Postgame Report: Eagles Stomp Falcons

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles started their season slate off with a showdown at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Unlike their rivals in Dallas, the team held the lead going into halftime and did nothing but pour onto their lead in the second half.

It really can’t be anyone else at this point as the signal caller completed 27 of his 35 attempts for 264 yards and three touchdowns. He added seven rushes for 62 yards. Most importantly, he did not turn the ball over and took only one sack. It’s an excellent start and the hope is that he continues to improve.

The only reason I have Ridgeway here is because I’m a sucker for depth and, for the fourth guy in the rotation, the amount of pressures he caused (including a forced grounding penalty) is excellent. In reality, however, this spot goes to the entire defensive line. They clearly wore out the Falcons offensive line by the end of the game and that, combined with obvious passing downs, put the whole unit in charge of the game for much of the second half. Strong trenches win games.

• New punter Arryn Siposs may have averaged just 47.3 yards per punt, but he was stellar in his debut with three of his four chances pinning the Falcons in their own 20. If he can keep it up, this may have been an incredibly savvy pickup to save some cap space.
• First-round rookie DeVonta Smith caught his first touchdown of his career on his first drive, but also lead the team in receiving. In just his first game, he is already showing that he can become the player that he’s been projected to be since the draft.
• While Hurts and Smith are likely to get most of the headlines, the defense was elite in this game. They bent on their first two drives, but did not break. Following that, the Falcons offense never reached midfield and the Eagles defense only seemed to get stronger.

Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons – September 12, 2021