Eagles-Browns: What did we learn?

The Eagles opened the season with a 29-10 win over the Browns on Sunday. Here are ten things that we learned:

1. Carson Wentz is Canton bound. After one game, the rookie quarterback can start working on his Hall of Fame speech. Eagles fans can start booking their hotels in Northeastern Ohio for the last weekend in July of 2035. All Wentz needs is about 200 more games in which he plays at the level he performed in his first NFL game and he's a first ballot shoo-in. Ok, so I'm getting a little ahead of myself. But don't come here looking to have your optimism crushed. Taken on its own, Wentz's opener was about as good as rookie quarterback debuts go. There are still many games to be played and obstacles to face -- and Wentz should have his struggles – but that is all speculative at this point. What we have is one game of proof that he can be successful at this level. Forget about the numbers (22 of 37 for 278 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions). What impressed most were the moments – the hard count that got the Browns to jump, the protection change that led to a 28-yard Jordan Matthews catch, the quick release with a defender in his mug on fourth down. But the throws, ultimately, were the most important and he delivered – a touch pass to Matthews for a 19-yard touchdown, a floater with the right amount of air to Nelson Agholor for a 35-yard score, the toss over the middle in a tight window to Matthews after a Browns false start, the third down conversion to Matthews, again in the only place his receiver could grab it.

There's room for improvement. But that's what should excite the Eagles the most. He needs to be quicker. He escaped pressure early, but held the ball too long before chucking it out of bounds and took an unnecessary hit. There were at least seven other blows to Wentz's body – all of them in the pocket. He missed a few blitzes. He had trouble with a couple of short touch passes when pressured – overthrowing Matthews and later Huff. The latter throw could have been intercepted, but it deflected off of Huff's hands to Agholor. So there's work to be done. The Bears aren't good team, but they're better than the lowly Browns. But that box will be checked off next week. Wentz crossed off his first NFL start with a Sharpie.

2. Doug Pederson can scheme. There were a few hints in the preseason that Pederson can draw up game plans that take advantage of his players' skill sets, but the opener was the first opportunity to see him scheme against a defense for 60 minutes. He went conservative, which made perfect sense. It was the Browns, after all, and Wentz needed some protection. So Pederson relied heavily on his ground game even though there were stretches when Ryan Mathews couldn't muster more than a yard here or there. The patience paid off, in particular, when Kenjon Barner (four carries for 42 yards) was brought in to change the pace and when the Eagles shifted into their four-minute offense. There was balance – 41 passes vs. 32 rushes. There were multiple personnel groupings. There was imagination – tackle Matt Tobin filling in for the injured Trey Burton (calf) so the Eagles could use their three-tight end sets; or defensive tackle Beau Allen as the fullback on goal line. And there is more in the playbook that Pederson has yet to tap. Josh Huff wasn't featured. Dorial Green-Beckham (two catches for 14 yards, 25 of 77 snaps) is still being worked into the rotation. And the option plays that will feature Wentz as a running threat were essentially scraped. But why waste those on the Browns. It's a long season. Pederson had a solid start.

3. The offensive line looks suspect. If I were to toss a wet blanket over the offense it would be to point out the inconsistencies up front. The Eagles o-line struggled against a defensive front that is lacking in impact players. Jason Kelce got knocked back a few times. Brandon Brooks sometimes looked like he was running in quick sand. Jason Peters had two false starts, although he was mostly strong. And Lane Johnson had a hold and struggled against rookie defensive end Carl Nassib. It should be noted that the Browns often snuck an extra man in the box to stop the run. They wanted to force Wentz to beat them. But the line failed to open enough holes for Mathews (22 carries for 77 yards). Pass protection was a little better. Wentz was sacked twice, although they were probably more on the quarterback than the line. It could get tougher from here on out. Johnson said that he expects to hear from the league about the B sample on his failed drug test this week. He said he would do what's best for the team, which would suggest that he wouldn't appeal and delay an expected 10-game suspension. But Johnson has been wrong before about the process. The Eagles may have him in Chicago on Monday night.

