Quick thoughts on Eagles' 37-34 win over Redskins

Some quick thoughts and numbers on the Eagles' 37-34 win over the Redskins:

--Both of the Eagles' outside corners – Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams – struggled mightily Sunday. So did safety Nate Allen, who was as much, if not more, to blame for DeSean Jackson's 81-yard touchdown catch as Williams, who was playing outside technique on the play and expecting inside help that he never got from Allen. Fletcher was targeted 13 times by Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins and gave up 10 completions for 104 yards, including two of Cousins' three TD passes – a four-yarder to fullback Darrell Young on the Redskins' opening drive, and a four-yarder to Pierre Garcon on a quick slant on their second possession. Fletcher also was flagged for defensive holding on a third-and-two-play in the second quarter. Williams was targeted 10 times and gave up seven completions for 98 yards.

-- The Eagles went into the Redskins game ranked first in the league in third-down defense. Washington converted seven of nine third-down tries in the first half. Just one of those nine third downs was longer than three yards (6). They did a much better job in the second half of getting the Redskins into third-and-longs. Four of the 'Skins' second-half third downs were nine yards or longer. They were just 1-for-6 on third down in the second half. Cousins was 5-for-7 for 67 yards and five first downs in the first half. He was 0-for-5 in the second half.

--Nickel corner Brandon Boykin came up big with two nice plays on the Redskins' final possession. Had excellent coverage on a second-and-10 pass attempt to Jackson when the Eagles only rushed three. And then dove in front of Andre Roberts to knock away a pass on third-and-10.

--Without injured center Jason Kelce for almost all of the second half and left tackle Jason Peters for the final 10 minutes of the game, the Eagles rushed for just nine yards on 17 carries in the second half. LeSean McCoy rushed for just 22 yards on 20 carries for the game, which equaled his career-low in games in which he had at least 10 carries. He had a nine-yard run on his second carry of the game. Just three of his other 18 carries gained more than two yards. Seven of those 18 were for zero or negative yards.

--On DeSean Jackson's first catch, it was pretty clear that safety Malcolm Jenkins went for Jackson's injured left shoulder with his helmet. That's why sports teams prefer to be purposely vague on the specifics of injuries.

--There were several excellent blocks on Chris Polk's 102-yard kickoff return. Tight ends Zach Ertz and Trey Burton had the first big blocks on the middle return. He got another one from Brad Smith, who took out the Redskins' E.J. Biggers at the 20-yard line. And Casey Matthews also had a nice block.

--Tight end James Casey played a season-high 15 snaps. He was frequently paired with Brent Celek in two-tight end sets. Zach Ertz was the lone tight end in the majority of three-wide receiver sets. Casey had the 19-yard reception from Nick Foles late in the game on a second-and-11 that allowed the Eagles to run out the clock. He also a nice block on a 35-yard kickoff return by Polk that kickstarted an Eagles touchdown drive at the end of the first half.

--Brandon Graham forced a fumble by Alfred Morris (it was recovered by the Redskins) early in the game. But later, he had a missed tackle in the backfield on Morris that turned what should have been a two-yard loss into a nine-yard gain. He also got blown up by Redskins' left tackle Trent Williams on the 55-yard screen to Roy Helu in the fourth quarter.

--The Eagles, who recently hired a replay consultant (Frank Kosman) to help them with replay challenges, were 3-for-3 on challenges yesterday, including the huge reversal of a third-and-8 sideline pass to Jeremy Maclin in the fourth quarter that was initially ruled an incompletion. Even more important than what he'll tell Chip Kelly to challenge will be what he tells him to ignore. Should save a lot of timeouts this season. Look for other teams to start hiring replay consultants soon.

--Maclin's 26-yard catch on a comeback route late in the first half was the best indication yet that the zebras have loosened up on those points of emphasis regarding contact between receivers and defensive backs. One of the points of emphasis was push-offs by receivers at the top of the route, which was what Maclin did on that play. No penalty was called.

-Besides Jordan Matthews' eight receptions and two TDs, he also drew a 40-yard pass interference penalty against the Redskins' E.J. Biggers on the Eagles' opening drive of the third quarter on a third-and-11.

--Andrew Gardner had a tough day in his second career start. He allowed six hurries and nearly got Nick Foles decapitated by Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo, who beat Gardner to the inside.

--Foles, who was 6-for-6 for 121 yards and a touchdown against the blitz last week v. Indianapolis was just 7-for-15 for 102 yards yesterday.

--Eagles receivers didn't have any drops against the Redskins. They had six in the first two games.

--How about the thoughtfulness of Foles getting the ball from the zebra for Jordan Matthews after the rookie's first NFL touchdown catch?

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