We do it every year.
The Eagles hit a rough patch, go through injury issues or have a bad stretch and the emotions toward Doug Pederson come flying out. Maybe it's the original doubt about the hiring of Pederson that never truly went away. Maybe it's his almost-too-honest answers in press conferences. Maybe it stems from uncertainty the Eagles front office and ownership sometimes give off about him.
I don't know what it is that makes this city doubt Doug Pederson, but I do know this: It's time to accept how good of a coach this guy is.
Sunday night's 25-20 victory over the 49ers wasn't an offensive masterpiece. Not even close. But it was similar to last year's Week 4 in Green Bay, a step in the right direction, and a night that showed why thoughts about moving on from this head coach make zero sense.
Pederson entered the night with his hands tied behind his back. His quarterback, Carson Wentz, came in off the worst slump of his career and questions about a controversy at a position where that's the last thing you want. His offensive line was decimated. We couldn't pick his receivers out of a lineup. Basic plays would be difficult. Add in criticism directed at his (correct) decision to play for the tie last week, and this had all the makings of the game that let Pederson's team spiral out of control.
Yet it didn't.
Wentz, while far from perfect, was solid, mistake-free late and (most importantly) clutch. The offensive line held up. The young, no-name wide receivers made plays. The team grinded and fought. All the outside noise was blocked out. If desperation set it in, we saw it come back out with inspired play, not tight performances. We saw a well-coached, well-prepared and tough-minded team win its first game of the year. Pederson deserves credit for that.
Of course, we shouldn't be surprised. This kind of crossroads moment seems to pop up once per season since Pederson took the job in 2016. It's usually preceded by a week (or two) of questions about Pederson's future and if he truly knows what he's doing from a play calling and/or leadership perspective. It's always followed by answers that should give us our ultimate answer on this guy.
In 2016, the Eagles were rocked by the Bengals in a game where less-than-stellar effort was given by multiple players. Pederson admitted that the following day, leading to speculation that the team could turn on him and quit down the stretch. The opposite happened, helping the program springboard into 2017.
One year later, Wentz went down. A magical season looked over. We know what Pederson went on to do, culminating with a parade down Broad St.
In 2018, the Eagles looked cooked multiple times. First there was the Super Bowl hangover slow start. Then the worst loss a defending champ ever took. Then a crushing overtime loss to Dallas and loss of Wentz to another season-ending injury. By mid-January, Pederson rallied his team to the precipice of the NFC Championship Game.
And how could we forget last year. The 1-2 start. Locker room questions. Orlando Scandrick going rogue. A 5-7 record and debacle in Miami. Injuries galore. Yet there was Pederson's team racking up 400 yards in four straight games to steal the NFC East.
The 2020 Eagles aren't out of the woods yet. The schedule is hard. The quarterback still needs to improve. The marriage between the run and pass game still isn't fluid. The offensive line is on third stringers. This won't be pretty. But it's also not over after Week 4.
Sometimes it feels like we forget what Pederson's ultimate job description is. He's the head coach, not offensive coordinator. Yes, he's the play caller. Yes, the offensive performance is on his lap. But Pederson's job comes down to these things: Winning games, getting the most out of the 53-man roster and having his team willing and able to give its all for him. As year five of Pederson's tenure unfolds, we're talking about a coach that owns a .587 winning percentage (higher than Bill Parells, Marv Levy or Jimmy Johnson), gets the most out of his team and rarely (if ever) has the effort of his players truly questioned.
I don't know how good the 2020 Eagles will be. But expecting a Pederson team to fall apart and be one of the NFL's worst isn't a smart bet. Stop doubting a head coach that continues to remind us how ridiculous that doubt turns out to be.
