Oct 8, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters (71) in action against the Arizona Cardinals at Lincoln Financial Field. Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
PHILADELPHIA — Monday night’s win for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Washington Redskins put the 6-1 Eagles in the driver’s seat in the NFC East. But the victory came with a price.
They lost two of their most indispensable players: middle linebacker Jordan Hicks and nine-time Pro-Bowl left tackle Jason Peters.
Peters tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee. Hicks ruptured his Achilles tendon. Both are out for the season.
The Eagles already lost running back Darren Sproles and special teams captain Chris Maragos to season-ending injuries.
“These are guys that are significant starters,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “Leaders on your football team. Captains of your football team. It can make an impact.
“But you’ve got to have the next-man-up mentality. The reality is we still have a lot of football left to play. The season’s not over.”
Halapoulivaati Vaitai replaced Peters after he got hurt Monday. He will start Sunday against San Francisco, though it’s still not certain where.
They may put him at left tackle, or they may be slide right tackle Lane Johnson over to the left side and have Vaitai replace him on the right side.
Pederson said he’ll meet with offensive coordinator Frank Reich and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and make a decision on how to proceed.
“Lane is playing extremely well on the right side and Big V has been a swing tackle. We’ll take a lot of that into consideration this week before we step out on the field.”
–The respect the Eagles’ players have for Peters was evident Monday night when the entire team came off the bench to support him as he was being carted off the field. The crowd at Lincoln Financial Field also gave him a standing ovation.
“It just shows the love and respect that the guys have for him,” Pederson said. “And the chants from the crowd and the fans was breathtaking to experience. His blood, sweat and tears have been poured on that practice field and that game field for a lot of time, a lot of Pro Bowls. And I think it’s just the love that everybody has for him. It was pretty awesome to see.”
–Quarterback Carson Wentz had four touchdown passes against the Redskins Monday. That gives him 11 in the last three games and a league-high 17 for the season. Last year, he threw 14 the entire season.
Wentz had a career-high five rushing first downs against the Redskins Monday. He has 15 this season, which is second on the team to LeGarrette Blount’s 16. It’s also the second most in the league among quarterbacks. Only Cam Newton has more (20).
REPORT CARD VS. REDSKINS
–PASSING OFFENSE: A-plus – QB Carson Wentz had his second four-touchdown game in three weeks and averaged 10.7 yards per attempt. He coolly changed the call at the line of scrimmage on a TD pass to Nelson Agholor, found RB Corey Clement in the end zone with a defender wrapped around him, and threw a 64-yard strike to Mack Hollins. All in all, a helluva day for the second-year player.
–RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus — LeGarrette Blount averaged just 2.1 yards per carry, but had a 21-yard run on a second-and-14 late in the game that kept the ball away from the Redskins. But the big difference-maker on the ground on this night was Wentz, who rushed for 63 yards and had a career-high five rushing first downs.
–PASS DEFENSE: B — The Eagles gave up three 30-plus-yard pass plays to the Redskins early as Kirk Cousins completed 12 of 16 passes in the first half. But the Eagles were able to get pressure on him in critical situations, both with a four-man rush and blitzes. The Eagles sacked Cousins and intercepted him on third down.
–RUSH DEFENSE: A-minus — The Eagles allowed just two rushing first downs. Redskins head coach Jay Gruden had so little faith in his team’s ability to run on the Eagles that he called pass plays on three straight third-and-shorts in the first half. The Redskins averaged just 3.4 yards per carry in the first three quarters.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: A — Jake Elliott booted 50- and 42-yard field goals before missing from 45 yards. It was his first miss in 13 attempts. Six of his seven kickoffs went for touchbacks. PR Kenjon Barner had a 22-yard return. Even without Chris Maragos, the coverage teams held the Redskins’ returners in check.
–COACHING: A-plus – Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz did a good job of compensating for the loss of MLB Jordan Hicks by using DB-heavy sub-packages. He also kept Kirk Cousins off-balance with blitzes.
