I’ll take the W, any W… but this one was special for a number of reasons, and not all of them were good.

The Birds had Cam Newton on the ropes near the end but somehow let him back into the center of the ring, and he was one knock-out punch away from winning the fight with about 2 minutes left in the final round.

We’ve got to do a better job of sealing the deal when we are on offense with 3 minutes to go and holding the lead.

It was also special that the Eagles held on to win despite some of the worst officiating I have seen since…well, the Detroit game last season. Coincidentally, it was the same Pete Morelli crew working this game in Charlotte. We got penalized 126 yards on some of the most ticky-tack calls ever made.  You wouldn’t mind that so much as long as the calls were going the other way in equal proportion. They did not.

At least the Eagles defensive front line was special—so special that it held the Panthers’ running backs attack to a net 1-yards on 13 carries…  the only other positive running yards were made by Cam Newton himself. That kind of effort forced Cam into becoming one-dimensional— he had to air the ball out over 50 times. Three of those attempts turned into fatal interceptions.

The Eagles defensive front got significant and persistent pressure on Cam by rushing only four guys, too—which meant that everyone else on defense could drop in coverage and further frustrate Cam’s passing game.

DC Jim Schwartz didn’t blitz Cam much, because he didn’t need to, thanks to his stout DL rotation. In the end, it was a normal rush and Cam’s misread of safety coverage which caused the ultimate demise of the Panthers with a 4-and-out (no timeouts left) sequence with Carolina driving into Eagles territory with 1:16 left in the game.

I thought the Eagles offensive play coordination prior to that final drive by Cam could have been a lot smarter in preventing the last-chance comeback scenario for Cam and the Panthers. But I won’t quibble over a win.  Let’s just say I’m glad it was Cam Newton and not Aaron Rodgers  in that situation at the end—and if Cam hadn’t been so banged up and possibly dizzy at that point of the game, who knows?

Anyway, in a grim Civil War-type firefight, the Eagles prevailed in Charlotte.

Perhaps the best news of the night: Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox returned after missing the previous two games with a calf injury and made his presence felt. He bulldozed through guard Trai Turner to hit Panthers QB Cam Newton midthrow and force a first-half interception that led to six points. Cox finished with two quarterback hits and a half-sack.

Carson Wentz threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns to help the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Carolina Panthers 28-23 on Thursday night to improve to an NFC-best 5-1.

The Eagles turned two interceptions deep in Carolina territory into 15 points, with touchdown passes to Zach Ertz, and LaGarrette Blount’s 2-point conversion to take an 18-10 lead in the third quarter. Wentz added a 24-yard scoring pass to Nelson Agholor in the fourth quarter.

Cam Newton threw three interceptions for Carolina (4-2).

The first two interceptions came inside Carolina’s 20, but weren’t Newton’s fault. He was hit byFletcher Cox as he released one pass, and running back Jonathan Stewart bobbled another pass resulting in a pick. Newton’s third interception — by Jalen Mills with 3:06 left — ended a chance for the go-ahead score.

Carolina had one last shot to win, but turned it over on downs at midfield.

Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly was placed into the concussion protocol after his body crumpled following a collision with Eagles pulling guard Brandon Brooks. Kuechly missed nine games over the past two seasons with two concussions. All of the Eagles’ touchdowns came after Kuechly left the game late in the second quarter.

Newton gave the Panthers a 10-3 lead on his 51st career touchdown rushing in the second quarter. He kept the ball on a read option and juked cornerback Rasul Douglas on the 16-yard run.

Douglas got revenge on Carolina’s next possession, intercepting Newton’s pass after Cox crashed into Newton as he was throwing, causing the ball to float high into the air.

If it hadn’t been for Newton , the Panthers would not have had any running game to speak of against the Eagles. Newton ran for 71 yards and the touchdown, but running backs Jonathan Stewart, Christian McCaffrey and Fozzy Whittaker were limited to 1 yard on 13 carries.

INJURIES: Eagles: Linebacker Jordan Hicks left the game early with an ankle injury. Defensive end Brandon Graham briefly left with a shoulder injury.

Panthers: Aside from Kuechly’s injury, Whittaker was carted to the locker room in the first quarter with a right ankle injury and did not return.

UP NEXT: Eagles: Host the Washington Redskins on “Monday Night Football” on Oct. 23.

Final:

	1	2	3	4	T
PHI	3	7	11	7	28
CAR	3	7	6	7	23

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER		PHI	CAR
	FG 6:57 Jake Elliott 50 Yd Field Goal 11 plays, 53 yards, 5:18	3	0
	FG 2:17 Graham Gano 39 Yd Field Goal 9 plays, 54 yards, 4:40	3	3
SECOND QUARTER		PHI	CAR
	TD 10:34 Cam Newton 16 Yd Run (Graham Gano Kick) 4 plays, 43 yards, 1:59	3	10
	TD 2:32 Zach Ertz 1 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott Kick) 7 plays, 12 yards, 3:54	10	10
THIRD QUARTER		PHI	CAR
	TD 13:59 Zach Ertz 17 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (LeGarrette Blount Run for Two-Point Conversion) 2 plays, 17 yards, 0:08	18	10
	FG 11:19 Graham Gano 20 Yd Field Goal 7 plays, 63 yards, 2:40	18	13
	FG 8:02 Jake Elliott 48 Yd Field Goal 7 plays, 45 yards, 3:17	21	13
	FG 3:23 Graham Gano 46 Yd Field Goal 7 plays, 37 yards, 2:42	21	16
FOURTH QUARTER		PHI	CAR
	TD 14:55 Nelson Agholor 24 Yd pass from Carson Wentz (Jake Elliott Kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:28	28	16
	TD 8:04 Christian McCaffrey 1 Yd pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano Kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:51	28	23

