The Philadelphia Eagles are back on top of the NFC East following a 24-10 win over the Houston Texans in the season opener. Donovan McNabb was impressive, throwing for 314 yards (second best in the NFL), along with 3 touchdowns. One of them was to Donte’ “I look good in green” Stallworth.
A late addition to the team, Stallworth arrived on the scene and played like a diet T.O. He’s smaller, faster, not quite as good, but without the Terrell-ble aftertaste.
The former Saint played like the Patron Saint of Philly, hauling in 4 catches for 141 yds, and he wasted no time, 120 of them came before halftime. Right before his first catch in the first quarter, TV cameras shot a close-up on the wide-out as he pounded his chest as if to say, “it’s coming to me,” and then proceeded to run across the middle and catch the pass for a first down.
Stallworth, touted as a big-play deep threat, lived up to the hype with a 47 yard touchdown catch and another 37 yard catch that was stopped just short of the end-zone.
There is obvious chemistry between McNabb and Stallworth, but everything else seemed to be clicking as well for the Birds.
Brian Westbrook had a monster game, with 17 carries for 71 yards, four catches for 61 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown reception, and three punt returns for 25 yards. Although he has missed some practices this week due to swelling in his knee (what’s new?), it doesn’t seem serious. Pair him with a healthy Correll Buckhalter, and the “Band-Aid Brothers” have the potential to be the most dangerous running back tandem in the NFC.
While there were many reasons for excitement, take it all with a grain of salt. The Houston Texans would have to improve to stink. After scoring on their first two possessions, somebody must have reminded them that they were the Houston Texans, and they fell back into their old routine.
David Carr showed flashes of brilliance, it’s just too bad that his natural throwing motion now includes crashing to the ground and wincing in pain. Carr looked like a car wreck. He was sacked five times by an Eagle defense that surrendered just one touchdown and one field goal.
So while the defense looked impregnable, consider that Carr has been sacked more than any other NFL quarterback in recent history.
The Eagles’ division rivals did not fare as well. In Dallas, there has already been a cry out to bench Drew Bledsoe as the Cowboys fell to Jacksonville 24-17. Eli “We’ve got the wrong” Manning outplayed big brother Peyton, but the Giants still lost 26-21. The Redskins lost 19-16 to the Minnesota Vikings.
Look at Week 1 as the Varsity scrimmaging the JV, sure they looked great, but that was expected. There is a long season ahead, and believe it or not there are some teams that actually block for their quarterback.