Doug Pederson paraded into the Philadelphia Eagles locker room on Sunday evening, September 25, and offered an exclamation that was likely echoed throughout living rooms and sports bars in the Philadelphia region and among a party of 69,596 at Lincoln Financial Field: “Wow!” The success can no longer be qualified by the opponents the Eagles have played, because the Steelers are considered among the NFL’s elite. That was on full display early in the third quarter, as Wentz slipped past rushing defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, scrambled to the sideline and lobbed a ideal ball to running back Darren Sproles, who zigged and zagged his way to a 73-yard touchdown that extended Philadelphia’s lead to 20-3. “I mean, the guy is brilliant”. The season’s still extremely young. “We just had to put it all together for four quarters”.
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Kenjon Barner’s 8-yard TD run was the Eagle’s third touchdown of the quarter. Caleb Sturgis’ 29-yard FG put them up 3-0. Wentz finished 23 of 31 for 301 yards and two touchdowns. Sturgis kicked a 38-yard FG on Philadelphia’s third drive for a 13-3 lead. He’s now thrown 102 passes without an interception. The Eagles sacked the future Hall of Fame quarterback four times and forced a fumble.
Sunday was supposed to represent a litmus test for rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and the Eagles against a Pittsburgh Steelers team picked by some to make an appearance in the Super Bowl.
Yes, that was a rookie scrambling and keeping his eyes down the field.
Sproles turned upfield and Wentz lofted a ideal touch pass over his the linebacker into Sproles’ waiting arms.
“Those are the kind of plays you can’t design”, offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “It’s just players making plays”. Wentz avoided pressure, stepped up and hit Sproles in stride. The second one covered 82 yards in 12 plays and was aided by Timmons’ personal foul that negated what should have been a third-and-10. Wentz looked forward to watching the highlight on Sunday night, and what he’ll see is a decision that offered evidence of his maturity. It was Wentz’s first 300-yard performance. We didn’t get a replay in the press box, but it looked like Wentz may have thrown the ball too high for Burton to catch the long incompletion. Because that’s where the big plays are happening.
The Eagles should get a key playmaker back soon enough in Zach Ertz. I’m not that fast, though. “They got after us and made us one-dimensional”.
The Steelers’ best chance of staying within contention came on fourth and 5 from the Eagles’ 33-yard line on the next possession.
“From a momentum standpoint, to stop them right there…was big”, Jenkins said.
The defense’s effort was rewarded. Wentz then led them on another scoring drive, this one of 67 yards that was capped off by Wendell Smallwood, a rookie from West Virginia University, who ran for the 1-yard touchdown. And thanks to the Giants’ loss, they’re all alone in first place in the NFC East.
By that point, the rout was on.
After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin gave a quick rundown of the injuries sustained. “They outcoached us. They outplayed us”. The Steelers rushed for 15 yards on seven carries in the first half before pretty much abandoning the running game after falling behind by 17 points early in the third quarter.
Jordan Matthews secured two-of-three targets for 19 yards and a touchdown Sunday in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Steelers. They occasionally moved Ben Roethlisberger off his spot in the first half, but they consistently hit the quarterback in the second half.
“It’s impressive what he’s doing”, Jenkins said. But Wentz is no ordinary rookie. Three weeks ago, the Eagles opened the season with few expectations.
The Steelers answered but only with a field goal after Roethlisberger was bear-hugged for a nine-yard sack by Fletcher Cox.
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“It’s still a young season”, Pederson said.
