PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown saw it all Sunday, every one of the Eagles’ 11 penalties, every one of the Washington Commanders’ touchdown drives, every opportunity missed, every opportunity converted.
He saw it all in a 34-31 overtime victory, the mild disappointments, the joy of a walk-off field goal. He saw it all and decided to own it the way only the great teams are authorized to do.
“Nobody,” he said, “wants to be playing their best football right now.”
Fortunately for the wide receiver, the Eagles are not.
Congratulations?
And when does the parade start for winning something the hard way?
But that’s the Eagles’ position, and they have held it since Nick Sirianni blurted out during the preseason – and repeated it later, just in case – that the immediate goal is not to win the Super Bowl. Yogi Berra couldn’t have come up with a more absurd yet deeply visionary comment. Yet that’s where the Eagles are at the essential quarter-season mark. They are 4-0 and trying to figure out why.
Sunday, they were fortunate to win after Brown scored what seemed to be a game-winning touchdown, only to ruin the moment with an obvious taunting penalty to gift the Commanders just enough time to snake down a short field and score the overtime-forcing touchdown at the final horn.
That followed a spotty Opening Day victory in New England, a night of victorious football yet fortuitous bounces against Minnesota, and a tough victory in Tampa Bay. As they say in the college game, the other team gives scholarships, too. But the Eagles are making things more difficult than necessary, and have repeatedly been the first to second that motion.
“Tension and pressure build character,” Jalen Hurts decided. “We needed a game like this for us. Jokingly, I guess we wanted to play a little longer tonight. I think a win like this does so much for the spirit of a team because winning is not easy. Winning is hard. Winning is hard in this league and in this division.”
Since it is, it says one thing about how the Eagles have remained undefeated in spite of their own disappointments. It says that once they do begin to uncork games that have them truly fulfilled, they will be a handful to suppress.
Already, they score almost at will, with Hurts blessed to be surrounded by Brown, DeVonta Smith, DeAndre Swift, Dallas Goedert, Kenny Gainwell and one of the best offensive lines in their history. It’s what they did Sunday when they went 57 yards in six plays to take the lead with 1:49 left on that 28-yard pass from Hurts to Brown. It’s what they did to score 34 points in each of their two home games and 25 in both of their road games. It’s how they calmly scored a key two-point conversion Sunday on a Gainwell run. It’s how they calmly won when Jake Elliott swished four field goals, including the 54-yard game-winner.
It’s how they are built, physically and emotionally. And if they do seem lucky at times, well, that’s their reward for that.
“In multiple ways, it lights a fire for us to continue to do what we want to do,” said Hurts of the stress. “I keep saying how important it is to keep the the main thing the main thing. The main thing is to continue to grow and get better every day. There are a ton of things to clean up in every phase, and every guy could have done something better out there. But when you find ways to win in those moments and you persevere and you stick together, that makes a team come together. That makes us stronger together and that builds up a special togetherness.”
It would be better served if it built up a better defense, but the Eagles do have enough talent to improve there, too. And they will need to, soon enough, as they will be confronted with the bill for finishing last season in first place in the NFC East: A first-place schedule. Not that winning in New England and Tampa was insignificant, but the Eagles will face the Rams on the road next week, and still must play the Chiefs, 49ers and Bills, and will have two shots at Dallas Week. Yet if they are able to average 29.5 points when they are not playing well, the rest of the league should be terrified about what they can do when they are at their best.
“Moments like these do so much for a team – the character of the team, the spirit of the team,” Hurts said. “In every situation, I always challenge them: ‘How do you respond? What does this do to you?’ I know what this does to me, and as a leader I want to vocalize that. Just continuing to grow is the main thing in this, and I reiterate how this team will continue to strive to win.”
Why not?
Besides, there apparently is no reason to waste the best football so soon, or at least says A.J. Brown.
Contact Jack McCaffery at jmccaffery@delcotimes.com
Source: Berkshire mont
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