Philadelphia Eagles: Aaron Donald presents far larger challenge than WAS

Aaron Donald is primed to wreak havoc on the Philadelphia Eagles O-Line.

After getting absolutely torn apart by the Washington front seven in Week 1, things aren’t going to get any easier for the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line going forward. They have a date with superstar pass rusher Aaron Donald in Week 2, and the 2x DPOY looks better than ever.

It was no secret that the Eagles O-Line was going to struggle against Washington, but I’m not sure if anyone could have predicted it being as bad as it ended up being. The group allowed a collective total of eight sacks, and QB Carson Wentz was delivered a “quarterback hit” on 14 different occasions. It was one of the worst Philadelphia O-Line performances in well over a decade, and the scoreboard reflected the massacre that occurred.

The Philadelphia Eagles were dealt some crippling blows during the offseason to their line, with projected starters Brandon Brooks, Andre Dillard, and Lane Johnson all beginning the season inactive. While it was expected that their replacements would struggle against an elite group of Washington edge rushers, it was even more alarming that the rest of the Philly O-Line struggled as well.

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Left tackle Jason Peters actually graded out as the worst performing pass blocker on Sunday, and guys like Isaac Seumalo and Jason Kelce weren’t their usual consistent selves up the middle. With Nate Herbig and Jack Driscoll projected to be the starters on the right side for the foreseeable future, the team really needs their proven commodities on the left side to step their game up.

While the Washington front might be deeper than Los Angeles’, they have nothing in the way of someone who can compare to Aaron Donald. With the whole world watching via Sunday Night Football, Donald reminded everyone just how utterly dominant he can be.

Matching up against one of the better offensive lines in all of football, Donald looked like a grown man amongst a bunch of frail children. He recorded one sack, one TFL, and four (yes four!) quarterback hits. He was constantly disrupting throws and bottling up runs, and his chaotic presence was the main reason the Rams escaped with a victory.

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For what it’s worth, the Philadelphia coaching staff did an absolutely horrible job game planning for an elite Washington pass rush, and they have to pull an entire 180 heading into Week 2. Ditch the play actions, ditch the super long developing routes, and for the love of God please let Carson Wentz roll out of the pocket more than once a game.

Donald matching up against this Eagles O-Line is stuff of nightmares, and there should be little reason to believe things will go much better than they did during Week 1’s disaster loss. Donald is firing on all cylinders, and the Eagles still have UDFAs and rookies lining up on the right side. Donald is going to get to the quarterback just like he always does, and he’s going to bottle up runs by the likes of Boston Scott and Corey Clement.

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This is a far greater challenge than what we saw in Landover, and while it sounds like the Eagles might be completely screwed (they very well could be), the way to beat AD and the Rams has to revolve around the playbook and Wentz making better reads. Quick throws, creative routes, move the pocket, and maybe, just maybe, Philly can escape with a win.

Oh, and it would help if Peters, Seumalo, and Kelce actually played the way we all know they can, just a side note.

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