Eagles news: The Birds' newest celebrity fan; ESPNer not impressed by win; injury updates and next game

Things went from bad to worse for rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon on Sunday.

Let’s recap his summer: He was injured for most of training camp and he recorded just 3 yards on three catches (plus a drop that led to an interception) in his lone preseason appearance.

His Week 1 stat line was even uglier: He caught 3-of-4 targets for minus-5 yards.

The Eagles appear to have found their No. 2 wide receiver in Dontayvion Wicks, who proved to be a threat both deep down the field and in the red zone during the team's 24-22 Week 1 win over the Commanders.

But outside of the Eagles' top three pass catchers — DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Wicks — the rest of the team combined for five catches for a whopping zero yards, including -5 yards on three catches from rookie first-round pick Makai Lemon, who was the only other wideout to catch a pass on Sunday.

That led to some questions for Nick Sirianni at his day-after press conference about the team's receivers, like offseason acquisition Hollywood Brown, who didn't see the field against Washington.

Landon Dickerson struggled during Sunday's win, with the Inquirer's Jeff McLane noting the oft-injured left guard "looked like a turnstile at times" and "appeared slower than even a year ago."

So does Nick Sirianni think Dickerson is physically capable of performing at a high level?

"I think what you see with with Landon is his extreme power," Sirianni told reporters Monday afternoon. "He's a big man who is able to move guys off the spot."

Carson Wentz embraced his Ginger Jesus nickname when he was drafted in 2016 to save the Eagles franchise.

Now a journeyman backup, Wentz relieved concussed Kyler Murray in the first quarter Sunday and led the Vikings to 29 straight points in a comeback win over the rival Packers. We might be witnessing a resurrection.

Wentz threw three touchdown passes with no interceptions or fumbles, completed 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards, including a gorgeous, 39-yard TD dime to Justin Jefferson.

The Eagles managed to escape Week 1 with a 24-22 win over the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Following the game, most of the dialogue has been centered around Jalen Hurts’ performance.

The veteran quarterback got it done through the air and on the ground, completing 14 of 25 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. On his legs, he scrambled for 48 yards. His performance earned himself high praise from former Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl champion Nick Foles.

“How [Hurts] played today, he played elite,” Foles said on The SZN with Nick & Evan. “You’re going to miss throws. You’re going to not be perfect. But I saw him deliver the ball downfield with authority... All his touchdowns were on time and rhythm. He had great throws across the middle.”

Cooper DeJean was targeted eight times and allowed six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, according to Next Gen Stats.

It was one of the worst games of his young NFL career.

“It wasn’t good enough, obviously,” DeJean said after the Eagles escaped their season opener with a 24-22 win over Washington. “I just got to be better. It’s that simple.”

For a guy married to a diehard Eagles fan and as someone who offered a public apology to Jalen Hurts, Dan Orlovsky was very lukewarm about the Birds' win Sunday.

"They were fine," Orlovsky said on ESPN's Get Up Monday. "A lot of splash, not much substance, not much that is sustainable."

While most media pundits praised Hurts' performance, Orlovsky thought the passing attack was a bit "too horizontal" and suffered from the same inconsistency that plagued the Birds' offense last season.

In his first game without A.J. Brown since becoming the undisputed starter, Hurts threw for 1.5 more yards than he averaged last season, threw for twice as many touchdowns as he averaged last season, and had a passer rating about 24 points higher than he had last season. Maybe he won’t miss A.J. as much as we thought.

Brown spent the last two seasons complaining about Hurts’ performance. His antics forced a trade to the Patriots on June 1.

Be careful what you wish for.

"Go Birds!"

That was Malala Yousafzai's response on social media after watching the Eagles defeat the Washington Commanders Sunday.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was at the Linc watching the game a little less than a year after expressing her interest in the Birds and "American football" during an interview with The Inquirer.

There were some telling numbers and a few interesting stats to emerge from the Eagles’ 24-22 season-opening win over the Washington Commanders.

Some good, some bad.

Let’s start with the good …

The Eagles offense was looking for a spark.

After logging just two total yards in the first two series of the Sean Mannion era, they needed someone — anyone — to step up in a crucial Week 1 divisional game vs. the Commanders.

Thankfully for them, their most underrated offseason acquisition answered the call. Twice.

The Eagles’ under-the-radar weapon was Braden Mann, the 28-year-old punter who signed a four-year contract extension this offseason.

He averaged 51.6 yards per punt, with his longest coming on a 64-yarder. Mann helped pin the Commanders inside their own 10-yard line twice — once at their 6 in the first quarter, and later at their 2 in the second.

Elsewhere on special teams, Jalen Carter picked up where he left off last year on the field goal block unit. After Croskey-Merritt’s touchdown run in the second quarter, Carter blocked the extra point attempt. He now has four blocked kicks (two field goals, two extra points) in his career.

Several months before coaching his first game for the New York Giants, John Harbaugh told fans he wanted to build a team that could beat the Dallas Cowboys.

It took one game to accomplish that feat.

Jaxson Dart connected with Isaiah Likely for two touchdowns and Devin Singletary on another, Cam Skattebo ran for one in his first game back from injury and the Giants opened the season by rolling over Dallas 28-20 on Sunday night in Harbaugh’s New York debut. It’s just one victory, but it was a promising start of a new era.

One wild stat from the Cowboys loss to the New York Giants Sunday night — Dallas had just two drives in the entire second half.

It's as rare as you think. According to the NFL Researcher account, it's happened only twice in the past 20 years. The last time it happened was during an Eagles win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.

The Cowboys had just seven possessions all night, including one with just 20 seconds remaining in the first half.

The pressure Jalen Hurts faced wasn’t all on the quarterback, just as it wasn’t all on the O-line. But there were multiple breakdowns up front, especially vs. left guard Landon Dickerson. He looked like a turnstile at times. Was Dickerson solely at fault? Of course not. But the oft-injured guard who’s as tough as they come appeared slower than even a year ago when he returned too early after knee surgery.

It was downright ugly in the third quarter when Dickerson got toasted on back-to-back rushes, one of which led to a holding penalty. Earlier, the Commanders’ Javon Kinlaw beat the guard for a run tackle for loss in the first quarter. Dickerson was late to help on a third-down stunt in which Hurts was hurried in the second quarter.

Center Cam Jurgens struggled, as well, particularly in the first quarter. He had a holding penalty when Barkley was nearly dropped in the backfield and then another when it was all on him after he grabbed defensive tackle Shy Tuttle. Right guard Tyler Steen had a tough time getting to the perimeter on a pull block, but he seemed to hold up much more than the other two interior O-linemen.

The Eagles (1-0) will head south to face the Tennessee Titans (0-1) in Week 2 Sunday (1 p.m., Fox).

Calling the game will be Adam Amin and Hall of Famer Drew Brees, in his second season with Fox after replacing former Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez following his alleged drunken assault.

Fans in Nashville sounded like Birds fans Sunday, raining down loud boos on quarterback Cam Ward and a Titans offense that only gained 195 total yards (and 65 of those were during a garbage-time touchdown drive).