You can never take anything for granted, especially in the NFL. The Bears may be 3-7, but the challenge they pose is still worth noting. The Eagles have done an excellent job of keeping the Bears contained in the first half, in fact, they lead 24-0. Here are some quick hits from the opening two quarters.
The only team who can beat the Eagles is themselves:
Malcolm Jenkins and LeGarrette Blount both suffered penalties early on, while Vaitai and Lane Johnson picked up penalties to push the offense back. The team bounced back from these minor setbacks with ease, forcing a Bears missed field goal and dominating the game on the ground. There may be no more complete team in the NFL…and if anybody is going to beat Philadelphia, they will need some help in the way of errors from a team that commit very few. Even when the Eagles are a little wobbly out of the gate, the rest of the team steps up and completely overrides the problems. The way that they dealt with two plays that could completely change the tempo was beyond impressive.
Run Defense is stellar:
Jordan Howard is averaging 64 yards in the first half on the ground this season. He ends the first half in Philadelphia with 6 yards on 5 carries. Mychal Kendricks and Brandon Graham have enjoyed terrific first halves so far and the team already have 3 tackles for a loss. Stopping an Offense that’s built on backfield versatility is always hard…but it’s light work for the best defensive line in football.
Alshon balls out:
No Eagles receiver has registered a 100-yard game so far…but that could change today. Alshon Jeffery is putting on a clinic against his former team. A beautiful touchdown to end the first half lifts him to 52 yards so far.
MVP:
Carson Wentz has been near perfect so far. Completing 15/22 passes for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns is impressive, but using what can only be described as supernatural powers to evade pressure and rush for 24 yards in the process is just as eyebrow raising. Carson Wentz has been surgical today…and that’s only going to continue.
Running the table:
The Eagles have 124 yards on 18 rushing attempts so far. LeGarrette Blount has been steamrolling people for fun and Corey Clement is averaging 8 yards per rush. While Ajayi hasn’t gotten going quite yet, the rest of the backfield has. Make that TEN consecutive games in which the Birds have amassed 100 rushing yards or more.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
