Eagles Armchair: Is this team for real?

By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

After another successful week under rookie QB Carson Wentz and new head coach Doug Pederson, the Eagles are one of eight NFL teams with a 2-0 record through two games.

With an early surge of success, is this team for real?

Going Deep

Expectations weren't very high. Hell, they still aren't. But after two weeks of watching the 2016 Philadelphia Eagles play, and dominate their inferior opponents, it may be time to start wondering whether this team's rebuild is already nearing it's end.

First, before anyone loses their mind, let me be clear: the Eagles are not Super Bowl contenders. They do not have the talent or the depth to truly go toe-to-toe with the NFL's elite in January with their season on the line. But what the do have is a collection of decent players who have enough talent to cover up the holes in all three phases of their team. 

Offensively, the pairing of Wentz and Pederson has turned into a match made in heaven. The coach has given the rookie quarterback a lot of responsibilities and the youngster has responded by putting together a pair of performances this town hasn't seen out of their QB in a long time. These Eagles don't play the most exciting brand of football, but that may be the most refreshing thing about this offense. Pederson is creative in a sneaky way, while continues to show confidence in his QB by going for it on fourth down again and again.

On the other side of the ball, Jim Schwartz has taken the shackles off the Eagles defensive line and has allowed the front seven to penetrate and play aggressive football, just the ways fans like it. Through two games, Schwartz's squad leads the league in points allowed, although many detractors will be quick to point out that Robert Griffin III and Jay Cutler won't be heading to Canton to receive their golden jackets anytime soon. 

The numbers may be misleading, yes. Are the Eagles the second-best defense in the league? No. Are they the most dominant team in the league, based on their league-best point differential? No. 

But after watching this team play football for two weeks, it's safe to say they're more than just some lowly team destined to fall out of playoff contention by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. Especially in a weak NFC East, the Eagles really could make some noise and find themselves playing meaningful football into the new year. Or, Wentz could regress, Pederson could find himself in a rut and injuries take the team out of contention and this is all for naught. 

All the Eagles can control is beating the team that lines up across from them. And twice, they've come through, winning by double digits, and no one was left wondering whether or not the best team was victorious. Beating the Browns and the Bears isn't going to spark any sort of parade speak, but it's a start and it proves that Pederson, Wentz, Schwartz and the rest of this group are on well on the way to the next step of building a truly special football team. 

Injury Report

Did Not Play: Zach Ertz (rib); Leodis McKelvin (hamstring)

Jaylen Watkins: Watkins was the only Eagle who suffered an injury that was reported by the team. The defensive back did not return to the game after suffering a knee contusion early in the third quarter. The Eagles were already very thin in their secondary, but they were lucky no other defensive backs went down on a humid night where a few different players such as Vinny Curry and Caleb Sturgis ended up with cramps.

Measurables

5: On the Eagles first drive, Wentz hooked up with five different receivers. The rookie's ability to throw the ball to everyone, in all parts of the field is truly impressive and brings back memories of Donovan McNabb spreading the ball around in Andy Reid's offense. Jordan Matthews, Dorial Green-Beckham, Nelson Agholor, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles all had catches on that opening drive. 

12: One interesting development in last night's game was Sproles spearheading the Eagles' running attack. The jitterbug had 12 of the team's carries, while the other three running backs split 13 carries among themselves. Sproles ended the day with just 40 yards and didn't really look like a truly effective runner, but injury rumors regarding Mathews may help explain this. Since the beginning of last year, Sproles has averaged under four yards per carry and was outperformed by Mathews and Barner a week ago. It's good to see him involved with the offense again, but he remains ineffective as a traditional running back.

0: Wentz has zero interceptions through his first two games of his career. No other QB has done that and gone 2-0 in NFL history. The numbers this kid has put up through two games have a lot of people thinking he can be very special. As long as he continues to prove that he can consistently take care of the football, he can play in this league for a very long time.

Quotables

"Touchdown" Trey Burton calling the echoes of James "Night Games James" Casey!

— Zoo With Roy (@zoowithroy) September 20, 2016

A lot of people have been calling for Burton since last year and he finally got his shot. With five catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, Burton proved to be a valuable piece to this offense and a solid replacement for Ertz as he nurses his rib injury. Burton still struggles with blocking as a true tight end, but as a hybrid h-back who the Eagles also lined up wide, Burton is a versatile receiver who can create a lot of mismatches all over the field. Expect his role to grow while Ertz is out of the lineup.

Eagles QB Carson Wentz has had 3 passes dropped worth 82 yards. 2nd-most yards for any QB this week (only Matt Stafford had more) #PHIvsCHI

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 20, 2016

The ball to Matthews in the end zone really stands out here. That drop directly cost the Eagles points and they ended up having to settle for a field goal in the closing seconds of the first half. As the wide receivers continue to grow as a unit, this number will inevitably fall, but for now, take the good with the bad. The Eagles have a solid group of young, playmaking wide receivers who will end up making some silly mistakes.

"I wish I had Carson Wentz when I was coaching."

