Agholor makes big catch and a few big mistakes

LANDOVER, Md. - From a statistical standpoint, Eagles rookie receiver Nelson Agholor had the best of his four NFL games, but the first-round draft choice from Southern Cal also had a few major missteps Sunday in a 23-20 loss to the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field.

One play after he made his longest reception of the season, Agholor coughed up the ball. So it is all part of the learning process.

Agholor entered the game with four receptions for 36 yards. He gained more yards than that on one pass play as the Eagles showed signs of having a vertical game.

With the Eagles trailing, 13-0, and less than five minutes left in the second quarter, Agholor beat Chris Culliver deep and made a sensational, one-handed, 45-yard reception to the Washington 30-yard line.

"I thought it was a great opportunity and it gave me a shot and I got to make a play," Agholor said.

But on the next play, the Eagles called for Agholor to run a reverse. Quarterback Sam Bradford handed the ball to Ryan Mathews who flipped it to Agholor. That's when it all broke down.

Agholor dropped the easy flip and Washington's Keenan Robinson recovered the fumble. If Agholor had caught the exchange from Mathews, he appeared to have some serious running room.

"The play wasn't executed the way it should have been," Agholor said. "I should have looked the football in. The number one thing is to receive the football."

It appeared that Agholor looked up to see how much running room he had. Eagles coach Chip Kelly said he felt the reverse could have been a big play.

"We thought we had a good look," Kelly said. "The exchange wasn't there. We had the corner. Trying to get Nelson going."

Adding to his up-and-down day, a penalty on Agholor nullified an 11-yard touchdown reception by Zach Ertz late in the first half. Agholor was called for an illegal formation.

It was another learning experience for the rookie, who was targeted four times and had three receptions for 64 yards.

Agholor said he didn't dwell on his missteps in the first half. "There are four quarters of football," he said. ". . . I just get ready for the next play."

If there was a positive, it was that the Eagles receivers were much more productive than they were in a 24-17 win over the New York Jets last week. In that game, Jordan Matthews was the only receiver who caught the ball, with six receptions for 49 yards.

Against Washington, Eagles receivers had 10 receptions for 237 yards and two touchdowns, a 62-yard bomb to Riley Cooper and a 39-yard scoring pass to Miles Austin.

"We have been doing the same exact thing for three years," said Cooper, who had three receptions for 25 yards in the first three games. "It is going to be there some games and it won't be there some games."

It still wasn't enough to prevent the Eagles from falling to 1-3.

Agholor said he would not be beaten down by the early losing and was already looking toward the home game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

"If you put your head in a hole now because you are down, it doesn't really define who you are, it kind of just says you are soft," Agholor said. "Guys have got to take care of their bodies, get ready for another week of practice and New Orleans."

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard