This message on the Eagles’ official Twitter account summed up Philadelphia’s 51-23 butt-kicking of the Broncos on Sunday: “Apologies, we actually ran out of fireworks at @LFF Stadium. #FlyEaglesFly”
That’s understandable, because as good as the Eagles already had been, they were even better in obliterating the free-falling Broncos to take an NFL-best 8-1 record into their bye week.
Of course it all began with Carson Wentz, who threw four touchdown passes as part of his pedestrian-looking 199-yard output. The second-year quarterback has been consistently excellent in what is shaping up to be an MVP season. But this is a Philadelphia team that, in the tradition of Rocky Balboa, has been taking big punches and successfully countering them.
Earlier in the season against the Giants, they lost dynamic running back Darren Sproles to a broken arm and a torn ACL — on the same play. On Sunday, Corey Clement scored two rushing touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass from Wentz, and Jay Ajayi, acquired from Miami at the trade deadline, added 77 yards in his Eagles debut, including a 46-yard touchdown.
Two weeks ago, nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters suffered a season-ending knee injury. No matter, as the Eagles scored 84 points the next two games. Top tight end Zach Ertz was a late scratch due to a hamstring injury, so Brent Celek and Trey Burton combined for five catches, 80 yards and a touchdown.
“That’s just how we’re wired, that’s how we’re built — next guy up,” Wentz said.
Ajayi, whose last game as a Dolphin was a 40-0 loss, is thrilled to be that “next guy.”
“It was great. God is good,” he said. “Excited to be here. Just trying to be a part of the team.”
East or famine
Except for the Giants, embarrassing 51-17 losers to the Rams, it was a great day for the NFC East. In addition to Philadelphia’s rampage, the Cowboys improved to 5-3 with a 28-17 victory over the Chiefs in Big D. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown after getting yet another reprieve of his six-game suspension from the courts system.
And the Redskins, playing without four-fifths of their starting offensive line in probably the most intimidating road stadium in the league, are 4-4 after stunning the Seahawks, 17-14. Kirk Cousins did not have a touchdown pass to go along with his 21-of-31 for 247 yards, but teams that need a quarterback (hint: the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets) had to take notice of Cousins’ beautiful 31-yard pass to Brian Quick and 38-yarder to Josh Doctson on the winning drive. Sensational, under tough conditions.
Ejection Junction
It’s hard to know what warrants an ejection these days. On the next-to-last play of the first half, Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey shoved Bengals WR A.J. Green down at the end of a running play. Green got off the ground, grabbed Ramsey around the neck, threw him down and punched him numerous times. Brad Allen’s crew ejected both players — Green for choking and punching; Ramsey apparently for being choked and getting punched.
Green said after the Bengals’ 23-7 loss to the 5-3 Jaguars he felt Ramsey kept landing cheap shots on him throughout the first half.
“I let it slide, let it slide … it’s football. Things get a little rough up there, so I don’t mind that,” Green said. “But when you start taking cheap shots when I’m not looking and stuff like that, that’s when I’ve got to defend myself and I’m not going to back down from anybody. I have a son, and I’m not going to teach him to back down from anybody like that. It’s a respect thing.”
To Jaguars safety Barry Church, Green was teaching his son a bad lesson.
“He snuck [Ramsey] to begin with, tried to choke him out from behind. I mean, that’s just a coward move,” Church said. “Hey, they both got ejected, we went out there and finished the fight and took the W home so they lost on both ends.”
(ESPN reported Ramsey screamed profanities at Green near the Bengals locker room at halftime and had to be restrained by security. Ironically, the Jaguars won on a day when they enforced some discipline, deactivating Leonard Fournette because the rookie running back missed the team photo shoot during the bye week).
A later incident in the Saints’ 30-10 blowout of the Buccaneers further muddied the waters regarding which acts warrant an ejection. Saints CB Marshon Lattimore was poked in the back of the neck after a play near the Tampa Bay sideline by Jameis Winston, who’d already been removed from the game due to injury. Lattimore turned and shoved Winston, then was blindsided by a hit by charging Bucs WR Mike Evans. Neither Winston (who should not be involved in any play from the bench) nor Evans was ejected.
