It was a bright, sunny afternoon full of "wow" moments for the Eagles and their fans Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field and the man who owns the football team did not hesitate when asked for his favorite.
"Fourth-and-four," Jeffrey Lurie said inside the Eagles' locker room following a 29-10 opening-day win over the Cleveland Browns.
Fourth-and-four from the Cleveland 40.
It was midway through the third quarter and the Eagles had a chance to stomp on the Browns' throat shortly after taking a 15-10 lead on a gift safety. It was also a chance for a rookie head coach to show his aggressiveness and for a rookie quarterback to make a huge play in the face of a ferocious pass rush.
Doug Pederson knew before the third-and-four play failed that he was going to go for it on fourth down. He had figured that out before the game started, a reassuring quality in any head coach.
"I mean all the math indicates that when you're around the 30-yard line you're right on the cusp of a long field goal," Pederson said. "If you miss it they get the ball at the 48ish. Even if you don't get it, now your defense is still on the field around that 25, 26, 27-yard line."
His math was actually a little off, but his mind was in the right place.
More impressive, however, was the execution by the rookie quarterback.
"I was pretty excited that he had the faith in me to call the fourth-and-four play," Carson Wentz said. "They heated us up. They brought an all-out blitz."
Wentz, calmly but quickly, made a throw over the middle to tight end Zach Ertz for a five-yard gain and a first down.
"And somebody said he's got a slow release," Lurie said. "Who were they watching?"
The owner's reference was to Browns defensive end Carl Nassib, the Malvern Prep and Penn State product who had commented about the speed of Wentz's delivery during the week leading up to the opener.
Immediately after converting on fourth down, Pederson and Wentz went for the touchdown.
"I wanted to stay aggressive with Carson and the guys and I just dialed it up the next play," Pederson said. "Nelson got a great release off the ball and Carson put it right where it had to be."
Agholor, coming off a disappointing rookie season and preseason, ran a terrific route and got some separation from veteran cornerback Joe Haden in the right corner of the end zone. Wentz made a perfect throw for a 35-yard completion and his second touchdown of the game.
The Linc rocked. The fans had come to see the rookie quarterback, the rookie coach and the new and improved defense directed by Jim Schwartz.
None of the above disappointed.
Sure it was the notoriously bad Browns on the other side. They are a rebuilding team _ again _ with a new head coach _ again _ and an overflow of players in the infancy of their NFL careers. But the guys on the other side were still far more talented than any roster Wentz faced at North Dakota State and the kid never blinked.
"It's not surprising," Pederson said. "Being around him for so long now, and just knowing the maturity level that he has ... this is who he is. This is his DNA."
Wentz completed four of five passes on his opening drive, including a 19-yard strike to Jordan Matthews for a touchdown. He brushed off the rough patches, including a couple of sacks, and finished with 22 completions on 37 attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns. He did not commit a turnover and his passer rating was 101.0. You could look at the debuts of a lot of great NFL quarterbacks and not find one as good as what Wentz provided for the Eagles.
The defense, meanwhile, allowed just 288 total yards, sacked Robert Griffin III three times, got credit for a safety and also had an interception.
"I thought it was good," safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "We did a decent job of getting pressure on RG3 with a four-man rush, we did a pretty good job in the secondary besides two plays. Other than that it was small plays. I think tackling was one of the biggest things that we probably need to address coming out of this."
Tougher assignments lie ahead. It's possible, even probable, that the Eagles will not face an easier opponent than the Browns.
"It was a great first team win, but we're going to head into Chicago next week right away," Wentz said. "It's on to the next."
Since his arrival the rookie quarterback has said all the right things and now, at least for one game, we've seen him back up his words with some moments that made his owner and a lot of other people say "wow."
