With a win over the Washington Commanders, the Philadelphia Eagles are 3-0. They're the lone 3-0 team in the NFC right now after watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drop a last-second stunner to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and are just one of three undefeated teams overall alongside the New York Giants, who play on Monday, and the Miami Dolphins who, funny enough, are quarterbacked by Jalen Hurts' former Alabama teammate Tua Tagovailoa.
Nick Sirianni, Shane Steichen, and Jonathan Gannon worked together to craft a complete gameplan that had few schematic miscues, the team executed more often than not, and even when mental errors did crop up, like the missed call where CJ Gardner-Johnson wasn't in the right spot for a Terry McLauren catch or when Jordan Davis charged the center of a field goal attempt and gave the Commanders a new set of downs, the Eagles were able to overcome them.
If ever there was a team win, this would be the one, but that doesn't mean the Eagles didn't have players who shined above the rest and really left an impact on the game. Here are three Philly players – plus one Commander – who did just that.
4 Philadelphia Eagles most responsible for win over Washington
4. Jalen Hurts
Honestly, what is there to say about Hurts' Week 3 efforts other than he balled out in a major way, put up one of the best stat lines of his career, and commandingly led his team to a resounding victory? Hurts threw for 340 yards on just 35 attempts, threw a touchdown to three different receivers, and most interestingly of all, only picked up 20 yards on the ground on nine carries.
Hurts won this game with his arm, with his poise in the pocket, and with his quick wit when it mattered, as the third-year quarterback called Philly's end-of-quarter touchdown just before half despite the particular look not being in the team's Week 3 plans according to Josh Tolentino of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
3. Carson Wentz
If Hurts played the Eagles into a win, Wentz played the Commanders into a loss, as the former Philly second overall pick had just 24 passing yards in the first half versus six sacks and finished out the game with just 211 passing yards versus an incredible nine sacks plus two more fumbles. Wentz hasn't thrown for under 300 yards since he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts and likely wishes he was back on Fran Reich's squad in Week 3, as at least they secured the win.
2. Brandon Graham
Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season marked Brandon Graham's 164th game in a midnight green uniform. He's played four different head coaches – five if you count interim head coach Pat Schumer in 2015 – and yet, at the tender age of 34, the veteran rusher looked 29 again against the Commanders, as the Michigan product finished out the game with six tackles, 2.5 sacks, two tackles for a loss, and five quarterback hits on one of the best games of his storied career.
While fans may never again see another 2.5 sack performance from Graham during the final chapter of his career, in Week 3, Tom Brady's least favorite edge rusher looked like the guy who strip-sacked “TB12” in the Super Bowl on the way to a parade down Broad.
DeVonta Smith had himself a signature game in Week 3, where he went for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown in a star-making performance against a division rival. While A.J. Brown may be the Eagles' $100 million wide receiver and even be WR1 on the Eagles' depth chart, Smith isn't going to just disappear into a Robin role with “1k Always Open” on the roster.
No, as the team immortalized with a black cape embroidered with a yellow badge on the back, this wide receiving corps is straight Batmans, from Slim Batman to Swole Batman, and even Speed Batman.
https://twitter.com/1kalwaysopen_/status/1574151869051686913?s=20&t=sWh7whxEFq3waLyVwKU5ww
Follow Us
Subscribe