Victory Over Falcons Showcases Eagles At Their Best

Remember about six weeks ago when the Eagles’ new franchise quarterback Kevin Kolb took the field and was promptly concussed after throwing only five short completions? Needless to say that’s not what Eagles fans were expecting from the fourth year player. But now, those fans can sit back a bit, because the Kevin Kolb they thought they were getting has finally shown up, albeit six weeks late. And fortunately, he brought the team that Philadelphia has gotten used to seeing over the past decade with him.

Sunday’s game against the Falcons was nothing short of dominant. Two early touchdowns from DeSean Jackson all but guaranteed the Eagles the afternoon’s high ground, and sure enough, the team never looked back. Mix in a beautiful deep touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin and timely INT from Asante Samuel, and say hello to 4-2 and a tie for the division lead. (Side note: Is anyone else as excited as I am to watch this team play the Giants next month?)

Now in the interest of fairness, there were some struggles peppered into the Eagles 31-17 victory. The special teams unit didn’t have the greatest afternoon, what with David Akers only hitting on 1 of his 4 field goal attempts and with the kickoff coverage yielding an average of 23 yards per return. But those hiccups didn’t matter. In this game, the Eagles didn’t need their help.

Credit the coaching staff for installing an excellent game plan and for preparing the players to face a team that many pundits had pegged as the class of the NFC. Specific kudos should be in order for guys like offensive line coach Juan Castillo. The Eagles’ line has essentially been a revolving door this season, and the team was without left tackle Jason Peters for the Atlanta game. Enter King Dunlap, who played arguably the game of his life. In fact, the whole offensive line played their hearts out and the credit for that accomplishment should fall foremost on the shoulders of Castillo. Without protection like that, plays in the vein of Kevin Kolb’s 34-yard strike to Jackson or his 83-yard floater to Jeremy Maclin simply don’t happen.

Truth be told, on Sunday, this Eagles team looked a whole lot like the ones that featured Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Brian Dawkins: big play offense and turnover-producing defense. And if anyone was still doubting this team, they certainly shouldn’t after watching Philly dismantle a highly-rated Falcons team.

Maybe a post-season run isn’t out of the question after all.