GROWING PAINS FOR DOUG AND WENTZ? TO BE EXPECTED… REDSKINS 27, EAGLES 20…

You put 4 weeks of tape up in the NFL and somebody like Jay Gruden is going to figure you out…

That’s the reality of life in the NFL for a rookie coach and a rookie quarterback…

The Eagles did manage to extend a game which by all logic should have been a blowout for the Redskins. Beaten at the point of attack all afternoon long, the Eagles were reeling on their heels for most of the game.

Our Bored analyst ATV: “Wentz is legit…but the league has figured out Dougie’s O already…he needs to adjust.”

Blasphemizer: “Pederson should have run the ball more early in the game. [Rookie right tackle] Hal Vaitai was horseshit, but he was kinda hung out to dry [by Pederson]”…

ASG: “All the penalties the Eagles incurred were like giving up 100 yards for free…can’t win with that undisciplined shit…”

Beanstalker: “Meh…can’t change the past…All you can do is learn from it…”

Indeed.

It did not go well. Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan had his way with the fifth-round pick Hal Vaitai out of TCU and finished with two sacks, four quarterback hits and two tackles for a loss in Washington’s 27-20 win at FedEx Field.

Rookie quarterback Carson Wentz was sacked five times and hit 11 times. Taken out of his comfort zone, he was uncharacteristically erratic with his throws in the early stages and finished 3-of-8 for 28 yards in the first half. Wentz was wild high for most of the day, indicating that he was under siege and forced to throw off his back foot too much. But for the most part, I liked how the rookie held his composure.

Palmy told us many weeks ago that 9-7 is an honorable goal for what looks like a rebuilding season—I am beginning to believe he is correct.

The Eagles were outgained 285-42 over the first two quarters of play. A pair of nontraditional scoring plays — a Wendell Smallwood kick return touchdown and aMalcolm Jenkins interception return for a touchdown — kept the Eagles in the game. It also kept a struggling offense off the field, as Wentz went about a quarter and a half without touching the ball.

He showed a couple of flashes of the play that earned him Rookie of the Week honors in three of his first four games, including a 54-yard bomb down the seam for receiverJordan Matthews that set up a Caleb Sturgis field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to seven.

A defense that surrendered 230 rushing yards on the day was unable to put the clamps on Washington, however, and a late comeback attempt was thwarted when Wentz was sacked on back-to-back plays around the two-minute mark to stall the drive. The Eagles, who committed 13 penalties for 114 yards, have now lost two straight to drop to 3-2.

Kirk Cousins threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns. We made him look like the second coming of Sonny Jurgensen—again!

Final:

FIRST QUARTER		PHI	WSH
	TD 0:51 Jamison Crowder 16 Yd pass from Kirk Cousins (Dustin Hopkins Kick) 3 plays, 71 yards, 1:31	0	7
SECOND QUARTER		PHI	WSH
	TD 7:48 Vernon Davis 13 Yd pass from Kirk Cousins (Dustin Hopkins Kick) 9 plays, 90 yards, 5:31	0	14
	TD 7:37 Wendell Smallwood 86 Yd Kickoff Return (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:11	7	14
	TD 3:55 Malcolm Jenkins 64 Yd Interception Return (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 5 plays, 37 yards, 3:42	14	14
	TD 0:06 Matt Jones 1 Yd Run (Dustin Hopkins Kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, 3:49	14	21

THIRD QUARTER		PHI	WSH
	FG 8:40 Dustin Hopkins 32 Yd Field Goal 12 plays, 65 yards, 6:20	14	24
FOURTH QUARTER		PHI	WSH
	FG 12:56 Caleb Sturgis 38 Yd Field Goal 9 plays, 70 yards, 3:50	17	24
	FG 9:43 Dustin Hopkins 50 Yd Field Goal 7 plays, 58 yards, 3:13	17	27
	FG 5:20 Caleb Sturgis 28 Yd Field Goal 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:23	20	27

The three-headed running attack of Matt Jones, Robert Kelley and Chris Thompsoncombined for 231 yards and a touchdown and the Redskins ran roughshod over the Philadelphia Eagles in a 27-20 victory on Sunday.

The Redskins (4-2) put up 493 offensive yards against the Eagles (3-2), who came in allowing of 266.8 yards and 12.6 points as the league’s second-best defense.

“In spurts today I think we showed what we’re capable of. The challenge will always be to do it from the first whistle to the last,” said Cousins, who was 18 of 34. “But it was a good offensive showing because so many guys contributed and made a difference.”

Cousins rebounded when Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins intercepted him and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown, and Washington showed restraint and balance offensively without tight end Jordan Reed, who was out with a concussion . After starting the season 0-2, the Redskins have their best record through six games since 2008.

Cousins connected with Jamison Crowder on a 16-yard touchdown and withVernon Davis on a 13-yard touchdown. Jones ran for a 1-yard touchdown and sealed the victory with a 57-yard run on third down with 1:27 left as part of his 135-yard day.

The Redskins defense made things difficult for rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, sacking him five times. Wentz was 11 of 22 for 179 yards, and the Eagles finished with 239 total yards.

“I’ve got to be better, especially late in the game,” Wentz said. “You’ve got to learn from it. It’s all about how you react and respond to losses.”

Philadelphia got its points on an 86-yard kickoff return touchdown by Wendell Smallwood, Jenkins’ interception return and two field goals by Caleb Sturgis. The Eagles opened the season with three wins before losing two straight.

The Eagles ran four offensive plays from scrimmage in the second quarter, and one of them was Wentz kneeling with 6 seconds left. Because of Smallwood’s kickoff return touchdown and Jenkins’ pick-six, they scored 14 points in the quarter. Philadelphia went into halftime with just 41 yards — 29 rushing and 12 passing — and three first downs.

With Lane Johnson beginning a 10-game performance-enhancing drugs suspension ,Halapoulivaati Vaitai started at right tackle and had an afternoon to forget. Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan beat Vaitai and sacked Wentz twice in the first half. “He had a couple missed assignments early and felt like he settled into the game as the game wore on,” coach Doug Pederson said. “He’ll learn from it and be ready for next week.”

The Eagles committed 13 penalties for 114 yards, a week after they were called for 14 penalties for 111 yards in a loss to the Detroit Lions.

Malcolm Jenkins: “You can look at every area today of our defense and I don’t know if there’s any area you’d feel good about. The runs were really leaky. Tackling wasn’t that great. Coverage wasn’t that great. Pass rush. Everything. We’ve got a lot to get done.”

Kirk Cousins on winning four in a row: “You can never hit the panic button in this game. … You just keep playing. If you hit the panic button in this business, you don’t belong in this business.”

Matchup
1st Downs	12	26
Passing 1st downs	5	11
Rushing 1st downs	5	10
1st downs from penalties	2	5
3rd down efficiency	4-12	7-13
4th down efficiency	0-0	0-0
Total Plays	48	67
Total Yards	239	493
Total Drives	10	11
Yards per Play	5.0	7.4

Philadelphia Passing

Philadelphia Rushing

Philadelphia Receiving

Philadelphia Defense

Philadelphia Kick Returns

Philadelphia Kicking

Washington Passing

Washington Rushing

Washington Receiving

Washington Defense