Matchup
1st Downs	15	23
Passing 1st downs	11	12
Rushing 1st downs	4	7
1st downs from penalties	0	4
3rd down efficiency	5-14	4-16
4th down efficiency	1-1	1-3
Total Plays	60	79
Total Yards	310	305
Total Drives	13	13
Yards per Play	5.2	3.9
Passing	209	225
Comp-Att	16-30	28-52
Yards per pass	6.3	4.2
Interceptions thrown	0	3
Sacks-Yards Lost	3-13	2-14

Rushing	101	80
Rushing Attempts	27	25
Yards per rush	3.7	3.2
Red Zone (Made-Att)	2-2	2-3
Penalties	10-126	1-1
Turnovers	1	3
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	0	3
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	28:34	31:26

Philadelphia Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	QBR	RTG
Carson Wentz	16/30	222	7.4	3	0	3-13	72.0	110.7
TEAM	16/30	209	7.4	3	0	3-13	—	110.7

Philadelphia Rushing

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
LeGarrette Blount	14	67	4.8	0	18
Carson Wentz	6	25	4.2	0	21
Kenjon Barner	5	7	1.4	0	6
Corey Clement	2	2	1.0	0	3
TEAM	27	101	3.7	0	21

Philadelphia Receiving

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Alshon Jeffery	4	71	17.8	0	37	10
Nelson Agholor	4	55	13.8	1	24	7
Mack Hollins	2	38	19.0	0	20	2
Zach Ertz	2	18	9.0	2	17	5
Marcus Johnson	1	16	16.0	0	16	1
Kenjon Barner	1	9	9.0	0	9	2
Trey Burton	1	9	9.0	0	9	1
Torrey Smith	1	6	6.0	0	6	2
TEAM	16	222	13.9	3	37	30

Philadelphia Defense

	TACKLES				MISC
	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS	TD
Mychal Kendricks	17	12	0	1	0	0	0
Nigel Bradham	10	7	0	1	2	0	0
Rodney McLeod	4	3	0	0	1	0	0
Jalen Mills	4	3	0	0	1	0	0
Vinny Curry	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jordan Hicks	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
Beau Allen	4	1	0	0	0	0	0
Chris Long	3	1	0	0	0	1	0
Patrick Robinson	3	1	0	0	1	0	0
Brandon Graham	3	1	0.5	0	0	2	0
Rasul Douglas	2	2	0	0	3	0	0
Malcolm Jenkins	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kamu Grugier-Hill	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Fletcher Cox	2	0	0.5	0	1	2	0
Justin Hamilton	2	0	0.5	0	0	1	0
Derek Barnett	2	0	0.5	0	0	2	0
Tim Jernigan	1	1	0	1	0	1	0
Rick Lovato	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Halapoulivaati Vaitai	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Walker	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Chris Maragos	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Trey Burton	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Corey Clement	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Corey Graham	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
TEAM	75	41	2	3	10	9	0

Philadelphia Interceptions

	INT	YDS	TD
Rasul Douglas	1	7	0
Jalen Mills	1	1	0
Patrick Robinson	1	0	0
TEAM	3	8	0

Philadelphia Kicking

	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Jake Elliott	2/2	100.0	50	2/2	8
TEAM	2/2	100.0	50	2/2	8

Carolina Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	QBR	RTG
Cam Newton	28/52	239	4.6	1	3	2-14	48.0	48.5
TEAM	28/52	225	4.6	1	3	2-14	—	48.5

Carolina Rushing

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Cam Newton	11	71	6.5	1	16
Curtis Samuel	1	8	8.0	0	8
Christian McCaffrey	4	8	2.0	0	4
Fozzy Whittaker	1	-3	-3.0	0	-3
Jonathan Stewart	8	-4	-0.5	0	3
TEAM	25	80	3.2	1	16

Carolina Receiving

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Kelvin Benjamin	9	99	11.0	0	19	13
Christian McCaffrey	10	56	5.6	1	15	14
Devin Funchess	3	36	12.0	0	20	9
Ed Dickson	4	36	9.0	0	13	8
Russell Shepard	2	12	6.0	0	9	6
Jonathan Stewart	0	0	0.0	0	0	2
TEAM	28	239	8.5	1	20	52

One final gripe about our offense— we had a terrible time picking up the Carolina blitz.  Even when we could see it coming, we did little to counter or protect when it happened. Carson Wentz took a physical beating as a result. Just thankful that Wentz is still young and agile enough to absorb the shots he took last night… and I certainly don’t recommend his continuing to lower the shoulder when he gets outside the blitz attack in an attempt to pick up yards that just aren’t there. Doug Pederson needs to address the vulnerability of his offense to the blitz immediately…if he doesn’t,  be prepared to bring your Nick Foles jerseys out of mothballs, because Wentz is going to get himself blitzed into the ER sooner or later.