With a 3-0 record to date and the willingness to throw a few punches along the way, there’s no doubt the Philadelphia Eagles have embraced the fighting spirit as they face a relatively tough schedule this season.
The Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-17 on home turf during their season opener. The oh-so-anticipated first game after last year’s gut wrenching playoff elimination did not disappoint.
Diamond Schuler, 19 year old communications Major from Yardley said that she sees improvement in Nick Foles, “He seems to have that drive back, that motivation.”
Brian Kelly, a 20 year old communications major from Fairless Hills said he was happy with Eagles’ wide receiver LeSean McCoy’s 27 touches and “If he had better blocking, he could have done something more with those touches.”
“Lack of blockage” added Kelly, is what caused the Eagles’ awful start on Sunday. “Once the offensive line steps up and gives more protection to Nick Foles, it will open up the play and we’ll see them connect more.”
Despite some offensive shortcomings, they did well on Lincoln Financial Field in the second half as the team pulled off big plays for the win.
Xavier Diaz, 21, a business major from Morrisville said that “Darren Sproles was Fantastic!” The veteran running back shined with 150 rushing yards, including a 49-yard touchdown.
As the Eagles faced the Indianapolis Colts in their second game of the season, many analysts believed this would be the true test. Matched up against Andrew Luck, one of the NFL’s top rushing quarterbacks, the Eagles’ defense really had to tighten things up.
The Eagles struggled throughout the first half, but eventually found a way to contain the Colts’ ground game. Making some crucial stops in the final minutes of play, the defensive line stepped up their performance, leading to an Eagles’ win against the Colts, 30-27.
Schuler believed this was their statement game, “An unbelievable comeback against a great team.”
For game three, the Eagles returned home to face division rival, the Washington Redskins.
In most of the preview chatter, much of the hype surrounded DeSean Jackson’s return to Philadelphia since being cut last March. He finished the game with 11 catches for 140 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown pass.
The overall rivalry boiled over when a fight broke out following a late hit on Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles.
Redskins’ defensive lineman Chris Baker leveled Foles with a brutal hit to the ribs after an interception was thrown.
Gabriel Ortiz, 18, a Journalism major from Langhorne thinks it should have resulted in a fine or suspension, “It was way off!”
In response to the hit, Eagles’ offensive tackle Jason Peters, rushed to Foles’ defense, throwing a punch towards Baker’s head. The fight resulted in both Peters and Baker being ejected from the game.
“You have to back your teammate up, especially your quarterback,” said Ortiz. “If we lost the game then I could see people saying he shouldn’t have done that, but we didn’t.”
Despite losing Peters, Eagles pulled off a nail-biting 37-34 win.
At the time of printing this story, the Eagles are preparing for their upcoming away-game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Some fans worry this will be the 49ers chance to redeem their season. “It’s going to be a struggle, the 49ers are 1-2, a team like that doesn’t want to be 1-3,” said Ortiz.
As for the rest of the season, Bucks students seem to collectively agree: the 49ers, Packers and Seahawks pose a threat to the Eagles schedule.
Andrew Oliver, 20 year old criminal justice major from Newtown said, “Yes, we are the team to beat in our division.” Andrew believes we should look out for the Giants and Cowboys as well.
“Anything can happen when you have a deep rivalry with a team.” he said.