By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Going Long
At some point in every quarterback's career, he is judged on wins and losses. It's why the discussion of the greatest QBs of all time begins and ends with Super Bowl rings instead of yards per attempt or touchdown percentage. A quarterback's job is to win games for his team.
Carson Wentz hasn't done a whole lot of winning in his rookie season. He's lost eight of his last 10 starts. He has yet to conduct a fourth quarter comeback. But what he showed on the field in the Eagles' 27-22 loss to the Washington Redskins yesterday was far more important to the Philadelphia Eagles franchise than the final result on the scoreboard.
But don't tell him that.
"We lost. That's what really matters," the quarterback said to reporters after the game.
The growth that Wentz showed, bouncing back from his worst start of the year, throwing for over 300 yards and taking an offense that was without its top playmaker and down to its fourth right tackle to within 14 yards of victory was nothing short of impressive. Yeah, he threw an interception in the red zone. But that come just two plays after Jordan Matthews failed to get a second foot down in the end zone, wiping out what would've been a beautiful touchdown pass.
"It's never easy. I want to win every game. I think we all do," Wentz said. "Every single [game] is different and every single situation is different, but when you lose like that, especially when you're on the field, as an offense, that's frustrating."
What's frustrating is the lack of favors the Eagles are doing for their young quarterback. Even as Wentz has struggled, the Eagles continue to put the ball in his hands and make him throw again and again, to over-matched receivers while standing behind a patchwork offensive line. Even as the running game proved to be effective, it was abandoned, leaving the Redskins pass rushers free to pin their ears back and get after the passer.
But those wins will come if Wentz continues to improve and adjust to the NFL game. Even Doug Pederson, who has been his harshest critic at times, admitted yesterday's performance was among his best.
"He's a very prideful guy and takes losing extremely hard and he learned from last week as did the team," Pederson explained. "I think he put together a good week of practice. He was well-prepared and came out and proved today that this is why we drafted him, to be our guy."
But for now Wentz's preparation isn't to win a game next week. He's preparing to be great, and that takes precedent.
Injury Report
Did Not Play: Dorial Green-Beckham (oblique), Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee), Brandon Brooks (illness)
Wendell Smallwood: The rookie running back went down with a knee injury in the second quarter of the game and was ruled out at the beginning of the second half. In his absence, Ryan Mathews put together a solid performance, but Smallwood missed a lot of time during training camp and played more than 10 snaps just six times heading into yesterday's game. For a player who was expected to have such a huge role this season, Smallwood has been a minor disappointment. Les Bowen later reported Smallwood's injury is a sprained MCL, so he may be out for the next few weeks.
Jon Dorenbos: This injury was probably the biggest of the day, as Dorenbos left the game in the third quarter to have x-rays on his wrist and never returned. The veteran tied Harold Carmichael for the most consecutive games played in Eagles history yesterday, but was replaced by Brent Celek and Trey Burton, who performed as well as you would expect.
The Eagles consistency at long snapper has been astounding during this century, since 2000, only Mike Bartrum and Dorenbos have performed those duties for the Birds. If the Magic Man's wrist truly is broken, the Eagles will have to make a move before Sunday.
Allen Barbre: Barbre was the Eagles third option at right tackle this year, but was lost in the third quarter with a hamstring issue and never returned. The Eagles are still one week away from Lane Johnson being reinstated from his 10-game suspension, but they could use Johnson in the worst way as the injuries along the offensive line continue to pile up.
Brent Celek: Celek only got two shots at long-snapping, but he sure improved between those two reps. On his first chance, Celek's snap fell short of Donnie Jones and the punter was unable to get the ball down for Caleb Sturgis. But on his second opportunity, Celek delivered a nice snap to Jones and the punter let off a booming kick. As Celek raced down the field to make the tackle, he ended up with a stinger and was never able to return to the game. This injury shouldn't affect Celek's availability for Sunday's game.
Darren Sproles: Sproles was injured during the second half when Redskins special teamer Deshazor Everett launched himself at Sproles's while he was trying to field a punt. An unnecessary roughness penalty was called and a bit of a scuffle broke out, but the running back was able to walk off the field under his own power and went into the locker room to be evaluated for a head injury.
Numbers Game
3: For the first time all year, the Eagles designated a healthy running back as inactive, leaving them with just three at their disposal. The move almost backfired on Pederson when Smallwood and Sproles both went down with their injuries, leaving only Mathews available. Mathews played well, but he has struggled catching passes and having Sproles healthy or Kenjon Barner active on that final drive really could've helped Wentz.
Barner was left inactive in favor of Steven Means who got a lot of snaps at defensive end, so it's not like that roster spot went to waste, but not having a guy who can catch a pass out of the backfield really handicapped the Eagles offense down the stretch.
205: One thing to really like about yesterday's game is the performance of the Eagles' tight ends. The group combined for 205 yards on 18 catches, and the added three long snaps for good measure. Ertz specifically had a great game, gaining over 100 yards, while Trey Burton set a career-high in receiving yards with 65.
