Amid DeSean's return, Maclin shows his mettle

They walked to the center of the field as captains, but Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson were no longer teammates.

It wasn't just the different uniforms they were wearing that made the brief meeting an unusual one. The Eagles have one-game captains. The Redskins have three season-long captains and pick an additional two for each game. You can be certain their respective teams selected Maclin and Jackson because of the meaning it had for each wide receiver.

Jackson was returning after six seasons with the Eagles and an unceremonious release. Maclin was facing the former teammate that overshadowed his first five seasons and that he, in essence, replaced this season.

The hand slap before the coin toss was quick and without any additional acknowledgment. It was, Maclin said later, the only time they had interaction.

Three hours later, after Jackson ran into the tunnel without participating in the postgame handshake, Maclin walked off the field with arguably the finest outing of his NFL career.

Jackson [five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown] delivered upon his return to Lincoln Financial Field, but Maclin topped him in catches, receiving yards, and clutch moments. And, most important, on the scoreboard as the Eagles scraped past the Redskins, 37-34, on Sunday.

Asked if his performance - eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown - had extra meaning in light of Jackson's presence, Maclin took the "team" road.

"I think the most important part is coming out on top as a team," he said. "We wanted to be 3-0 at the end of this game, and that's what we are."

But a few of Maclin's teammates knew better. The Redskins played a part in the resurgence of the Eagles' receiver corps, choosing to focus on stopping LeSean McCoy and the running game. But two subpar games and the coincidence of Jackson's return had Maclin and his mates out to prove something.

"I think maybe deep down - especially No. 18 wanted to show something," Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said. "And I think he did. He was balling out there today."

Maclin would have finished with a career-high 184 yards receiving had an 80-yard touchdown catch-and-run not been brought back by a Jason Kelce illegal block in the back. It was a bubble screen thing of beauty, with the Eagles center chugging more than 50 yards downfield, ahead of Maclin, before the flag.

In the second half, on one drive in particular, Maclin came up huge. With the score knotted, 27-27, midway through the fourth quarter, the Eagles faced third and 8 at the Redskins 48. Maclin ran an "out" pattern and made a diving sideline grab for 17 yards.

He was initially ruled out of bounds, but the Eagles challenged and won after a replay showed that his knee was down before his shoulder. Two plays later, Foles tossed a 27-yard strike to Maclin in the end zone for a lead the Eagles would never relinquish.

Asked what Maclin's versatile day showed him, Eagles coach Chip Kelly said: "That he's a big-time receiver. That's what we knew all along."

Kelly's comment was a subtle shot at those who questioned keeping Maclin - or Riley Cooper, although that's not as strong an argument - over Jackson. It should be pointed out that Maclin and Jackson combined for 13 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

Sure, they played on different teams in different offenses, but no one can make an honest claim that a Maclin-Jackson outside duo isn't better than what the Eagles have now. But there was more to Jackson than his on-field production. For that, he is gone, and it certainly merits understanding, even if Kelly would rather coach badminton than admit so.

His offense is, indeed, a more balanced unit. Kelly believes he has more flexibility. In the first two games, the Jaguars and Colts were intent on stopping the run, but they didn't have the Redskins' talent up front.

Nor did those teams have the pass defense to slow running back Darren Sproles and tight end Zach Ertz. That meant that the Eagles receivers weren't as active. The group caught 17 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown in the first two games.

But Maclin and Jordan Matthews took advantage of man-to-man coverage against the Redskins, and the receivers totaled 21 catches for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

The Redskins "were in more base personnel than nickel and really just pressing the line of scrimmage and really telling you that you're going to have to throw it to beat us," Kelly said. "So that's what we had to do."

Truth is, Maclin was open a ton in the first two games. Foles just failed to hit him. He missed a few throws on Sunday, too. But they clicked when it counted.

"We just hit," Maclin said. "He threw it, I caught it. I think it's that simple. We will continue to grow together."

After all the preseason concern about Maclin and his surgically repaired knee, he's back to where he was before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. The Eagles are only three games into the season, but he's on pace to catch 85 passes for 1,579 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Maclin's projected numbers would top all of Jackson's from 2013.

@Jeff_McLane