-Jon Gruden

Gruden has sort of made a career out of cliches and exaggerations, but his man-crush on Wentz last night was incredible. Every quarterback who has visited Gruden's QB Camp is inevitably the former coach's favorite player on the field, but Gruden spent most of last night's broadcast praising how Wentz controlled the game and clock like an eight-year veteran. 

Weekly Awards

Offensive Stud: Carson Wentz

Wentz wasn't as good as he was against the Browns last week, but he remained in control the entire game and made a handful of throws that few NFL QBs even try to attempt. His ability to check protections and audible at the line of scrimmage is virtually unheard of for a rookie quarterback, especially one coming from an FCS school. He shows tremendous poise and has no problem standing in the pocket to deliver a throw, fully knowing he will be getting his clock cleaned in the process.  

The precision Wentz throws with is incredible and out of his 71 career throws, only a few have been truly off the mark. If he can continue to learn the intricacies of the west coast offense and clean up his footwork, which has already improved since last week, Wentz can enter the upper echelon of NFL QBs sooner, rather than later.

Offensive Dud: Jason Kelce

Man, it's getting harder and harder to defend Kelce with each passing week, but he has continued to struggle mightily. The center has gotten dominated in back-to-back weeks by nose guards who can bully him around and it is worth wondering how much longer he has before Pederson give Stefen Wisniewski a shot at center. Kelce was a Pro Bowler just two years ago, but has struggled since the departure of Evan Mathis and has yet to really find the groove he was in for the early parts of his career. Maybe it's the haircut.

Defensive Stud: Brandon Graham

The Eagles really abused the right side of the Bears offensive line last night and it was Graham leading that charge. The former first-round pick racked up four tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss, while spending the whole night chasing Cutler out of the pocket.

On a night where the Bears decided they weren't going to let Fletcher Cox beat them, Graham and Vinny Curry took advantage of their one-on-one matchups and tormented Cutler and the Bears' running backs all night long. This was the player the Eagles envisioned Graham becoming when they selected him out of Michigan so many years ago. It seems like he's finally starting to put everything together and he's blossoming into a special player right before our eyes.

Defensive Dud: Jalen Mills

It's hard to pick on the rookie, but Cutler was able to do it for a half, so this isn't too harsh. Schwartz dialed up a lot of blitzes early in the game, leaving Mills isolated on Alshon Jeffery who took advantage of the mismatch and dominated the seventh-round pick for most of the first half.

Mills adjusted later in the game and settled in, recording a pass breakup and leading the Eagles defense with six tackles, but his inability to stay with Jeffery in the first half is what stands out here. Granted, there aren't many NFL corners who can do that, but seeing Jeffery break Mills' ankles on that double move was absolutely brutal. 

Three-Step Drop

1. Although Wentz really relied on his tight ends all night, the Eagles wide receivers looked really competent, especially Agholor. After last week's touchdown catch, the USC product looks so much more like the guy who dominated the PAC-12, snagging four catches for 42 yards last night, including a catch over the middle over three defenders. Now, there were two throws that he probably could have hauled in, but both passes were broken up by the cornerback, so we'll let them slide for now. As for the rest of the group, Matthews still remains the headliner with another 71 yards last night, although he now leads the NFL in drops with three, tied with Julian Edelman. Green-Beckham's role seems to be expanding and Pederson is making a conscience effort to get the ball in Huff's hands. Things are trending upward for this group.

2. One area this offense needs to improve is in the red zone. Now, the Bears do have a solid red zone defense, but the Eagles were only able to pick up six points on three of their six opportunities near the goalline. Some of this comes back to the Eagles not getting much of a push in the run game, but it was nice to see Pederson adjust and get creative during the latter stages of the game, running a tight end screen to Burton and a counter toss to Mathews for the team's final two touchdowns. There's only so much trickery you can use and eventually the team will need to find a way to pick up points by simply pushing the ball forward.

3. The Eagles pass rush just took over this game when they needed to. In the first half, the Eagles had Cutler running for his life, but the QB was able to hit wide open receivers thanks to spotty coverage by the Birds' secondary. But as the game wore on, Cutler got tired and eventually had to leave with an injury. The Eagles finished the night with three more sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. It's incredible to see how this unit gets better as the game goes on and doesn't tire out like they did in year past.

Who's Next

The Eagles will face their first true test of the season when they come back home to face off against the Steelers. The teams played each other in the preseason, but the Steelers rested Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, so this will be the first time Schwartz and company get a look at them. It will be interesting to see how the defensive coordinator tries to stop Brown, because no one has been able to do it for the last two years and the Eagles have some major holes in their secondary. If Jeffrey can abuse them, just imagine what Brown is capable of doing Sunday afternoon.

Expect a hero's welcome for Wentz, who will face his stiffest test to date. The Steelers know how to get after the quarterback and can make life miserable for Wentz, especially if the offensive line doesn't play better than it did last night. Still, Wentz has shown the ability to hang tough and deliver nice throws while being pressured. The Steelers are 2-0 and legitimate Super Bowl contenders. If the Eagles somehow pull off this upset, they may actually be for real, but that seems like a real long shot.