EAGLES 20 – Redskins 27
LET me start with this. There were a number of VERY correctable problems out there today. These last two losses are no reason to get down on this team. Our 3 – 0 start was more than most of you expected, so don’t go acting like you’re somehow being let down now.
Rookie RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai didn’t allow a single inch of the 230 rushing yards that the Redskins ran up today. He was however, beaten like a drum by pretty much anyone who lined up against him today. The worst part was in the second quarter, when that eight year old Redskins fan gave Vaitai a hard fake outside, and beat him for a sack with a spin move back to the inside. Alright, alright that didn’t happen, but given how Vaitai played, it’s really easy to picture it, isn’t it?
If Vaitai isn’t replaced with Allen Barbre SOON, it may result in our rookie QB finishing the year playing ‘Go Fish’ with Teddy Bridgewater.
QB Carson Wentz (11/22 – 50% – 179 – 0 – 0) truly impressed me today. Not only did he keep fighting until the end, but he never melted down over his shitty protection, though he was sacked 5 times and hit 10 more. Given the Redskins porous run defense, you have to wonder why Head Coach Doug Pederson didn’t lean heavier on the run game and specifically RB Ryan Mathews (9 – 60 – 6.6 – 0 – 0). His 9 carries represented fewer than half the Eagles total of only 19.
I’d love to discuss the Defense, but it seems we forgot to bring one with us this week. The 230 rushing yards we gave up… Three words: “Gap integrity” and “contain”. No one on our team seems to know what these are. (Containment has been a concern I’ve been writing about since the preseason.)
Did you notice?
To hell with that today. This week we have a TRIVIA QUESTION!
Question: Who was the last Eagle to rush for 100 yards in a single game?
Answer: DeMarco Murray. 112 yards, in a 27 – 7 Week 6 win over the giants on October 19, 2015.
So it’s been a full season since we had a 100 yard rusher. By the next time we play, it will have been a full calendar year.