Eagles mastermind Doug Pederson beats Packers by overcoming the idiocy of his defense | Marcus Hayes

GREEN BAY, Wis. — If you don’t give Doug Pederson too much time to think, the man’s an utter genius.

Pederson entered Thursday night 4-0 when coaching on the day of Jupiter named for Thor. Five-and-oh seemed unlikely. His ham-handed receiving corps dropped seven passes in an upset home loss Sunday against the Lions, in which his running back Miles Sanders fumbled twice. Deep threat DeSean Jackson was no threat at all, since he missed his second straight game with a nebulous abdominal injury. And the Eagles were visiting Lambeau Field, where the brilliance of Aaron Rodgers surely would shine. And it did: 422 yards and two touchdowns.

Pederson shone brighter.

His Eagles won, 34-27. His boss, Jeffrey Lurie, congratulated him afterward on winning, in prime time, against an undefeated team, at the place he spent seven of his 10 NFL seasons as a player. The congratulations were deserved. As the defense took four 15-yard penalties of indiscretion, Pederson’s coaching saved the season. The Eagles moved to 2-2 and dropped the Pack to 3-1.

“It was do or die,” said linebacker Nigel Bradham. “After we lost to the Lions, this was our season.”

Now, somehow, he’s 5-0 on Thursdays. So, how?

“He takes care of us,” said 37-year-old tackle Jason Peters. “He got us prepared, watched a lot of tape, and took care of us.”

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Because Pederson played, Peters said, he understands grown-man fatigue. With an eye on Thursday night, Pederson turned last Wednesday’s padded practice, 8 days prior, into a walk-through.

But it was more than fresh that saved the season. Pederson won by using every tool in his toolbox.

Pederson called a touchdown pass for fourth-year veteran Jordan Howard, who hadn’t caught a TD pass since his fourth professional game, a span of 46 games, or three more games than quarterback Carson Wentz had played. Howard wasn’t the primary read, and the Packers didn’t see it coming, either, so Howard scored from 20 yards.

Pederson pulled record-setting tight end Zach Ertz, whom he schemed into seven catches for 65 yards, off the field on third-and-10 at the end of the third quarter, to Ertz’s demonstrable displeasure, and Wentz converted a 16-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery. At that point, Wentz had three TD passes but only 151 passing yards. He finished with 160, and went 16-for-27.

That’s because, two plays later, the Eagles running backs had 22 rushes for 138 yards and two TDs, both from Howard, who tied a career high with three TDs. They finished with 27 runs for 163 yards. The Packers ranked 25th in the NFL against the run. Pederson trusted his line to pulverize the Pack.

Sometimes, genius lies in simplicity.

The Eagles needed bucketfuls of offensive genius Thursday night because they had a boatload of defensive stupidity.

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“We can’t do that. I think they had eight first downs on penalties,” Pederson said. “We have to play smarter.”

Pederson will be given credit for out-coaching Mike Pettine, the Central Bucks West player and assistant who became a high school head coach at North Penn and William Tennent before heading to the NFL. Pederson will be credited with whipping Packers whiz kid Matt LaFleur, who worked under Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay — but LaFleur’s best maneuvers involved letting Eagles defenders commit indefensible penalties.

Derek Barnett committed a 15-yard head-shot penalty on running back Jamaal Williams, who, at the time, was being held upright by three other Eagles. Williams appeared to lose consciousness. He was immobilized, strapped to a board and carted off the field. Barnett deserved to be ejected but, since the NFL hates to actually enforce its rules that protect players, it meant only that the Packers gained 15 more yards.

What would have been second-and-10 from the Packers’ 11 became first-and-10 from the 26. The Eagles’ defanged defense immediately surrendered receptions of 9 and 58 yards, then a 3-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

That lead grew to 10-0 after linebacker Zach Brown took his turn on the dunce stool. The Pack were buried, first-and-20 at their 14, when Rodgers dumped to Marquez Valdez-Scantling for a 4-yard gain … that became a 19-yard gain after Brown snagged the receiver’s face mask and earned a 15-yard penalty. Instead of second-and-16 at the 18, it was first-and-10 at the 33. The Packers netted a field goal.

It was 10-7 when the next knuckleheads took their turn; this time, linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill and safety Rodney McLeod. First, Hill jumped offside, which gave Rodgers a free shot. He took it — 40 yards, to Davante Adams. McLeod then snared Adams’ face mask at the end of the play, at the Eagles’ 36. That pushed the Packers to the 21 and ensured a field goal, which, 8 yards later, is what happened, for a 13-7 lead.

The Eagles pushed back and made it 21-13 when the defense — specifically, Barnett — botched it again. The Packers would have faced third-and-8 from their 43-yard line with 49 seconds to play in the half and no timeouts … but, far away from the play, Barnett was flagged for illegal use of hands, because he put them in the face of his blocker. Rodgers marched the Pack downfield and they cut the score to 21-20 just before halftime.

Brown committed the fourth 15-yarder, a specious call that asserted Brown slammed Aaron Jones to the ground too violently early in the fourth quarter. Brown’s salvation was that the drive died on fourth-and-goal at the Eagles’ 1-yard line.

This concerns discipline. It concerns professionalism. And that concerns coaching.

And, since Pederson gives defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz autonomy, this concerns Schwartz’s coaching.

Such as it is.

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