By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
It was a day of new beginnings for the Philadelphia Eagles. On one hand, the new on-field leader at quarterback made his first impression and it will certainly be the talking point of this game.
But it was also the regular-season debut of the man on the sidelines for the Eagles, and he too had a debut to remember.
Going Deep
Two men made their respective debuts yesterday afternoon. And while Carson Wentz will receive the attention and fanfare, Doug Pederson was equally as impressive in his first game as an NFL head coach.
Since the day of his hiring, Pederson was viewed as an uninspired choice, a step backward to the days of Andy Reid, not the step forward this franchise needed. Heck, just eight years ago, he was the head coach at Calvary Baptist High School in Louisiana. But yesterday, with a sound beating of Hue Jackson and the Cleveland Browns, Pederson proved to be deserving of his current position.
The biggest concern with Pederson was whether or not he could be an effective play-caller. His only experience in that department came last season when Reid let him call plays during the second half of Kansas City's games. But he engineered a nine-play, 75-yard drive to start the game, and never looked back.
"Going into a game, I'll script 30, 30 plays, that are first and second down thoughts," Pederson explained. "And then once you get past that, it's — as a play caller you're continuing to script plays. I have these cards on the sideline that I continue to put drives together and plays together based on the information that not only are we getting from the defense, but from the coaches upstairs and on the sideline. You're constantly putting drives together, so you never get stuck. You never want to be in a position to not have a finger on a call. And so you're constantly using about four or five of these cards throughout the game and continuing to script plays even throughout the game."
"I thought he called a heck of a game, honestly," tight end Zach Ertz said. "He went for it on fourth down, and I was able to go out there and make a play. He was aggressive early. The first 15 to 30 plays were very efficient, and it felt like we were on the field the entire game."
Pederson's offense hung 29 points and 403 yards on the Browns yesterday. But it was their balance and ability to stay on the field for almost two-thirds of the game that was truly impressive and certainly a far cry in philosophy from his predecessor. And despite him later claiming otherwise, Pederson looked calm, cool and collected while he watched his team from the sideline.
Another cultural shift Pederson has brought with him is his ability to relate to his players. Since his hiring, everyone in the organization, from Jeffrey Lurie on down has raved about the coach's talent for talking and listening to his players.
"The best thing about Coach Pederson is just his authenticity," Jordan Matthews observed. "He’s played the game and not only has he played the game, but he’s been in our shoes. And when I say ‘our shoes,’ he’s played in the city of Philadelphia. Playing in the city of Philadelphia — it’s not like any other sports state. When they’re playing football in here, it maximizes that much more. So he’s been in those trenches before. When I see him, it’s not even as much as I see a coach, it’s like ‘Yo Pops, I got you.’ That’s a blood brother right there, no different from those guys in the locker room."
So maybe Pederson isn't some sort of offensive guru or mad genius. Maybe he is still learning on the job. Maybe he has a long way to go until he's considered an elite coach. Maybe he won't ever reach that level. But yesterday, Pederson showed that he has the ability to lead his men to victory. And right now, that's all that matters.
Injury Report
Did Not Play: Trey Burton (calf); Bryce Treggs (knee)
Leodis McKelvin: The Eagles starting corner left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and never returned. He was replaced by rookie Jalen Mills, who performed admirably in his place. Heading into next week, the Birds' corners will be forced to go up against Kevin White and Alshon Jeffrey, a pair of guys an undersized corner like Mills may struggle against. McKelvin's status for these next few weeks are still up in the air, but his absence could leave a decent-sized hole in the Eagles' secondary.
Numbers Game
39:20: The Eagles held the ball for almost 40 minutes yesterday, a feat they never even sniffed during the Chip Kelly era. The last time they won the time of possession battle that easily was in 2011, when the held the ball for 42:09 in a 34-7 over the Dallas Cowboys. During the middle quarters, it looked like the Eagles defense's performance was starting to slip a bit, but Pederson's offense was able to give them ample time to regroup on the sideline and they responded in dominant fashion in the fourth quarter. On a per-play average, the Browns beat the Eagles in every offensive category, but the difference in the game was the fact that the Eagles were able to run 23 more plays than their adversaries.
The Eagles also held the Browns to under five minutes of possession in every quarter except the second, when the Browns had the ball for 7:54. Really impressive stuff.
20.7: On the Cleveland Browns' 13 drives yesterday, their averaged starting field position was their own 20.7 yard line. The Eagles' defense did play well, but the special teams deserves a lot of credit for the Browns inability to get anything going offensively. Donnie Jones had six punts, three went for touchbacks and the other three were downed inside the 20 yard line. In fact, the only time the Browns started with the ball outside their own 25 yard line was following Caleb Sturgis' missed field goal. The Browns dressing 11 rookies and having no veteran depth on their roster certainly played a role in this edge, but the Eagles just dominated the field position battle all day.
5.7: Despite holding the Browns to just 10 points, Cleveland was able to pick up 5.7 yards per attempt on the ground against Jim Schwartz's crew. Granted, in a game they won by 19 points, there wasn't much emphasis on stopping the run in the second half when the Browns were able to add two yards per carry to the 3.7 they averaged in the first half. But, for a team that doesn't expect to be in a lot of shootouts, it is worrisome they were unable to contain a sub-standard rushing offense. They allowed less than two yards per carry in the preseason and yesterday may have just been an aberration, but if the kinks aren't worked out soon, the Eagles may struggle to get the ball back to their offense late in games when teams are running all over them.
