Jim Schwartz's defense deserves all the game balls for this one | David Murphy

LANDOVER, Md. — This one was never going to be a gimme. The pundits had their say, and the oddsmakers had their say, but the Redskins are one of those teams that consistently outperformed their talent over the last handful of years, and it was short-sighted to think 2017 would prove an exception.

With that in mind, the magnitude of the result should not be lost amid all the cause for trepidation in the Eagles' season-opening 30-17 win at FedEx Field on Sunday afternoon. Yes, the impact of Ronald Darby's gruesome ankle injury could echo throughout the rest of the season. Yes, the offensive line emerged as a concern, particularly after the groin injury suffered by Jason Peters. Yes, there were several curious play-calls, and some eyebrow-raising moments of faulty execution.

But none of this should obscure the fact that the Eagles accomplished one of NFL's toughest missions, walking into a division opponent's stadium and walking out with a victory. They had not beaten the Redskins since Chip Kelly's second season as head coach. More often than not, playoff berths go to those who fare best in their division games, and this division game might've been the toughest of the season, all things considered.

Carson Wentz's performance will deserve all of the thousands of words that will be dedicated to its dissection over the next few days. For now, though, we should take a few moments to honor an Eagles defense that could have responded in a much different manner after watching Darby go down with an ugly looking ankle injury late in the first quarter. At times, the unit looked as you might've expected it to look without a cornerback whom the Eagles deemed worthy of trading a third-round draft pick and a wide receiver who had emerged from Wentz's rookie season as his favorite target and close friend. For the most part, though, a ferocious front seven proved to be the difference in the game. Defensive end Brandon Graham and twin tackles Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan spent much of the last three quarters disrupting a talented Redskins offensive line.

In the first quarter, Cox sacked and stripped Kirk Cousins. Late in the fourth quarter, he scooped up a fumble forced by Graham and returned it 20 yards to seal the win. The Eagles sacked Cousins four times on the day and harassed him on numerous other occasions. They limited Washington to just three third down conversions on 11 attempts, aided in large part by a stingy run defense that allowed just 64 yards on the ground and recorded four tackles for loss.

An awful lot will need to be unpacked in the coming days. For now, though, the biggest takeaway is the one that shows up in the win column.

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