Winners and Losers of Philadelphia Eagles' Week 5 Performance
The Philadelphia Eagles decimated the Arizona Cardinals at home in a 34-7 blowout, furthering their grip on the NFC East with their most impressive performance of the season by a long shot.
A runaway first quarter from the Eagles basically put this one out of reach, as they took a 21-0 lead not long after the Cardinals disembarked the team bus. After fending off late comeback attempts in its last two wins, Philly's defense flexed its muscle for four quarters and never allowed Arizona any real opportunity to claw back into it.
The Eagles' comprehensive domination pushed them to 4-1 on the season, a game-and-a-half ahead of 2-2 Washington in the division. For a team with plenty of new contributors, serious injury problems and youth at key positions, Philadelphia is quickly becoming one of the league's surprise teams that can no longer be ignored in the NFC playoff picture.
Considerably more winners emerge from the Eagles' end of this walkover than losers. But let's take a closer look and explore the positives and negatives that came from Week 5.
Winner: Carson Wentz
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The potential has been easy to see from his very first game, and patience was required to deal with growing pains. But just five weeks into his sophomore campaign, Carson Wentz has the look of a top-tier NFL quarterback.
Wentz took basically whatever he wanted from a Cardinals secondary that's thought to be one of the elite units in the league, posting a 21-of-30 performance with 304 yards and four touchdowns. One ill-advised red-zone interception became the lone blemish on an otherwise picture-perfect afternoon.
In the first quarter, Wentz posted more touchdowns (three) than incompletions (two). Even when his offensive line struggled to protect him, the intelligent gunslinger stepped up to avoid pressure and rushed for 11 yards on six carries.
There were a couple of throws that Wentz would like to have back, but his accuracy down the field in most situations dropped jaws all over the Lincoln Financial Field crowd. It's been a long time since Eagles fans have enjoyed such a mix of talent, intelligence and willpower leading their offense, and the sky will be the limit for Philly in 2017 as long as he stays healthy.
Loser: Injuries Hit Again
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The Eagles' injury bug has primarily hit the defensive side of the ball thus far. But it bit the offense Sunday, putting one of its most important players in jeopardy for Week 6.
Right tackle Lane Johnson left Sunday's win with a head injury and did not return, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advance Media. Reserve lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai took his spot for the entirety of the second half.
A head injury likely points to Johnson entering the concussion protocol. Unfortunately for him and the Eagles, they have a short week with a trip to Carolina for Thursday Night Football. That means Johnson will have to clear concussion protocol by Wednesday, significantly hampering his chances.
The Eagles have proved heavily reliant on Johnson in terms of wins and losses. Under head coach Doug Pederson, they're 9-2 with Johnson in the starting lineup and 2-8 when a 10-game suspension last season took him out of the lineup.
Winner: Kenjon Barner
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Kenjon Barner was out of work to start the 2017 NFL season, only to get a phone call from the Eagles in the wake of Darren Sproles' season-ending injury. He's proved to be a viable replacement for the veteran, and then some.
Barner broke a huge punt return for 76 yards in the first quarter, setting up the Eagles in the red zone for their second score of the game. He had two more nice returns, amassing 110 punt-return yards.
With Wendell Smallwood inactive, the Eagles relied on Barner in the run game for the first time this season and he didn't disappoint. He went for 23 yards on five carries, including a nice 16-yard gain that nearly moved the chains on 3rd-and-17.
Even without Sproles, the Eagles are deep enough at running back to tab Barner as a return man exclusively. But with Smallwood nursing an injury, it's nice to see that Barner is capable of producing among the committee at running back.
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Loser: Alshon Jeffery's Production
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This may not be a fair point to make, as the Eagles are winning and that's likely all that matters to Alshon Jeffery. But the lack of impact made by Philly's highly paid No. 1 wideout is at least worth noting.
The former Chicago Bear failed to make much of a dent in the box score once again in an Eagles win, catching three passes for 31 yards, finishing fourth among pass-catchers in both categories. He did draw a tough matchup against Patrick Peterson for a majority of the contest, which opened up opportunities for his fellow wideouts.
Jeffery's trend of production, or lack thereof, in victories this season is curious. In four wins, Jeffery is averaging just over 30 yards per game, with just one touchdown in those four wins. Meanwhile, his best game (seven catches for 92 yards and a score) came in the lone loss to the Chiefs.
