Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/4v7jwrh8
Originally published Sept. 15, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — One game can lie to you. It can tease, flatter and make promises a long season has no intention of keeping.
But if Eagles fans take anything away from the season-opening victory against the Commanders, it should be this: Sean Mannion is the right man to run the offense.
Jalen Hurts’ 64-yard play-action completion to Dontayvion Wicks late in the first quarter, which set up an eventual Dallas Goedert touchdown reception, encapsulated why.
The Eagles were in 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends). It drew the safeties in looking for a run or intermediate pass. Wide receiver Wicks ran a deep route meant to draw them away and create room underneath.
“It was a clearout,” said Wicks, who scored a touchdown later in the game.
But the safeties didn’t fully bite (instead biting on Hurts’ fake handoff from under center), leaving Wicks one-on-one against Washington cornerback Mike Sainristil.
“With J, if he trusts you, he’ll put it up there,” Wicks said. “Once I broke out and deep, I saw the ball in the air and just kept running.
“It was put on the money so I was able to run under it.”
Wicks came down with the catch for a huge gain. The play was a thing of beauty — not only because Hurts found Wicks one-on-one, but because multiple receivers were open, including Goedert in short yardage and Saquon Barkley for an outlet pass.
It was one of several times Sunday that Mannion schemed multiple guys open. And Hurts chose the correct and bold read — and delivered a dime.
The entire offensive unit bought in and executed.
“I don’t want to disclose too much about our progressions, but it’s funny,” Mannion said Tuesday. “Tay had that same exact rep in practice, and he ran full speed, full tilt, great effort — didn’t get the ball (it went to someone else). We showed it in the offensive meeting; it’s not an accident. You give great effort at practice with or without the ball, good things are going to happen.
“I think it was a very emblematic play of what we want to be as an offense, giving great effort at practice, getting your brother open in practice. Then, sure enough, you get into the game and the ball finds you. I’m a believer that those types of things happen when you give great effort day in and day out. There are so many examples of it, so many examples that go unseen. The protection unit, right? That was one of our cleanest pockets of the night, led to an explosive play.”
It all seems simple enough, but the execution and buy-in made it look that way. Mannion lives for this. And Wicks, in whom Mannion always saw potential when they were both in Green Bay, is all in.
“I trust Jalen that we built that chemistry with plays in camp … and in the offseason, not in the building,” Wicks said. “That’s him trusting me, and me going up and making plays. And that just comes to light when we go out on Sundays and are playing the game. Just keep building that trust, just keep making plays for him.”
And because the play was a run-fake, it made the defense damned if it did, damned if it didn’t. If the Commanders committed either way, to the run or the deep route (or something intermediate), they were in trouble. It gave Hurts options.
Also, Mannion and the Eagles made adjustments as the game wore on — using Washington’s aggression against it with play-action, shots downfield and throws into the vacated middle. Last season was defined by a lack of in-game adjustments and basic ingenuity on the offensive side. And a lack of buy-in by players.
Mannion’s offense wasn’t perfect Sunday, but it was highly encouraging for Week 1 against a division opponent with its own first-year coordinators and unknowns. It looked like an offense with answers.
One game can lie to you. But sometimes it tells you something worth believing.
Notes
● Mannion wouldn’t say whether Drew Kendall or Willie Lampkin would replace Landon Dickerson at left guard while Dickerson is on injured reserve. He also wouldn’t specify if other guys would shift positions on the offensive line.
● Mannion said the Eagles need to improve offensively on early downs after repeatedly playing from behind the sticks against Washington.
● Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio felt the Eagles’ pressure up front should have gotten home more often. The Birds had just one sack.
“There’s a lot of reasons here and there,” Fangio said. “Mobile quarterback (Jayden Daniels) plays into that. We just didn’t win enough of our one-on-ones across the board.”
He was also disappointed in Washington’s three scoring drives: “There’s some scoring drives you give up where the other team just beats you,” Fangio said. “They’ve got good players and good coaches, too. But I think we could have played a little better in some of those instances from just our overall play, so that was a little frustrating.”
● The Eagles signed punt returner Britain Covey to the active roster. He had returned punts in the past and was elevated from the practice squad for Week 1, in which he averaged 9.3 yards with a long of 15 on four returns.
● The team signed veteran TE Josiah Deguara to the practice squad. The 29-year-old, a 2020 third-round pick by Green Bay out of the University of Cincinnati, has appeared in 77 regular-season games in the NFL with 53 catches for 471 yards and three touchdowns. He spent four seasons with the Packers before stops in Jacksonville and Arizona and is now the only tight end on the Eagles’ practice squad. He spent the summer with the Giants.
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.