Mark Sanchez had instant success as quarterback of the New York Jets when he led the team to the AFC Championship Game each of his first two NFL seasons.
Since that second season, his career has experienced a steady decline. He last won a game he started back in December of 2012, and he missed all of 2013 with an injured shoulder. However, all of that changed last week against the Houston Texans when Sanchez took over the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense when underperforming Nick Foles went down with a fractured collarbone.
Sanchez immediately raised eyebrows with his performance against the Texans, but tonight would be his first real test as leader of the high-flying Chip Kelly offense. In his first start since the end of the 2012 season, Sanchez delivered under the bright lights on Monday Night Football, and the results were impressive.
Sanchez and the Eagles wasted little time jumping all over the Carolina Panthers defense — a unit in steady decline after a promising start to the season. With a new quarterback at the helm, and LeSean McCoy in the backfield, one would expect an emphasis on the running game to take pressure off of the passing game. However, what transpired was quite the opposite. Sanchez was sharp from his first snap and it was his passing that sparked a scoring frenzy that would put the Eagles up 31-7 by halftime.
Considering how well Sanchez played — 20 of 37, 332 yards and 2 touchdowns — it will be his performance that commands the headlines. However, the Eagles’ defense and special teams played an equal part in the win over the Panthers, in particular, the success of running back Darren Sproles.
Sproles scored the first touchdown of the night on an eight-yard run, and then burned the Panthers on a 65-yard punt return for another score — all in the first quarter. The defense also posted points when Bradley Fletcher returned an interception 34 yards for a score in the second quarter.
Nothing should be taken away from the performance of the Eagles’ defense, but it was obvious Cam Newton was not completely healthy as he struggled to escape the pass rush with his usual elusiveness.
By the end of the night, the Eagles posted a 45-21 victory to improve to 7-2 while maintaining the led over the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. The bottom line is that if this was how well Sanchez played in his first full game in Kelly’s system, the Eagles may have a bright future and a good chance to go deep in the playoffs this season.
Paul Kakert is an NFL writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @edpvideo, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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