants to be out there. If he asked him to play special teams, he will. You know, if you want to rush the pastor he will. You want to rotate him, he will. I mean, he's just whatever he can do to help us win. Football games, and he's just uh, he's a great kid, great athlete, and and really brings

a little energy to that defense. Is it any more difficult that it's Frank right on the other side and one of your dear friends. You know, once you's once you kick it off and and and start playing games, you really don't think about it. But leading up to it, you know, it was exciting to see him, and and uh, he's gonna have a lot of success in Indianapolis. And there's a good football team, a good quarterback, and you can definitely see by the way they play. They play hard.

They play hard for Frank, and that's a tribute to him and what he's brought to that organization. And and just it was exciting to see him. But I'm glad we came out on top. Thanks coach. Enjoyed to win. Thanks quick, Thanks Doug and Mike, and see if you got to do a one on one interview with the coach. The jacket goes back on. Oh, of course, that's the biggest thing. Okay, you can't slash for that whatsoever. So I'll talk about the Jackets today. But between all Thame

Jackets and Jackets A Jackets a bath. So we're gonna your final break here on the postgame show presented by Rico. On the other side, Grey Cosell and fran Duffy breakdown one of the biggest plays that led to the Eagles victory. That much more coming up here. Stay tuned Eagles fans. Are you ready to take your WiFi to the next level? Then you need Xfinity x five, a more powerful way

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to the postgame Show presented by Rico. Again. We're gonna have the Rico review one of the biggest film breakdowns from the key plays that led to the win today. Coming Cursey of fran Duffine and Greg ho Sell in just a little bit. But let's take a look at the upcoming schedule. As we talked about next week, the Eagles are going to head to Tennessee to take on the Titans again. Tennessee getting the nine to six win

today over Jacksonville. Marcus Mariota a grand total of one hundred passing yards in the outing NAL offense on either side of the ball. So that's gonna be a fun one for you guys to breakdown Eagles game plan this upcoming week. Yeah, and it's really been the way for three weeks for this Tennessee's all. They can't find any type of rhythm in their passing game. Corey Davis through

three weeks has been a little disappointing for them. Rachard Matthews still fighting back from the injuries has not been a big part of the offense. The running game has really carried them, and their defenses carried them. Mike Rabel was the head coach. He's gonna want to make that team into a defensive team. So it's not surprising to me that that's really how they've been able to win. Thus. Part of this earlier part of the season is because

of their defense. Offense isn't explosive. You know, you got the big back and Derek Henry, and you got Dion Lewis, who we all are familiar with, former Patriot, former Eagle now in Tennessee. We have to watch watch out for him. But you know, this is one of those games where the defense could get healthy on the road. We talked about a second ago how the defense plays a lot different at home versus being on the road. I'd be I'd be a little concerned if this Tennessee offense put

up a bunch of points on us. But at least going into the Tampa Bay you saw what they did to you knew what they could do. Yeah, we talked about that pass catching group arguably the best in the NFL. You knew the potential was there and They've got some nice players. You like Corey Davis, you like Derek Henry Mariota, we all love before that draft, but they have not been able to play it together. That's the biggest thing

with them. So after Tennessee, not looking too far ahead, Eagles come back home to take on Minnesota and then finally a division showdown with the New York Giants. But the thing is, you look at the upcoming schedule, those games we showcase there, you know, really no losing teams. That's the thing all five hundred and above. When you look at Minnesota was first one. Two, Giants are one

and two. Take that back, they got their first one today, But I look at the Panthers and the Jacks both two and one, So you know, the one losing team is your division rival, which you know is gonna be and a Thursday night game, yeah, so you know, and coming off an emotional game against Minnesota, which you don't know what Viking team you're gonna get because you figured they're gonna to come in red hot because they're gonna want to amend what happened in the championship game last year.

Yet today they lose by twenty one at home to Buffalo, which hadn't been able to muster anything on offense with its best player, shitty McCoy on the sideline. Yeah, the next two weeks for the Vikings will be interesting. They have a short week. They have to go out to La to play the Rams this Thursday. Then they get ten days off before they come back to play US. Right, they get ten days off before they come back here to play and that'll be on the road for the Vikings.

