Cohesion fuels Eagles' shuffled offensive line

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After the early loss of Jason Kelce, after the crushing hit on Nick Foles, after the brawl, after the ejection of Jason Peters, the Eagles were down to backups at four positions on the offensive line.

Shades of 2012, eh?

Not exactly.

Somehow, behind the most patchwork offensive line imaginable, the Eagles pieced together an eight-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Foles hitting Jeremy Maclin for a go-ahead touchdown that broke a 27-27 tie and propelled the Eagles to a 37-34 win over Washington in an NFC East showdown at the Linc on Sunday (see story).

By the fourth quarter, the Eagles were so decimated up front they had to summon Wade Smith for his season debut. Smith joined the team less than two weeks ago as a street free-agent signing.

Still, they kept Foles well protected. The Redskins, who had 10 sacks last Sunday against the Jags, didn’t sack Foles, officially. They had one negated by a penalty.

“That’s our job,” said Andrew Gardner, who played right and left tackle. “When somebody goes down, whether it’s being thrown out of the game, whether it’s an injury, it’s ours job as backup players to go in and keep the offense going at that level.”

The Eagles get Lane Johnson back from suspension in two weeks but could be going forward without Kelce, who left with an abdomen injury in the third quarter. Kelce hobbled toward the sideline before heading off slowly to the locker room (see story).

The team very quickly announced that he wouldn’t return, raising questions about the fourth-year center’s ability to play Sunday’s road game against San Francisco.

“The big thing we need to work on this week is communication,” said Todd Herremans, who played right guard and right tackle. “Kelce’s such a great communicator and so smart.”

If Kelce can’t go, David Molk, a second-year center who was unemployed all of last season, will make his first professional start.

“Like I said last week when Evan Mathis went down, the next man up and we just keep rolling,” said Peters, who was ejected for his role in a brawl (see story). “Lane Johnson went out and the next guy stepped in. Mathis went out and the next guy stepped in. Now it’s Jason Kelce and then it was me getting ejected. The next guys are just stepping in and we keep rolling.”

The game started with left guard Dennis Kelly and right tackle Gardner subbing again for Mathis and Johnson. Molk, who played some left guard in the opener, replaced Kelce at center.

Peters’ ejection triggered an offensive line-style of musical chairs. Smith came in to play left guard, Kelly moved from left guard to right guard, Herremans moved from right guard to right tackle and Gardner moved from right tackle to left tackle.

Herremans hadn’t played right tackle since 2012.

“You've got to be able to battle in this league,” Chip Kelly said. “They (the Redskins) were playing with their backup quarterback. I think everybody understands going in that, except for maybe the first game, are you going to be at full strength? And then can you endure? And I thought they made plays when they had to, and then to be able to score as many points as we did with that group, I think it's a credit [to the line].”

Maybe it shouldn’t be a complete surprise. The second-string offensive line played well in the preseason against some teams known for good depth in the front seven, including the Patriots, Steelers and Jets.

Also, Kelly’s practices are so fast throughout the spring camps, training camp and during the season that the second string gets plenty of reps to be prepared for situations like these.

“We had so many reps as a second group,” Molk said, “and a lot of us are there that played together on second team in the preseason. It makes everything easier.”

Kelly’s cross training also helps. Kelly has practiced at both guard spots and at tackle. Gardner practiced at left tackle while Allen Barbre manned the right side. Herremans spent two years at right tackle.

When the smoke finally cleared from the brawl, the backups slid into their new positions and went to work.

“Everybody has a good enough grasp on the playbook,” Gardner said. “There was no confusion from that standpoint. Fortunately, everybody that had to switch there late in the game went to positions they’ve played before. I think they’re all very natural transitions we had to make at the end of the game and that kind of helped in that crazy situation.”

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