4. Jim Schwartz's defense looks relentless. Take away the Corey Coleman 58-yard catch and the Terrelle Pryor 44-yard catch and the Browns had just 186 yards of total offense. Those yards count, of course, and the coverage on Coleman's jump ball grab was Keystone Cops-like, but the Browns had trouble picking up first downs most of the day. Cleveland helped a ton. They had drops. Robert Griffin III missed his fair share. And Hue Jackson had some odd calls, risky calls – like going for it on fourth down out of a punt formation (New linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill blew up the play in the backfield). But Schwartz's penetrating 4-3 one-gap defense kept coming and coming even though they had sparse success getting home in the first half. Give credit to the Browns offensive line – and a lot of quick, three-step drops – but when Griffin had to go to the air more often the Eagles front started to find cracks. Fletcher Cox broke through first, bull rushing a guard and sacking Griffin. Connor Barwin finally got around Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas and took down the quarterback. And Brandon Graham, who had a great game as both a run stopper and pass rusher, notched the Eagles' third sack to essentially nail down the game. Schwartz didn't rotate up front as much as he has been saying he would. Marcus Smith had only six snaps as the fourth end. There was a little more variety in the middle with Beau Allen (17 of 52 snaps) and Destiny Vaeao (12) spelling Cox and Bennie Logan on occasion. But should be a more even distribution of snaps if Schwartz wants to keep his linemen fresh throughout the season.

5. Tight ends will be a focal point of the offense. Zach Ertz played 60 of 77 snaps. Brent Celek played 38. If Burton were active, he would have played a bunch. This is obviously smart. The Eagles tight ends are a strength. Ertz has vastly improved as a blocker. The Eagles no longer have to worry about having him out there ahead of Celek on run downs, which opens up the possibility for the offense to throw to Ertz out of run sets. His first catch was a doozy. Wentz lofted it just a touch high, but Ertz stretched out one hand and pulled the ball into his torso as he landed on his back. There aren't many tight ends in the NFL with that kind of athleticism. Ertz finished with six catches for 58 yards. Celek caught an early pass and ran over a defender to pick up 12 yards. He didn't see another target, but his blocking was good. With the lack of game breakers on the outside, the Eagles will need to own the middle of field, which brings us to …

6. Jordan Matthews will likely be Wentz's favorite target. Not all of Matthews' snaps came out of the slot. He actually spent a good deal of the game lined up on the outside. I still have to compute the split. But Matthews is best inside. He had a very good game, catching seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. It could have been better. Wentz threw his way 14 times and Matthews dropped two. He missed the entire preseason, but he has to clean that up. Drops plagued the first half of his 2015 season. It's the short passes that gave Matthews the most problem. He seems to lose concentration on those. He was great on the intermediate routes and made a few diving grabs. This is big year in terms of Matthews' future. The Eagles like to lock up homegrown talent before they enter into the final season of their rookie contracts. Matthews is in season No. 3. He could hit the jackpot this offseason with a big year.

7. Mychal Kendricks is officially on the outs. Kendricks played only 19 of 52 snaps (37 percent). He was used exclusively in the Eagles' base package. Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham were the nickel linebackers. Schwartz seemed to use slot corner Ron Brooks as a quasi-linebacker on some plays in which the Browns had run personnel on the field. Playing Kendricks in the base vs. the nickel actually makes some sense. He struggled last season in coverage. But it remains to be seen how the decrease in playing time will affect his psyche. Kendricks didn't show up in the stat sheet with a tackle. He once again wasn't available to interview after the game. One surprise was that Schwartz didn't use Stephen Tulloch at all on defense – at least until the last play of the game.

8. Nelson Agholor can beat a Pro Bowl cornerback. Joe Haden has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL over the last five years. He pressed Agholor at the line in the third quarter. But the receiver squirted past Haden and quickly had a step. Wentz's pass was a strike, but Agholor ran the tight rope and danced inside the pylon for his second career touchdown. It was the type of moment that could boost the second-year receiver's confidence. Agholor had a rough preseason, but the Eagles, to their credit, have been supportive. They need him to be productive on the outside. He's not going to blow the top off of many defenses, but he has the ability to find space. Agholor caught three more passes for 22 yards and blocked well throughout. He played 67 snaps. Only Matthews (71) played more among skill position players on offense.

9. Donnie Jones is the man. The Eagles punter deserves his own category, and I kind of feel bad for neglecting to mention him in today's newspaper. Jones did it all. He unloaded when he had plenty of green, booting 72- and 68-yard punts. And he became more nuanced when the Eagles needed him to pin the Browns. He had three punts inside the Cleveland 20 and two that landed inside the 10. Former Eagles defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro once said that Jones was the Eagles' defensive MVP in 2013. While that may have been an exaggeration, his role certainly can't be understated.

10. And some leftovers … Corner Leodis McKelvin left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. Pederson didn't have an update after the game. Rookie Jalen Mills replaced him for the final 12 snaps. He didn't look overwhelmed and had a couple of sticks. … Caleb Sturgis missed a 46-yard field goal attempt wide right, but connected from 22 and 38 yards. He had a great camp and preseason in competition with Cody Parkey. The media joke last week was that he would fall to pieces now that the job was his. The missed field goal wasn't a good start. But he rebounded and had touchbacks on all six of his kickoffs.