Play of the Day
The Chiefs were trailing 14-3 with two seconds to go in the first half in Dallas and had the ball at their own 44. The Cowboys dropped seven of their defenders back inside their 20, so instead of launching a Hail Mary, Alex Smith lofted a short pass to Tyreek Hill. Hill started skipping slowly up field behind two tight ends. He cut to his left at the 25, then swerved back toward the middle of the field through a mass of Cowboys, none of whom got close to laying a finger on him on the 57-yard score.
“Oh my gosh! I’ve never seen that in my entire life in football,” CBS analyst Tony Romo said in disbelief.
Bad Beats
These pushes felt like beats if you had the Titans and Raiders. Both were three-point favorites that won by three after giving up late scores. The Ravens scored a touchdown with 46 seconds to go in Tennessee. And the Dolphins scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:32 left.
Post Patterns
Winston sat out the second half of the Bucs’ desultory 30-10 loss in New Orleans with a shoulder injury, and Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 68 yards and a touchdown. Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said he didn’t want to expose Winston’s already ailing shoulder to more damage. Tampa Bay has lost five in a row, with Winston having started them all. Is now the time to turn to Fitzpatrick, with his most recent “old team,” the Jets, coming to town next week? … The Texans, playing their first game after the devastating, season-ending knee injury suffered by Deshaun Watson, rallied from a 20-7 deficit to score one touchdown and drive the ball to the Colts’ 7 with seven seconds to go. But on the final play, Tom Savage was sacked and fumbled and the Colts survived, 20-14. … Each of the previous times the Eagles started 8-1, they made the NFL title game or Super Bowl (1949, 1960, 1980, 2004). … Cardinals coach Bruce Arians on Adrian Peterson’s 37 carries at age 32: “Ball’s not very heavy.” … Ex-Jet Eric Decker scored his first touchdown as a Titan.
Three Stars
1. T.Y. Hilton, Colts WR
Hilton hauled in five passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns — a 45-yard bomb and an 80-yard catch, hurdle, fall, get up and run — in the Colts’ 20-14 win in Houston.
2. Carson Wentz, Eagles QB
Wentz had modest numbers (15-of-27, 199 yards) but it was his four touchdown passes in a 51-23 laugher over the Broncos that earned him his customary star here.
3. Adrian Peterson, Cardinals RB
Peterson ran a career-high 37 times for 159 yards in Arizona’s 20-10 win over the 49ers. The most carries by a runner 30-plus-years old since at least 1950, per ESPN.
He said what?
“If there was a guy you’d pick on the Earth to throw it to, he’d be the one. He’s made tons of plays and he’ll make tons more. He was disappointed we didn’t get it.”
— Falcons coach Dan Quinn on WR Julio Jones, who dropped what should have been a 39-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1, in the fourth quarter of a 20-17 road loss to the Panthers.
Fantasy Insanity
- There was some difficult roster shuffling going on before kickoff Sunday. News that Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette was not going to play for disciplinary reasons sent owners scrambling for alternatives. In addition, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz was out with a hamstring problem. If you sat Austin Seferian-Jenkins on Thursday planning for Ertz, it forced some unsavory moves to add a third tight end, and that often made for some uncomfortable roster decisions. We had to drop Marlon Mack in one league, Corey Davis in another. Ugh.
- Rookie Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey ran 15 times for 66 yards and a score, his best day on the ground yet, and added five grabs for 28 yards. Starter Jonathan Stewart had 11 carries for 21 yards and two fumbles. Shift in workload could be ahead.
- We had high hopes for Rams WR Sammy Watkins against the Giants, and he delivered on one play — a 67-yard touchdown. But he had just two targets. Don’t get comfortable with him in your lineup.
— Drew Loftis