Week 9: Eagles' Studs And Duds
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- It's only been eight games? What a grueling eight games.
Through the first half of the season the Eagles are 6-2 and in first place in the NFC East after their 31-21 win over the Texans on Sunday. However, maybe more importantly, the Eagles lost quarterback Nick Foles to a reported broken collarbone and lost the quarterback of the defense, DeMeco Ryans, to a torn achilles.
Duds
3. Josh Huff
Huff did catch three of his four targets for 26 yards, but the one drop he had was brutal, which turned into an interception for Mark Sanchez.
Is it me or does it just seem like disaster finds Josh Huff? It was the fumble against Arizona and the dropped ball turned INT this week. It just seems like Huff doesn't have awareness on the field.
2. Earl Wolff
Keep complaining about Nate Allen. Go ahead, keep complaining. Yes, the blown coverage against John Brown last week was brutal, but Allen is actually have a decent season for the Eagles. Earl Wolff, on the other hand, just isn't good enough right now. Wolff played all 60 snaps for the Eagles at safety and didn't make one play. He was brutally beat on a DeAndre Hopkins touchdown, as well.
1. Nick Foles
Not to kick a man when he's down, but a broken collarbone could cost Foles the starting quarterback job and a boat load of money along the way. Foles was actually having a decent game (10-13 for 124 yards, 1 TD), but then he threw a prototypical Foles-like interception, and then he got hurt.
Mark Sanchez came in and didn't miss a beat, but you have to give a ton of credit to Chip Kelly. The offense doesn't skip a beat, ever. And that kind of proves that Foles isn't really a franchise quarterback.
Studs
3. Mark Sanchez
So many studs to choose from, but Sanchez has to be on the list. He came into the game cold, hit Jeremy Maclin for 52 yards down the field on his first throw, and finished the game 15-22 for 202 yards, 2 TD's, and 2 INT's, and the all important win.
2. Jason Kelce
I refuse to leave Kelce off this list. You asked, "What's wrong with the run game? Has LeSean McCoy lost a step?"
Coincidence running game gets back on track with Kelce back from injury? I think not. The Eagles racked up 190 yards on the ground, 117 of them by McCoy, in large thanks to Kelce.
1. Chip Kelly
I could have picked Jeremy Maclin, who has amassed 18 receptions for 345 yards and four touchdowns over the last two weeks, as the No. 1 stud. I could have chose McCoy, who had his best game of the season. Even Cody Parkey was tough to leave off this list, who has made his last 12 kicks tying for the ninth-longest streak in team history.
But Chip Kelly's brilliance shined through in this game and really epitomized how dominate he's been.
First downs: Eagles 30, Texans 15
Total yards: Eagles 483, Texans 300
Turnovers: Eagles 4, Texans 1
Despite four turnovers, the Eagles won the game, a game they dominated throughout, by 10 points. Foles goes down and Kelly calls a deep pass on Sanchez's first throw of the game. Who else makes that call? He says he doesn't care about personnel and it shows. He just runs his offense.
Oh, and a huge call to go-for-it on 4th-and-1 late in the game sealed the deal.
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