So the Vikings could be looking at a one three and one start. They could could be and that's one of the teams at the beginning of the season that's gonna be one of the teams in the championship. Hunts lost the day, bad lost, isn't bad loss today? Well it wasn't even close. Yeah, that's the thing is it's one thing if you lose twenty one twenty and you know, things didn't go your way. They just got the doors blowing off at home. It was twenty seven nothing before

they were even get points on the board. So again, speaking of the biggest play that led to the Eagles victory, let's sit it over to the film room. It's the Rico review with great co Sell and fran Duffy providing the XS and o's analysis to how the Eagles came out victorious. So the Eagles go up twenty to sixteen, but this game is far from over. Andrew Lux got the football, They've got all their timeouts. They drive down the field. We're geting out of nervous a little bit,

a little bit. Four cracks at the end zone here from inside the ten yard line. Familiar territory now by this point for the Eagles defense. But they come up with a big stop, Dirt Barnett with a huge sack on fourth down. But it starts with some coverage. And what it's interesting here is that the Colts come out and they give the Eagles something to think about because it's a thirteen personnel set in one back, three tight ends, and all three tight ends to one side, which is

an alert for boot to that side. So you have to be aware of that it's boot to that side, and its levels. Whether you want to call it smash or not, it's levels. It's a shorter route and it's a route, a corner route in the back of the end zone, and you have to be and normally there could be a back as well. Involved in this, so you have to be aware of that. It's an alert for that kind of thing. At least that's what you think. That's what you think. That's what they want you to think,

because that's not what the play was. Ultimately, what the play was going to be was a little bit of boot action by luck and a throwback to Eric Ebron working across the formation, and the Eagles actually did a good job defending Ebron. But that's what this play was. It was actually kind of a cool play for a fourth down play, no question. So we know that Derek Barnett has lined up at right defense, He's gone, Yeah, Camu gruget Hill ends up playing a big part of this.

So let's let this play run. Yeah, and we'll get to see exactly how this unfolds. Yeah, And you can see as we start this play if you focus on Ebron now working across right about here, perfect because what happens there's Ebron working across. See, they're counting on the fact that all the action is working to the other side of the formation. But gruge Hill, you hit it right on the head. He does a great job. In fact,

his eyes go right to Ebron. This is really good because this throw, even if Barnett did not get any pressure, this throw was not likely to be there. But Barnett beats La Raven Clark and we can run this and

you can see what happens. And this was so so big because even though the Colts would get the ball back because of this play, you're at the twenty yard line and the Eagles then when they had to punt after the three and out, instead of punting from deep in their own end zone potentially and giving the Colts a short field with which to maybe score a touchdown as time ran out, so to speak, they then had to march down the length of the field and that

really saved the game. So this was a big time play not only by Derek Barnett, but great defensive recognition overall. And make sure to chake out the fall All twenty two review coming up tomorrow morning here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com and the Eagles app. So before we wrap things up here, biggest takeaway from the Eagles twenty to sixty win over the Colts number eleven back fully healthy, took some took some shots out there. He had a

chance to show his athleticism. I was able to extend plays with his legs, dove for a big first down early in the game. That's my biggest takeaway from the game. You just didn't know how he was gonna look out there today. And he showed no type of lingering effects from that knee injury. That's the biggest takeaway. And he ended the game upright, so still healthy. That is the

biggest takeaway from me. Didn't see the signature first down celebration, That's the only thing that was missing, especially that one where he ran to the sideline. It got the first down that I was waiting for that to come out, and I was like, you'll bring it back now next week. Next we gotta wait another week. Yeah, I would go with the defense here. Obviously never eleven is the biggest storyline, but hey, the defense bouncing back in the big way again.

Two short field situations in the second half health the Colts of field goals and both opportunities. Colts of two opportunities at the end of the game to win it. Derek Barnett coming up with a sack which we just showed in the RICO review, and then Jacoby Bursts hail Mary falling incomplete in the end zone. Securing the win for the Eagles on a day when they knew the offense. Maybe we'll get some some things going with Carson Wentz,

but overall wasn't going to be explosive. You had to expect the rust and the ups and downs throughout the course of the game. The defense stood tall in a huge way against a veteran quarterback who was finding his way back after missing all of twenty seventeen with an injury, but nonetheless defense bouncing back in a big way after last week's disappointing effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Again.

You can hear this man on the afternoons on Sports Radio ninety four WIP along with John Marks and certainly a lot of great things to talk about. Celebrating the win. We're gonna have Doug Pearson's press conference for you tomorrow at noon right here in Philadelphia Eagles dot Com, the Eagles app, and all of our social media channels. And then at the end of the day, Molly Sullivan will have Eagles three sixty presented Bikes Fanny for a complete wrap up of all the news that goes on with

the team. So for all of us here at the Philadelphia Eagles, Ike Greece and Fran Duffy and Great Cosell, the entire team. I'm Chris McPherson. You've been watching the postgame show presented by Rico. The Eagles victorious by a score of twenty to sixteen. Everyone have a great Eagles night.