This group really hasn't performed as well as some may have thought this year, but Ertz always has a way of turning up his performance once the calendar turns to December. With Wentz in desperate need of weapons, the tight ends look like they could really create some mismatches over the final three games.
102: Former Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson had 102 receiving yards yesterday, his third 100-yard performance against the Eagles in five games. Jackson reminded everybody of his abilities when he blew by Leodis McKelvin and took a pass 80 yards for a touchdown. For a 30-year-old wide receiver, Jackson doesn't look like he has lost a step and he is still capable of changing the momentum of a game on just one play.
He still has baggage and he is still an aging veteran, but Jackson still has a skill set the Eagles are sorely missing on their roster. The receiving corps will probably be blown up in the offseason and if the price is right, Jackson would make a lot of sense for the Eagles. He even told a security guard he'd be open to a reunion prior to yesterday's game.
Quotables
"I did it in Pop Warner."
-Trey Burton on his long-snapping experience
The tight end did relatively well after winning the Eagles' sideline open tryout, pretty much securing his spot as the third man on the long-snapping depth chart.
"Every now and then, I like to pretend I'm a long snapper."
-Zach Ertz on his long-snapping dreams
Maybe one day, Zach. Maybe one day.
Jason Kelce on Sproles getting cheap shotted on punt return: "He's the most respected guy on this team. That gave us a spark," #Eagles
— Ed Kracz (@kracze) December 11, 2016
Based on their immediate reaction and their comments after the game, it's clear the Eagles really look up to the smallest man on their roster. To his credit, Everett apologized after the game and said he wasn't trying to injure Sproles, but every so often, a struggling team needs a rallying point and Sproles going down may have been one for the Eagles.
Weekly Awards
Offensive Redemption Award: Zach Ertz
After a week of incessant criticism about his heart and hustle, Ertz answered the bell to the tune of 10 catches for 112 yards. He continuously looked for contact after catches, too, which is something we haven't really seen from the tight end as of late. The California native isn't lazy or soft. He may be a bit laid-back, but Ertz really showed up with something to prove yesterday after being challenged by the fans and the media. If he can play with that kind of dedication on a weekly basis, he'll fall back into everyone's good graces very quickly.
Defensive Redemption Award: Leodis McKelvin
McKelvin has really struggled this year, but he turned in one hell of a performance yesterday. The cornerback had a pick-six that cut the deficit to just two, added five tackles and led the Eagles with four passes defended. McKelvin had struggled to stay healthy, so maybe he's finally back to 100%, but he was the lone bright spot in the Eagles' secondary.
Yes, he did get beat by Jackson on that deep ball, but there isn't one cornerback on this planet who can keep up with Jackson down the field, so that can be chalked up to poor scheming. The Eagles would only eat $0.25 million if they decide to part ways with McKelvin before next season, so the veteran's spot on the roster isn't exactly safe right now. He'll need to build on this performance if he wants to remain an Eagle in 2017.
Three-Stop Drop
1. One thing that really hindered the Eagles yesterday was their special teams. Take the long-snapping out of the equation right now, and look at how the Eagles really struggled to return kicks with Smallwood and Barner unable to play. Nelson Agholor and Paul Turner were unable to return the ball past the 20-yard line and posed no threat in the return game. Sproles had a punt return touchdown, but a penalty by Ertz called it back.
And then you have the long-snapping issues that led to a botched field goal attempt, which, if it was made, would've given the Eagles a chance to tie or win the game with a field goal on their final drive. Instead, the Eagles needed to drive 75 yards and were unable to do so. It's hard to blame the loss on guys being unable to do what they aren't used to doing, but a good snap or a good return really could've turned the game into the Eagles' favor.
2. A lot of people were quick to blame Wentz for the loss after the game, but it's hard to stay in the pocket and throw the ball into the end zone when you're playing behind your fourth-string right tackle. Since Johnson's suspension the Eagles have gone just 2-7 and the offensive line has struggled to keep Wentz upright.
On that last play, it's hard to blame the rookie QB when the Eagles had Matt Tobin matched up one-on-one with Ryan Kerrigan. In case you've forgotten, Kerrigan absolutely terrorized the Eagles earlier in the year and the team decided it was okay to have Vaitai's backup's backup block him by himself.
3. One thing that can't be debated this week is the Eagles effort. The team certainly put forth their best effort for 60 minutes and put to rest any doubt regarding the team's will to win. It still had to be asked in the psotgame interviews, but Pederson's comments, as well as his player's, will hopefully put this matter to rest. There was obviously a loss in effort against Cincinnati last week, but this week was a different story. Hopefully it's a step in the right direction.
Who's Next
The Eagles' schedule gets no easier as they head to Baltimore to face off against the Ravens next Sunday. John Harbaugh's squad will be coming off a short week as they play the Patriots tonight on Monday Night Football. The Ravens have bounced back from four-game losing streak to win four of their last five and set themselves up for a playoff-run.
It's no secret the Eagles have struggled on the road this season and with a team playing for their playoff lives, they will have an uphill battle in Baltimore on Sunday. The Ravens have 17 turnovers this year, so the Eagles certainly have a chance to steal this game against a superior team.
