Like Wentz, Pederson is promising Eagles rookie

In the fourth quarter of the Eagles' 29-14 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday, the team faced a fourth down near the goal line while holding a 15-point lead. Coach Doug Pederson could have sent his special teams onto the field for a chip-shot field goal that would have made it a three-possession game.

Instead, Pederson wanted Carson Wentz and the offense to go for a touchdown. They missed their initial try, but a penalty gave them a second chance to punch it in the end zone from the 1-yard line. That play worked, and the Eagles took a 22-point lead.

It was the type of decision Pederson has been unafraid to make in his two games as head coach - the Eagles are 4 for 4 on fourth-down attempts - and he thinks that resonates with his players.

"It definitely shows confidence in the team," Pederson said. "It's the trust I have in them, and the execution is something that is obviously top-notch in those situations, too."

With so much attention devoted to Wentz's first two games in Philadelphia, it's easy to forget that Pederson is also in his rookie season. Pederson has defied expectations through the first two weeks of the season, too. The sample size is small, but that's all there is to go on so far. Pederson has appeared ready for the job and is the first Eagles coach since 1961 to win his first two games.

"I've been pleased," Pederson said. "Two and zero is a good start to the season. It's still a lot of hard work and a lot of road left ahead of us."

Pederson lauded the way the players prepared during the first two weeks of the season, and that is a reflection on the head coach. He said something he has learned as a coach is that his job is to "get the guys ready and prepared not only mentally but physically" and "that's one thing that I'll continue to pride myself in doing."

"Make sure these guys are ready to go every week," Pederson said. "It's a new set of challenges each week. You've got to put this one to rest and move on."

Pederson spent four years as a high school head coach in Louisiana from 2005-2008, but his NFL experience never included near the responsibility he now possesses. He wasn't the primary play-caller even as offensive coordinator in Kansas City, and game management and clock management fell on the shoulders of Andy Reid, not Pederson.

That created intrigue, if not skepticism, about how Pederson would handle those responsibilities in Philadelphia. So far, he's been without issue. The Eagles have been smart with their timeouts. Pederson has not yet needed to use his challenge flag, and there have not been clock issues. He scored points in end-of-half situations in both games. And his aggressiveness has caught the attention of fans, who have created colorful nicknames for Pederson's fourth-down gumption.

Most apparent has been his play-calling prowess, which is a point of pride for Pederson. He wanted to call his own plays, and he's helped Wentz's adjustment during the first two weeks. Pederson uses multiple personnel packages, switches tempo and has shown a knack for creating favorable matchups.

Trey Burton scored a touchdown Monday on a tight end screen behind the blocking of another tight end and an extra offensive lineman who lined up as an eligible receiver. Ryan Mathews rushed for the touchdown on the fourth-and-goal on a play after a fake jet sweep to Josh Huff that made the defense bite before Wentz pitched it to Mathews to run to the end zone untouched.

"Great play calling," wide receiver Jordan Matthews said. "We're always putting ourselves in position to score. The drives that we didn't put ourselves in position to score, lots of times it was either unforced errors like penalties, things like that, or guys having to make plays. It's never a situation where Coach Pederson is not putting us in a good position to go out there and make plays. That's a testament to his ability to game plan."

It extends to his coaching staff, too. Pederson trusts Jim Schwartz with the defense and Dave Fipp with the special teams, pledging similar confidence in them as he does his players.

The season doesn't get easier. The Eagles must prepare for the Pittsburgh Steelers on a short week, and Pederson will be further challenged. But in two regular-season games and four preseason games, Pederson has only given postgame victory speeches.

"The way you guys prepared the last two weeks is going to carry you a long, long way," Pederson told his players after the game as shown on the team's website. "Wins are hard in the National Football League. . . . But when you stick together, stick and trust your plan, trust your process, what did I tell you at the beginning of the week is the byproduct of all that? It's winning games."

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm