You never know exactly what the NFL will have in store, and in a December game that was pretty much meaningless for the Eagles, we got what should henceforth be known as "The Three Long Snapper Game." What can't Trey Burton do?
The Eagles battled valiantly on Sunday, but they ultimately fell a bit short against Washington, 27-22. Here's what I saw:
The good
• Leodis McKelvin was torched earlier in the half by DeSean Jackson, but he made up for it in a big way when he stepped in front of Kirk Cousins' pass to D-Jax for a pick-six:
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• After some poor play recently (and a disastrous performance in Cincy last week), Carson Wentz had a nice game against Washington's defense: 32-46, 314 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. He drove the Eagles down the field at the end of the game, but ultimately, his offensive line couldn't hold up. That's not on him.
• Zach Ertz (10 catches, 112 yards) and Fletcher Cox (four tackles, 1.5 sacks), two players who have recently been under fire after signing big contracts in the offseason, also had strong performances.
Overall, the Eagles appeared to play pretty hard in this game. After being called out by Doug Pederson for a lack of effort in last week's game, they seemed to respond pretty well on that front.
The bad
• Jaccpot:
There has been a lot of talk about DeSean Jackson coming back to Philadelphia next season, which I have mixed feelings about. There would be one benefit, though: He wouldn't have to play against them anymore. Jackson had three catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
• Darren Sproles just has incredible vision, and as it turned out, a Ertz block ironically took an amazing return off the board:
• You saw it coming. Washington was getting pressure on Wentz from the right side of the line the entire game, and Matt Tobin couldn't hold up with the Eagles in the red zone, looking for the win:
This is what happens when you are down to your fourth string tackle:
The ugly
• Brent Celek's turn as a long snapper was mixed. He made a decent snap to Donnie Jones on a punt, but this grounder on a field goal attempt was extremely ugly. Jon Dorenbos' absence had a major effect on the Eagles' game plan:
• This hit on Sproles was brutal, just brutal:
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