What We Saw: Week 3

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Week 3

Ben Brown
What We Saw 2 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Steelers @ Browns
Saints @ Panthers
Texans @ Bears
Chiefs @ Colts
Bills @ Dolphins
Lions @ Vikings
Ravens @ Patriots
Bengals @ Jets
Raiders @ Titans
Eagles @ Commanders
Jaguars @ Chargers
Rams @ Cardinals
Falcons @ Seahawks
Packers @ Buccaneers
49ers @ Broncos
Cowboys @ Giants

Eagles @ Commanders

Final Score: Eagles 24, Commanders 8

Writer: Mario Adamo Jr (@marioadamojr on Twitter)

 

This game was all Eagles from the start. After the first five drives of the game resulted in punts, the Birds finally got enough offensive momentum to secure a field goal. The Eagles’ defense kept up its strong performance and forced a Carson Wentz fumble on the second play of the next drive. They rode that momentum to a TD to put them up 10-0. After forcing Washington to punt again, the Eagles ended their drive on an unsuccessful 4th down attempt. Washington couldn’t capitalize on the momentum and was forced to punt again. The Eagles found the endzone on their last two possessions of the half, making this their third consecutive week with 24 points at halftime.

The second half of this game featured a lot of punts from both teams. Not including the drive ending in victory formation, six of the ten drives in the second half ended in a punt. The Eagles played with less urgency on offense and the Commanders tried their best but could not give Wentz any time to move the ball downfield. The Commanders turned a turnover on downs into a safety and scored a garbage-time touchdown to breathe some life into fantasy teams everywhere.

 

 Philadelphia Eagles

 

Quarterback

 

Jalen Hurts: 22/35, 340 Yards, 3 TD | 9 Carries, 20 Yards

 

Has anyone said, “Hurts so good” yet? Jalen Hurts continues to put up astonishing fantasy numbers. Though his running didn’t shine as much today, Hurts was a clean 22/35 for 340 yards and three passing TDs. Hurts started 1/5 but got into a rhythm as the game progressed. The Commanders’ defense caused a couple of hurry-ups early in the game, but the Eagles’ offensive line got it together by the third drive, and Hurts was able to find DeVonta Smith deep for a 45-yard pickup. Although that drive stumbled and ended in a field goal, the Eagles got the ball back quickly, and Hurts found Dallas Goedert for a 23-yard TE screen for a TD. Hurts of course found his best friend and father of his goddaughter, A.J. Brown, for a touchdown. His final TD pass of the day came as time expired in the second quarter, finding Smith in the back of the end zone.

My biggest takeaway from this is the Eagles had no urgency in the second half. No drive really gathered momentum and they felt more like they were trying to preserve their lead than to add to it. Because of that, Hurts wasn’t running as much to extend plays, instead, he was trying to spread the ball while being careful. He’s still a QB1 going forward and will continue to put up great fantasy numbers.

 

 

Running Back

 

Miles Sanders: 15 Carries, 46 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, -2 Yards

Kenneth Gainwell: 3 Carries, 6 Yards

Boston Scott: 2 Carries

 

The Birds’ backs had a relatively quiet game with most of the team’s yards coming through the air. This looked like a Miles Sanders stat line of last year. His largest run was 13 yards, but if you take that play away, Sanders averaged only 2.3 yards per carry. The Eagles didn’t try to force anything on the ground and they didn’t need to. Hurts got it done in the air early, and after that, the Eagles looked to run the clock out and preserve the lead rather than extend it. Kenneth Gainwell had three carries for six yards, and he never took any meaningful snaps away from Sanders. Boston Scott was the ball holder for the safety when the Eagles took over on downs from their own 1-yard line.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

A.J. Brown: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 85 Yards, TD

DeVonta Smith: 12 Targets, 8 Receptions, 169 Yards, TD

Zach Pascal: 1 Carry | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 18 Yards

Grant Calcaterra: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 40 Yards

Quez Watkins: 1 Target

Dallas Goedert: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26 Yards, TD

Jack Stoll: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards

 

This game was Devonta Smith‘s coming-out party, the one that will make you forget all about his cheerio performance in Week 1 and remember him as the Eagles’ other WR1. Smith had career highs in receptions & yards today and finished with more yards than Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Davante Adams, and Michael Thomas combined. Smith was the deep ball guy for the Birds today, having catches of 31, 44, and 45 yards. Although he was a little shaken up after his 44-yard catch, he was back on the field to secure a 2-yard touchdown pass.

