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Many arm-chair coaches in the Philadelphia area were calling for Carson Wentz to be benched early in the third quarter. The struggling Eagles quarterback threw his second interception — and his fourth total turnover following two fumbles — on an ill-advised throw to John Hightower. Jalen Hurts was ready on the sideline, warm from running a few gadget plays, but no change was made.
Doug Pederson never considered “pulling” Wentz from the game and the face of the franchise rewarded his confidence by gutting out a 23-9 victory. Wentz finished 15-of-27 for 123 yards and two touchdowns, including a nine-yard strike to Travis Fulgham. After the game, the head coach admitted to talking to Wentz about the missed connection with Hightower on the sideline.
“The conversation was, again, explaining that just, hey, we can’t do that,” Pederson said. “We’re in a position to put points on the board and continue a drive if we just throw the ball away and that’s something that we’ve got to learn from. And no, there was never any of that conversation to pull him.”
Those turnovers have become all too common this year. Too costly. Wentz now has 16 giveaways, the most in the NFL. No quarterback has made the playoffs after giving up the football that much through the first eight games.
“We can’t turn the ball over,” Pederson said. “We understand that. He knows that.”
“I’m not good enough,” Wentz said. “I’m pumped we got the win, but I’m going to have to watch the tape and I’m a little frustrated with how I played and how we’ve left some plays out there, left some points out there, and missed some big opportunities. I can be better. I know I will be.”
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Jalen Reagor Catches First NFL Touchdown
There were some positives in Sunday night’s sloppy win over Dallas. Top pick Jalen Reagor hauled in his first career touchdown, making an acrobatic toe-tapping rumble toward the pylon at the end of the first quarter. The rookie receiver was playing in his first game since Sept. 20 after rehabbing ahead of schedule from a broken thumb.
“It was a blessing. Patience is key,” Reagor said. “I believe what’s for you is what’s for you. So it was a blessing. It was surreal, surreal moment.”
Reagor (three catches for 16 yards) looked explosive and reliable. The Eagles need him to live up to the first-round hype while getting contributions from all their young receivers, including John Hightower and Travis Fulgham.
“I’m really excited about them,” Wentz said of his young receivers. “I feel like I’ve been talking about them quite a bit this year with how they’ve developed ever since camp.”
Eagles Hang On to First Place in NFC East
The Eagles hold a one-game lead on the Cowboys in the putrid NFC East, a division someone has to win despite their best efforts not to. Philadelphia will head into their bye week knowing that if the season ended today they would host a home playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field. Go figure.
Pederson talked about wins being hard to come by in the NFL, so — contrary to the public perception that Sunday was an ugly win — Pederson is going to enjoy it. And Eagles fans should, too.
“There’s never a pretty win,” Pederson said. “There’s never an ugly win. A win’s a win. We’ve got to start stacking them together.”
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