Pederson says he's sticking with 'Big V'

He said it right after the game and he said it again on Monday, after reviewing the tape - Doug Pederson intends to start rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right tackle again this week against the Vikings.

"You look at it from a certain perspective, then you get a chance to come in today and watch it again, and you get a different perspective. Felt like he [had a] slow start, but really settled in nicely throughout the game," Pederson said the day after the Eagles' 27-20 loss at Washington, Vaitai's first NFL game, which began chaotically.

"Was it perfect? Was it pretty? No. Were there assignment errors? Yes. I'm not going to stand here and point the finger at Big V [for all of them] because that's not what happened. There's enough mistakes all around in this football game that cost us this game. But I thought as the game progressed, he settled in nicely and did some good things."

A few weeks ago, the plan for replacing Lane Johnson during Johnson's 10-game NFL suspension was to move Allen Barbre from left guard to right tackle and start journeyman vet Stefen Wisniewski at left guard. When the Eagles came back from their bye week, they'd decided just to go with Vaitai for Johnson.

Isn't this a big risk to the franchise's greatest asset, rookie quarterback Carson Wentz?

"There's a risk every time they take the field," Pederson said. "I can't get caught up in that. ... My focus is to get V ready to go, and listen, he'll be a lot better this week. He's now got a full game under his belt, and that's valuable experience."

Pederson was asked if this is really the best option for winning right now, or is it an investment in the future.

"He gives us the best opportunity to win right now, and he is our backup right tackle right now, therefore he's going to play and he's going to gain valuable experience, week-in and week-out," Pederson said.