By the time Lincoln Financial Field’s clock struck 0:00 late Sunday afternoon and the Eagles had survived a 24-22 Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders, a palpable sense of relief could be felt by the fanbase.
For the sixth straight time under Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts, the Eagles won their opening game. It is the longest active streak in the NFL and it is always better to start 1-0 than 0-1.
Just ask the Dallas Cowboys.
While the Eagles’ defense looked absolutely gassed by the end of it, they
managed one last goal-line, two-point conversion stand, and spent the better part of the first three quarters limiting Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense for most of the afternoon.
It was reminiscent of a season ago, when the defense carried an offense that had trouble maintaining consistency.
Week 1 was our first opportunity to see what the new scheme was going to look like under Sean Mannion and how the passing game would function without A.J. Brown. It was also our first look at an offensive line that featured an injured-and-struggling Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson. We finally got to see if Hurts would spend more time under center, how that would affect the passing game and whether Saquon Barkley would be more productive in the new offense than he was a year ago.
At the end of the day, the offense looked a whole lot like it did a season ago.
And it was Jalen Hurts who saved them.
There were entire quarters where the offense did nothing but go 3-and-out, but they also committed no turnovers. The short intermediate passing game over the middle was largely non existent, but there were several explosive plays and two TDs to Dallas Goedert up the seam. Saquon Barkley largely struggled again behind and offensive line that is nowhere near what it was in 2024, but broke off a long run and put up decent numbers otherwise.
Baby steps, perhaps?
Jalen Hurts, of course, remained the same, both in good ways and in bad.
Hurts made the play of the game with his legs in the 4th quarter, converting a 3rd-and-18 with a 22-yard gain to help dig the Birds out of their offensive malaise.
It was vintage playmaking by the still-fleet veteran, weaving his way through the defense to convert a first down when nothing was schemed open and his offensive line was leaking oil. And as in years past, it was Hurts’ deep balls and ability to play out of structure that generated most of the offensive output.
There’s good news and bad news in that.
The bad news is the Sean Mannion offense was supposed to create opportunities in the run and pass game for players. It’s only Week 1, and Mannion’s scheme deserves much more time to find its sea legs, but watching Dickerson and Jurgens struggle in both facets of the game was disheartening, to say the least. The run game looked a lot like it did last season and, as Tom Brady noted on the Fox telecast, there were times Hurts dropped his eyes and watched the pass rush when his first read was taken away.
This is all going to take time. Patience is required, and hopefully it will all work out. In the meantime, Hurts spent much of Sunday improvising and relying on his previous strenghts — his legs and the bomb.
The deep ball to DeVonta Smith along the sideline in the 3rd quarter was gorgeous, as was the toe-dragging catch by his new No. 1 receiver.
And his 64-yard deep bomb to Dontayvion Wicks in the 1st quarter was a thing of beauty.
Like a season ago, the Eagles showed less play-to-play consistency, but more big splashes. It’s two different ways to score points and, on Sunday, it was enough against a Commanders team that, barring a few boneheaded mistakes, probably should have won.
Defensively, Vic Fangio’s unit dominated for three quarters before the heat, humidity, and Daniels’ legs, wore them down. Zach Baun was incredible on Sunday, and the defensive line got persistent pressure on Daniels, if not sacks or turnovers. They made life uncomfortable for just about everyone. It was not Cooper DeJean’s best day, nor was it Jihaad Campbell’s. The safeties left gaps in the middle of the field. But it was enough.
The big takeaway after Sunday’s 24-22 win was that it felt a whole lot like games the Eagles won last year. Never comfortable, ugly at times, finding a way to survive, overly reliant on Hurts to figure it out on his own.
Happily, he did on Sunday.
In Week 1, you take the win no matter how you get it, and hope things look a bit better as the schedule rolls along.