Quotables
"It's not surprising, because of us and myself being around him for so long now, and just knowing the maturity level that he has and the things that I was trying to get across to the fans, to the media: This is who he is. This is his DNA."
–Pederson on Wentz's performance
More on Wentz in a bit, but the confidence the team showed in Wentz when they traded away Sam Bradford last week was on full display yesterday afternoon. The rookie never looked overwhelmed and certainly seemed like he belonged on an NFL field. By no means was he elite, but he made some throws that he past few Eagles' QBs never would have even attempted.
Please change my position to "Athlete" on the roster @Eagles #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/ZiVEPce7AZ
— Beau Allen (@Beau_Allen) September 11, 2016
Allen lining up at fullback was a bit of a surprise, considering he hasn't been reported to working out there in practice. He may be forced out of duty once Burton returns from injury, but for now, let's just all enjoy watching a 300-pound man line up between Wentz and Ryan Mathews.
"I really like music. I don’t really get into TV. I was like 'What do you all listen to out in North Dakota? I don’t know any rappers from North Dakota.' He said his favorite album was from Jason Aldean. I went to school in Nashville so I heard of Jason. It was the 'Dirt Road Anthem' album. I thought if I’m going to learn this guy’s mindset, I have to listen to his music."
-Matthews on his relationship with Wentz
The wide receiver went on to say he forced the rookie to listen to Kanye West, but the lengths that these two went in order to get on the same page over these last two weeks is impressive and it showed on Sunday when they connected seven times for 114 yards and a beautiful touchdown. Wentz to Matthews, we may be hearing that connection for the next decade.
Weekly Awards
Offensive Player of the Week: Carson Wentz
Now we get to Wentz, who exceeded just about everyone's expectations yesterday. He finished the day with a QB rating over 100, threw for a pair of touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over once. There were a lot of things to like about his game, but the most impressive thing from my perspective is how poised he looked throughout the entire game.
Double A-gap blitz on fourth-and-four? No problem, hit Zach Ertz over the middle for the first down. Fumble the snap? Oh well, just pick it up, throw it away and live to play another down. Wentz played like a seasoned veteran, leaving little doubt that he will be able to work out some of the issues he still has in his game. With his talent and intangibles, the sky is the limit for this kid.
Unsung Offensive Hero of the Week: Ryan Mathews
Although Greg Gumble continuously sang his praises during the game's broadcast, Mathews truly did put together a great performance, despite a low yardage output. He didn't pick up more than seven yards on any single carry, picking up just 77 yards on 22 carries. His ability to keep the chains moving and chew up clock was a big part of the Eagles victory yesterday. And, of course, he ended the day by majestically diving into Jason Peters' arms on his final carry of the day.
Defensive Player of the Week: Fletcher Cox
Not much of a surprise here. Cox had four solo tackles, including a sack and was just an all-around disruption all day long. Granted, sometimes the Browns didn't even bother to block him, but Cox certainly looked like a guy deserving of $61 million.
Unsung Defensive Hero of the Week: Jordan Hicks
Hicks didn't exactly make a ton of big plays like he did last year, but he was in the middle of the action all day, even deflecting a pass that eventually was intercepted by Rodney McLeod. Hicks's performance last year was such a revelation, that I wondered whether or not it was sustainable. But yesterday proved he was more than capable of holding down the middle of Schwartz's defense. If he can stay healthy, he can be a really good linebacker in this league.
Three-Step Drop
1. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of yesterday's game was the disappearance of the pass rush for three quarters. Although the Browns often used six or seven blockers to combat the Eagles rushing just four, Cox and company weren't able to get pressure on Robert Griffin III, leaving the secondary vulnerable to big plays. Once the Eagles started to pull away, the defensive line was able to pin their ears back and go after RG3, picking up three of their four sacks in the fourth quarter. Perhaps the best part of their eventual breakthrough was the fact that Cox, Connor Barwin, Vinny Curry and Brandon Graham all got in on the action.
2. Offensively, there were times where the Eagles seemed to be a bit out of sorts. A few false starts due to the Eagles offensive linemen being unfamiliar with Wentz's cadence along with some miscommunications with wide receivers showed that the unit was still getting used to playing with Wentz. These wrinkles will iron themselves out in due time, so it is just a matter of Wentz getting more reps with the first team. Playing behind Bradford and missing three weeks with an injury left Wentz with very little time to get acclimated with his teammates.
3. One thing that really hindered the Eagles' offense over the past two years was their turnover issues, but that is something Pederson's unit in Kansas City did well. Alex Smith and company turned the ball over just 15 times a season ago, best in the NFL. Granted, Wentz is bound to make some mistakes at some point in his rookie season, but no turnovers yesterday was a good sign for things to come. Pederson selectively took his shots with his playcalling and Wentz took care of the ball.
Who's Next
The Eagles will step onto the national stage next week as they take on the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. The Bears lost to the Houston Texans yesterday, 23-14. Led by Jay Cutler, the Bears are still searching for a running attack, as Jeremy Langford led the way with 57 yards on 17 carries.
Defensively, the Bears held the Texans to under four yards per carry, but struggled to contain rookie WR Will Fuller, who torched them for 107 yards on just five catches. That could be good news for Nelson Agholor who had a nice touchdown catch yesterday and seems primed to finally break out after a year of toiling with mediocrity.
