Well, I have to admit I didn’t see that one coming.
The Chip Kelly – or is that Zip Kelly – Era arrived on a national stage, as the Eagles left both the Redskins and a national television audience breathless in a first half to remember. After running 43 plays in sprinting to a big lead, the Birds then held on after taking their foot off the gas, recovering an onside kick and sealing the deal on a most impressive 33-27 opening night win.
So what do we know? Well, we know Andy Reid doesn’t coach here anymore. He’ll be back in two weeks, but will both teams be undefeated?
First the Eagles need to tangle with the Chargers at the Linc in their home opener on Sunday. The Bolts are still no doubt licking their wounds after coughing up a huge second half lead last Sunday.
It’s probably not the only reason they will be a bit antsy on the cross-country flight. Hopefully the in-flight movie will not include highlights of the Eagles super-sonic debut under Chip Kelly.
The new coach masterfully ran his frenetic offense, consistently getting his key skill players – DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick – in space against overmatched defenders.
McCoy was once again a revelation, looking like a clone of Barry Sanders in cutting his way through a sea of broken ankles on the Redskins defense on the way to 184 yards rushing. Jackson caught 7 balls for 104 yards. Vick was a most efficient 15 of 25 for 203 yards, and also ran nine times for 54 yards.
The NFL has never seen anything like it.
The questions now are can the Eagles keep up this pace, and can Mike Vick stay on the field. They’ll do both for at least one more week.
The Pick: Make it Eagles 33, Chargers 17. The triple threat of Vick, McCoy and Jackson should have another field day, and the Eagles’ improved defense will hold down the Chargers.
Last Week: OK, so I missed the boat on this one. I need a win to climb back to the .500 mark. Right now I’m making like most of the national media, still trying to convince myself I saw what I saw on Monday night.
Season Record: I’m 0-1 after thinking the Birds would struggle to stop RG3 and the Skins. Turned out they pretty much stopped themselves, with Griffin showing the rust of someone who did not play at all in the preseason. The Eagles are revved up at 1-0 and looking to strut their stuff at home in front of the Lincoln Financial Field fanatics in the home opener
Game by Game: Eagles 33, Redskins 27 (My Pick: Redskins 31, Eagles 23)
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