Carson Wentz made his much-anticipated return today, leading the Colts, 10-7, after the first half. Here's what we saw in the first 30 minutes of action:
What Worked
- Return of the general. Wentz may have missed nine months of action, but he showed on the Eagles' first drive that he can command an offense as well as any quarterback in the NFL. Wentz marched the Eagles 79 yards over 12 plays on their first drive and hit Dallas Goedert for a 13-yard touchdown. Wentz made adjustments at the line of scrimmage and looked just like the guy who should've won MVP in 2017. If there were any doubts about his ability to comeback and perform, they were put to rest quickly.
- Go Dallas. Not only did Goedert catch that TD from Wentz, but the rookie tight end made a nice 19-yard catch for a first down in the second quarter and looked to be the guy the Eagles picked in the second round. With an undermanned receiving corps, it was nice to see Goedert step up and Wentz have faith in the rookie.
- Small pockets. The Eagles defensive line has bullied the Colts offensive line all day, collapsing the pocket into Andrew Luck's lap on numerous occasions.
What Didn't
- It's raining flags. The Eagles struggled to play disciplined football in the first quarter, committing 4 penalties for 58 yards. The biggest foul was a pass interference call on Jalen Mills that cost the Eagles 33 yards and set up the Colts first touchdown. Sure, the sloppy field conditions can contribute to the Eagles sloppy play, but these penalties are becoming a troubling trend after having 11 penalties in Week 1 and 6 last week.
Halftime Adjustment
The Eagles need to establish a consistent run game in the second half to aid Wentz and the short-handed passing attack. Outside of a couple big runs by Wendell Smallwood in the first quarter, the Eagles were unable to pick up yards on the ground and it put them in third and long situations. With three of the Eagles top four wide receivers sidelined due to injury, the Birds need to get ahead of the chains and give Wentz easy throws on third down to sustain drives.
Second Half X-Factor: Jordan Matthews
Matthews didn't see the field much in the first half, but he made a 14-yard catch to set up a third and short situation and slowly saw more and more snaps as the half went on. If the chemistry between Wentz and Matthews is as good as they lead us to believe, the former Bill should be able to at least give Wentz an option on the outside other than Nelson Agholor.