 

 

Of course A.J. Brown got his, finishing with ten targets, five receptions for 85 Yards, and a TD. He saw action in the deep game, catching a 38-yard dime. He saw action in the short game, catching a 9-yard touchdown. Finally, he saw action in the clutch time, catching a 10-yard pass on 4th & 4 to ice the game and prevent the Commanders from getting the ball back. Brown continues to be the guy in Philly and will continue to get his.

 

 

 

Dallas Goedert caught his first touchdown of the season, coming on a TE screen just outside the red zone. Taking away that play, his stat line would be three targets, two receptions, and three yards. That stemmed from the Eagles trying to go deep and air it out most of the first half, while they played very conservatively in the second half and just didn’t look his way. 

 

 

There wasn’t much of note for the other Eagles’ pass-catchers.  Grant Calcaterra caught his first NFL target for an incredible 40 yards. Zach Pascal had a 13-yard catch on the Eagles’ fifth drive but wasn’t very impactful besides that. Quez Watkins had one target on the stat sheet but had two other targets nullified by pass interference calls. Jack Stoll brought in half of his two targets for four yards.

 

 

Washington Commanders

 

Quarterback

 

Carson Wentz: 25/43, 211 Yards | 3 Carries, 22 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

 

Carson Wentz’s first game against the team that drafted him second overall in 2016 is one he’d like to forget. Wentz was sacked nine(!) times, including six times in the first half. He had two fumbles but was able to recover one of them and threw a pick, but it was on a 2-point conversion attempt so it won’t show up on the stat sheet. Wentz racked up 74 of his 211 passing yards on the Commanders’ final drive of the game, allowing him to finish with a somewhat respectful line.

The main story here was the Commanders’ offensive line could not give Wentz any time to operate. You have to imagine this was a game circled on the Eagles’ calendar. The defense got to Wentz early and often and prevented him from getting into a rhythm. He also had a couple of throws that were high or behind his receivers, especially early in the game, that could be attributed to the constant pressure he was facing. Long-time Eagles fans will say this is who Wentz always was, but I think against the Cowboys and their average defense next week, Wentz is in a good position to bounce back.

 

Running Back

 

Antonio Gibson: 12 Carries, 38 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards

J.D. McKissic: 3 Carries, 8 Yards | 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 32 Yards

Jonathan Williams: 1 Carry, 6 Yards

 

Good thing for garbage time. On an otherwise uneventful day for Commanders’ RBs, Antonio Gibson ran in a 1-yard touchdown with 1:55 left in the game to save his day. J.D. McKissic continues to be the receiving threat of the Commanders’ backfield, hauling in six of his nine targets for 32 yards. The Commanders were never in a good position to run the ball. They were down 24-0 at halftime and their offensive line looked outmatched on every snap. There’s not a lot to report on red zone usage because the Commanders barely entered it. Gibson looks to be the primary runner with McKissiccontinuing to be the pass-catcher. Jonathan Williams also had a carry for six yards.

 

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Curtis Samuel: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 48 Yards | 3 Carries, 13 Yards 

Terry McLaurin: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 102 Yards

Jahan Dotson: 8 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards

Dax Milne: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards

Logan Thomas: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 5 Yards

John Bates: 1 Target

 

Scary Terry is coming alive, just in time for spooky season. Although it was a slow start for Terry McLaurin, where his first target didn’t come until the Commanders’ sixth drive, he still finished with six receptions and 102 yards. A good chunk of those yards came on a 45-yard bomb on the Commanders’ tenth drive. It’s clear McLaurin is the speedy deep threat of this Commanders offense. McLaurin was second in targets only behind do-it-all Curtis Samuel. Samuel caught seven of his ten targets for 48 yards and had three carries for 13 yards. He was well covered throughout the game, with his largest play coming early in the form of a 16-yard play-action pass on a well-delivered ball from Wentz.

 

 

Speaking of well covered, Jahan Dotson was smothered all game, only able to bring in two of his eight targets. One was a perfect throw that was dropped as Dotson braced for a hit, but otherwise, Dotson was well defended by the Eagles’ secondary. The remaining pass-catchers had little impact. Logan Thomas was targeted three times and brought in two of them for five yards, Dax Milne hauled in his one target for 12 yards, and John Bates‘ lone target was short and dropped. 

Series Navigation
Introduction
Steelers @ Browns
Saints @ Panthers
Texans @ Bears
Chiefs @ Colts
Bills @ Dolphins
Lions @ Vikings
Ravens @ Patriots
Bengals @ Jets
Raiders @ Titans
Eagles @ Commanders
Jaguars @ Chargers
Rams @ Cardinals
Falcons @ Seahawks
Packers @ Buccaneers
49ers @ Broncos
Cowboys @ Giants

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