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Deep thoughts: Carson Wentz airs it out to Smith and Agholor, takes Eagles' offense to next level

The aggressive Arizona defense dared Birds to live by the bomb, and got blown away by it.

Eagles receiver; Nelson Agholor catches a touchdown pass against Arizona Cardinals defensive back Budda Baker.
Eagles receiver; Nelson Agholor catches a touchdown pass against Arizona Cardinals defensive back Budda Baker.Read moreMICHAEL PEREZ / AP

This was the game the Eagles' wide-receiving corps needed, that Nelson Agholor needed, that Torrey Smith really, especially needed — a 34-7 victory over Arizona, featuring touchdown strikes of 72 yards to Agholor and 59 to Smith.

Much of the team's offensive success through the first four games was because the running game moved the chains and Carson Wentz made plays, mostly by finding tight end Zach Ertz or taking off on his own. There were lots of long-ball misses in the passing game, and in Smith's case, four drops, the last one leading Smith to tweet after last week's Chargers game that he was "in the middle of the worst stretch of my career."

But there was Smith streaking down the field on third-and-5 late in the first quarter Sunday, running a post pattern right past Arizona corner Justin Bethel, ducking slightly to gather in Wentz's pass, and outrunning Bethel to the end zone for a 21-0 Eagles lead, the sort of thing the Eagles and Smith had in mind when he signed in free agency last March.

"My expectations coming in were to do my part and make big plays and help us win. We've been winning. I didn't really do my part the way I should have been or could have been," Smith said after contributing three receptions for 70 yards to Wentz's career day, the QB's first four-touchdown-pass game. "Keep rolling and don't look back."

Smith spent the previous two seasons with the 49ers, a waste of time in football terms but helpful in the making of important contacts, it turned out.

Smith said he "shot Steph Curry a text early in the week," asking the Golden State Warriors' two-time NBA MVP how he handles a bad shooting streak.

"Focus on everything else but the missed shots," Smith said Curry told him. "Play better defense, focus on rebounding. In my case, focus on blocking, focus on my assignments, and concentrate. Use my technique, focus on my eyes … It's not like I've never been there."

For newcomers Smith and Alshon Jeffery (three catches for 31 yards Sunday), you could sense through the first four games that the intuitive connection with Wentz just wasn't quite there yet. Smith's touchdown Sunday might have showed that it is developing.

"You see a coverage – I guess that's a part of being around [Wentz]. I was expecting it the whole way," Smith said. "I knew how he was; I was just like 'Don't lose your position, give him a chance to use the field and throw the ball,' and he made a great throw."

The Agholor TD was the dagger, giving the Eagles a 31-7 lead with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter.

"Carson's a beast. That touchdown to 'Nelly' was just crazy," Smith said. "Sliding off of guys, staying calm in the pocket, makes the big-time throw, and Nelly obviously took care of business with the rest. That's what our team is capable of."

The Cards went zero blitz on third-and-19, which is not something you see every day, leaving rookie safety Budda Baker on Agholor, a speed mismatch. Wentz stepped up clear of the pressure and delivered on the money. Baker angled in front of Agholor, who danced outside, inside, outside, tying the rookie in knots and leaving Agholor free to execute a backward dive into the end zone, something Agholor said was his tribute to DeSean Jackson.

"At first, I thought I was even with him," Agholor said of Baker. "I was ducking my head [to run harder], and then I saw the ball in the air, so I turned up another gear to go track it. Carson gave me a great opportunity and threw such a beautiful ball. It was easy to track and make a play on from there."
Earlier, Agholor had suffered his first drop of the season, but Wentz went right back to him on the next snap and Agholor (four catches, 93 yards) made a fine third-and-11 catch over the middle for 17 yards.

Agholor said that had he gotten to his spot quicker on the drop play, he would have gotten his head around in time to "frame" the ball.

"Next time my number is called, I want to seize it," he said.

That wasn't happening last season, when Agholor started piling up drops and other mistakes and the 2015 first-round pick got to the point where Doug Pederson didn't even activate him for a Nov. 28 game against the Packers.

"Carson is known to chuck it. He's going to chuck it and you have to get under it  … The deep ball is a great way to keep defenses honest," said Agholor, who Sunday surpassed his 2016 touchdown catch total, with 11 games to play. His 72-yarder was the longest TD Wentz has ever connected on with a wide receiver. (Wentz's career long, overall, is a 73-yard Darren Sproles catch-and-run last season.)

Wentz said Smith's TD was big for both of them.

"We've missed a couple down the field, both of us have had our share of faults on those, so to hit that one today, hit it on a third down like we did, that was a huge play in the game and just good to see," Wentz said. "Good to see. I've never lost faith in him, and it showed today."

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