The glowing reviews of Jordan Matthews took a bit of a sidestep after last week's struggle in the preseason opener when the receiver dropped three passes.
However the rookie pass-catcher dashed any doubters on Friday night, catching nine balls (on nine targets) for 104 yards in the Eagles' 42-35 loss to the New England Patriots.
"He was a little over-excited playing in his first NFL football game against Chicago, and the Jordan that we've seen in practices is the Jordan that you kind of saw today," coach Chip Kelly said, per Philly.com. "I think he had nine targets, nine catches. He did a good job with the run after the catch. It's the same thing that we've seen when we've been at our training sessions at the NovaCare is what we finally saw tonight."
Matthews is slated for a big role alongside Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin, but first the game needs to slow down for him.
"That's how it's going to be my rookie year," he said. "(My game speed) is going to pick up. It was the same way my first practice. The first practice everything seemed real fast, but it started to slow down for me. First preseason game, seemed kind of fast, it slowed down. It's going to be the same way in the regular season, and then as we go on."
With the Eagles spreading the ball around in Kelly's offense, we expect a lot of opportunities for Matthews as the season progresses and he gets more comforable.
The latest "Around the League Podcast" talks quarterback battles and debates the gang's preseason power rankings.