Lessons learned from the Eagles Week 3 win versus the Commanders

We can get used to this! There’s no doubt about it. The Philadelphia Eagles are undefeated after three weeks, and this isn’t a fraudulent 3-0 team.

Had Round 2 versus the Minnesota Vikings and Round 3 versus the Washington Commanders been actual fights, the ref would have stepped in and called for a T.K.O. victory in the first half. Perhaps the most encouraging thing about all of this is the Birds aren’t even clicking on all cylinders yet. This team will improve.

How about that win though? Wasn’t that fun? And, what in the world is going with Carson Wentz?

He’s the Commanders’ issue now. Jalen Hurts has proven again that he has a strong case for being the Eagles’ franchise quarterback for years to come. It’s a long season. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but Birds fans woke up with the knowledge that their quarterback has exploded out of the starting block. He’s grown by leaps and bounds and should be a fun watch all season.

Here are five lessons we learned from watching the Eagles manhandle the Commanders in Week 3.

Another test comes in Week 4. Philly hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field, and it’s a homecoming of sorts for Doug Pederson. Expect there to be some conversation about that one. That will be a huge test. In the meantime, let’s take one last look at just the second game in NFL history that ended in a 24-8 final score.

Rumors of the Eagles’ dying pass rush were greatly exaggerated.

The Commanders are a bad football team. Many of us believed that prior to Week 3’s game. We’re even more convinced of that statement’s accuracy now, but nine sacks is an incredible feat regardless of who the team is standing on the other sideline.

Let’s hope the Eagles’ pass rush is gaining some traction.

There’s still work to do in terms of building offensive consistency.

Who would have thunk that we’d be talking about an Eagles offense that has yet to score in the fourth quarter and has been shut out in the second half in back-to-back weeks while discussing a 3-0 record?

It’s an issue that hasn’t cost them yet, but they need to figure out what the issue is here relatively quickly.

Jonathan Gannon is a lot more talented than we gave him credit for being.

Jonathan Gannon isn’t out of the woods yet, but his approval rating is rising. It will be intriguing to see how his unit functions versus better quarterbacks, but he deserves a vote of confidence for the job he’s doing, even if there’s still some hesitancy to accept him totally.

Jalen Hurts is so much more than a running quarterback.

Sure, Jalen Hurts’ ability as a dual-threat quarterback is a huge portion of his game, but Philly’s QB1 is ahead of schedule in the progression towards being a more accomplished pocket passer. He only rushed for 20 yards in Week 3. He only attempted to run nine times, and guess what? It didn’t matter because he completed more than 62% of his passes while throwing for 340 yards, his highest total of the season.

This team is loaded on both sides of the ball. Expect different heroes weekly.

In Week 1, DeVonta Smith didn’t register a single catch while A.J. Brown went for 155 yards on ten receptions. In Week 2, there was a concerted effort to get Number 6 involved, and in Week 3, DeVonta exploded for 169 yards on eight receptions.

We’ve also seen huge plays from Quez Watkins and Dallas Goedert in consecutive weeks. On defense, Kyzir White and James Bradberry authored the unit’s biggest play in Week 1. Darius Slay was the hero in Week 2. The Eagles’ pass rush took center stage in Week 3.

Every week, each game has given us different heroes, and that will continue because the Eagles are home to a phenomenal roster with playmakers on both sides of the ball. Enjoy the show. It should be fun. Week 4 promises to be littered with surprises.