With week 2 now in the books for the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s safe to say that they took a step in the right direction. While it wasn’t a leap as many expected it to be, Philly found a way to grind out a win and stick by what was working best.
It reminded me a lot of the 2017 team when the offense struggled to get it going throughout the first weeks of the season. They weathered the storm together and squeaked out a very necessary win. Now at 2-0, they’ll have this mini-bye week as they prepare for Monday Night Football against the 2-0 Buccaneers.
Until then, let’s take a look at who’s stock is rising and falling after week 2:
Stock up
D’Andre Swift
The man of the hour. In his first game in Philly as an Eagle, the hometown native put together a career game. Swift went from getting zero touches in week 1 to blowing up for 175 rushing yards on 28 touches and one touchdown. He was as efficient as can be on the ground as he rushed for 6.2 yards per carry which is exactly what this offense needed.
If they can use Swift more as their primary running back as opposed to Kenneth Gainwell then it can open up the passing game for the Eagles. It’ll be interesting to see what their approach is like in week 3 but one thing is for sure, D’Andre Swift needs to be the primary running back.
DeVonta Smith
Everyone was expecting this kind of showing from DeVonta Smith in year three. He is looking much more explosive off of the line of scrimmage and has been everywhere the ball is. Smitty caught four passes for 131 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.
To put that in perspective, it took Justin Jefferson 11 catches to reach 159 receiving yards. Smith averaged 32.8 yards per catch and is quietly climbing the pecking order of the top WRs in football.
Josh Sweat
In a crowded room full of great defensive linemen, Josh Sweat is once again standing out for the Eagles. Sweat had a career year for the Eagles last season and seems to be picking up where he left off. He was a menace against the Vikings as he finished the game with 5 QB hits and one sack.
Jordan Davis
Much has been said about Jalen Carter in this defense but for some reason, Jordan Davis has flown under the radar. Davis is quietly having a great start to his second year in the NFL. He’s been a wrecking ball against the pass and the run.
After a forced fumble and a half sack in week 1, Davis found himself in the Vikings backfield quite often. He finished the game with one sack and two QB hits. Jordan Davis finished with a PFF grade of 85.7 in the Eagles’ win against the Vikings.
Stock down
Darius Slay
After all of the theatrics this offseason, many Eagles fans were relieved at the fact that Darius Slay was returning to the team. He looked terrific in week 1 but it seems that Justin Jefferson got the best of him in week 2.
Slay allowed 7 receptions for 88 yards against him with a passer rating of 112.5. He did have one pass deflection which was the only incompletion against him out of the 8 targets that he saw. Slay has a tough matchup against a very hot Mike Evans in week 3. It’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back.
Brian Johnson
So the run game worked this time because the team used the right running back. Granted it was because of the Gainwell injury that Swift received all of those touches but we’ll give the Eagles OC the benefit of the doubt.
Unfortunately, the passing game continues to look out of sync. Hurts looks to be locking on to targets for too long which is causing him to miss out on wide-open opportunities. Brian Johnson has to find a way to get the ball out of Hurts’ hands quicker and get A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert involved more.
There’s also the issue of adjustments. Flores dared the Eagles to pass and it looked like Johnson didn’t find ways to create openings underneath while trusting in his playmakers. A lot of the routes seemed to be stuck behind the secondary wall as opposed to making the secondary second guess themselves. The offense can’t be predictable, especially going into a game against Todd Bowles.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
