The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Week 1

By: Noah Levick, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Football, like life, is equal parts beauty and horror. Well, that may be putting it a bit dramatically, but even the best football teams have their ghastly moments. With that sentiment in mind, here is a recap of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from the Eagles' 30-17 Week 1 win in Washington.

The Good

Nelson Agholor. The third-year receiver looked nothing like the bust Eagles fans have come to know and despise his first two years. In addition to his tone-setting 58-yard touchdown, Agholor had five other catches, finishing with 86 receiving yards. More importantly, Agholor appeared to be enjoying the occasion, not dreading the thought of making another costly mistake.

LeGarette Blount is huge. Okay, so he only ran for 46 yards on 14 carries, and his longest run was seven yards, but damn, Blount is freaking massive. Even though I've watched him throughout his career and witnessed his linebacker-like size firsthand at Training Camp, there was something exhilarating about watching Blount take the ball and plow through the Washington defensive line. The Eagles just need him to start trucking his way through opposing secondaries. When Blount went out, 200-pound Wendell Smallwood looked tiny in comparison, and Darren Sproles seemed like a little kid.

The Bad

Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery. The two new stud wide receivers combined to snag four catches for 68 yards. Yes, Wentz missed Smith when he was open on a couple long balls, and Jeffery almost hauled in a tremendous leaping catch, but that is dismal production. At least Agholor and tight end Zach Ertz (eight catches, 93 yards) made up for Smith and Jeffery's subpar debuts on Sundays.

The tackling on Chris Thompson's touchdown. While the Eagles' defense generally had a good day, the tackling on Thompson's 29-yard second quarter touchdown reception was pitiful. If four players have a chance to make a tackle, it goes without saying that one of them should get the job done. Fortunately, that play was an anomaly.

The Ugly

That lateral. Ugly is truly the perfect word to describe that play. In football, low-risk, high-reward play calls are obviously ideal. The attempted lateral from Wentz to Agholor was high-risk, negative reward; the best thing that could possibly happen is that Agholor catches the ball and loses five yards. A bizarre call from Doug Pederson, and a rare rookie-like moment from Wentz to follow through with the play despite the fact that it was clearly doomed.

Ronald Darby's injury. That one hurt to watch. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the news that Darby should only be sidelined four to six weeks, because non-contact injuries like that tend to be much worse. Patrick Robinson and Jaylen Watkins will need to continue to play well during that period to make up for Darby's absence.