Again, the Eagles are getting more than enough production out of Zach Ertz, Nelson Agholor and suddenly Torrey Smith to allow for comfortable wins despite Jeffery's modest production. But Jeffery is on a one-year deal and looking to cash in over the offseason. If 49.2 yards per game is the norm, the Eagles may be looking toward cheaper options when the time comes.
Winner: Secondary, Pass Rush Feasting off Each Other
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The Eagles secondary is riddled with injuries and being forced to play cornerbacks who struggled mightily throughout training camp and preseason. But you couldn't tell it by the way they performed Sunday.
Amid a tough matchup with the Cardinals' deep receiving corps, the Eagles cornerbacks came to play in a big way Sunday. Patrick Robinson stood out from the pack, very nearly coming down with two interceptions in the first quarter and going to the ball with ferocity. He even blocked a field goal to end the first half.
Rookie Rasul Douglas got the start and performed exceptionally well after a rough game in Los Angeles. Jalen Mills made plays when called upon. But the entire secondary's job became much easier with what occurred up front on the Eagles defense.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer got harassed all game long by the Eagles' pass rush, with his offensive line no match for a furious performance from the front four. Palmer only got sacked twice but got flushed from the pocket constantly. Many of the throws that Eagles cornerbacks got their hands on came with Palmer under serious duress.
The Eagles' interior line also nullified any rushing game from Arizona, which went for just 31 yards on 14 carries. That put the onus on Palmer to make plays through the air, which he had virtually no chance to do.
Philly's secondary won't be a finished product in terms of personnel this season, but it can do the job if the Eagles' pass rush performs like it did Sunday.
Loser: Wentz's Turnover-Free Streak Ends
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The negatives in this game from a Philadelphia standpoint were few and far between, so Wentz's first interception in three games has to be one.
It came late in the first half, as the Eagles were on the verge of adding to a 21-7 lead and in prime position to at least make it a three-possession game with a field goal. Instead, Wentz floated an ill-advised pass on 3rd-and-9 to the end zone, allowing Cardinals cornerback Antoine Bethea the chance to make an incredible toe-tapping interception.
Of course, the interception proved inconsequential as the Eagles won by 27 points and never got threatened. But at the time, the Cardinals were still very much within reach, only down two touchdowns. Had Arizona converted a field goal at the end of the half, it could have gone into the locker room at halftime with an 11-point deficit and momentum despite getting dominated on both sides of the ball.
After throwing picks in each of the Eagles' first two games, Wentz enjoyed a couple of turnover-free performances. This one didn't come back to haunt him, but it had the potential to be a turning point at the time.
Winner: Torrey Smith
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New Eagles receiver Torrey Smith disappointed so much in the first quarter of his season that he took to Twitter to call it "the worst stretch of my career." But it took just one play for the deep-ball wideout to turn the tide.
With the Eagles up 14-0 early and facing a 3rd-and-5, Wentz launched one deep down the middle that landed right in Smith's breadbasket. The type of pass that he dropped with regularity in the first four games never hit the ground, as Smith went 59 yards for the score.
He held onto the ball all the way through his orchestrated "home run" touchdown celebration, befitting of the Eagles' biggest home-run threat going yard for the first time this season.
On the day, Smith finished with three catches for 70 yards, but the long touchdown encapsulated what he means to Philly's offense. When he's able to break a big one in the midst of the rest of the Eagles offense clicking, it makes them all the more unstoppable.
Loser: Jason Kelce
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Despite his video-game numbers, Wentz didn't get the benefit of a clean pocket at times throughout Sunday. An unlikely subject proved the cause on a number of instances.
Jason Kelce is one of the best centers in the league, but he didn't show it against the Cardinals. He got manhandled on many of the plays that Wentz saw pressure, forcing him to utilize his mobility to extend plays and find his targets.
Kelce's struggles didn't end in pass protection. He fired a number of errant snaps from the shotgun, and the Eagles offense was lucky that none of them caught Wentz off guard.
Losers from this game are hard to come by, and Kelce still did make some big blocks to free up a rushing attack that went for 122 yards. But the Eagles expect more consistency out of a center that has the seventh highest overall contract value in the league, per Over The Cap.
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