“Going into it we knew how strong their front was… They have one of the best d-lines in the league but we have one of the best o-lines in the league. I am super-pumped by the way we came away with it today.” — Washington center Spencer Long (61) talking about taking on the challenge against Fletcher Cox and the Eagles d-line. Photo by Jesse Simmers / contrastphotography.com

LANDOVER: The Bloom is off the rose.

No one really believed the Eagles, with their rookie head coach and quarterback were going to roll through the 2016 schedule the way they did the first three weeks when the Birds jumped out to a 3-0 record.

On a beautiful, sunny fall Sunday afternoon, the Eagles (3-2) dropped a 27-20 decision to the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, their second consecutive game of the still-young season.

NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger said earlier this week that the matchup between Washington’s Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff and Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox would play a key role on which team would come out on top.

It did. Scherff, center Spencer Long, Morgan Moses, Shawn Lauvao and Trent Williams dominated Cox, Bennie Logan and the rest of the Eagles front line for most of the day.

The Redskins rushed for 230 yards as a team with Mark Jones leading the way with 135 yards on 16 carries including a one-yard touchdown.

To borrow a line from Merrell Reese, Kirk Cousins “could have been wearing a white tuxedo back there and there would not have been a mark on it.”

The veteran quarterback was 18 of 34 passing for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He was not sacked. He did throw a 64-yard pic-six to Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins in the second quarter.

“We worked our asses off all week for this,” the 6-foot-5, 325 pound Long said at his locker after the game. “It was five guys up front, it takes us all. It just shows how good our room is and how good this team is. Hat’s off to coach (offensive line coach Bill) Callahan, he gets us right every week. I’m just glad they put it on our backs and let us run the ball today.”

Long said he and the rest of the line knew how good the Eagles interior line – led by Fletcher Cox – was and that their performance would likely determine the outcome.

“Going into it we knew how strong their front was,” said Long, now in his third season out of Nebraska. “We knew we had to have a good day today. They have one of the best d-lines in the league but we have one of the best o-lines in the league. I am super-pumped by the way we came away with it today.”

The Eagles offense can’t blame their poor performance on the absence on Lane Johnson. This was a team effort. The Birds were plagued by penalties, missed assignments and a side of Carson Wentz that has not been seen since the OTAs and that was, to sum it up, playing like a rookie.

Wentz earned every bit of his halftime rating 47.9. The rookie was 3 of 8 for 28 yards, no touchdowns and was sacked three times.

Wentz finished strong going 11 of 22 for 179 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions. He was sacked five times. Redskins All Pro pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan had two of those sacks, four quarterback hurries and two tackles for loss.

The Redskins defense kept the Eagles offense out of the end zone.

The Birds two touchdowns came from a Wendell Smallwood 86-yard kickoff return and from safety Malcolm Jenkins, who jumped a Cousins passing lane for an interception then rolled 64 yards for an easy touchdown with 3:55 left in second quarter to knot the score at 14-14.

A lot of Kerrigan’s success came early against rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who was starting in place of starter Lane Johnson, who started serving a 10-game suspension for his second violation of the NFL performance enhancing policy.

His absence and the offensive line’s struggles where not lost to Eagles fans to roasted Johnson throughout the game.

Head coach Doug Pederson talked about the void created by Johnson’s absence.

“Lane is a big part of what we were doing and he was playing well,” Pederson said. “It is disappointing from that standpoint but at the same time we’re handed these cards and we’re going to play, play with the best five upfront. It is our job as coaches, it is what we are hired to do, to make our players better. We’re going to do that this week.”

Pederson also was asked about Vaitai’s struggles especially early.

“Started out just trying to get his legs,” Pederson said. “Had a couple missed assignments early and felt like he settled into the game as the game wore on. We used more help on his side as the game wore on as well, really on both edges. He’s a warrior, he’s a battler. He stepped up and did a god job. He’ll learn from it and be ready for next week.”

Pederson was asked if Wentz was a little jittery in the pocket because of how the game started.

“That’s part of Carson’s makeup,” Pederson said. “His eyes are always down the field. That’s the great thing about him and the aggressiveness that he has down the field. Listen, last week, this week, these are going to be great learning lessons for Carson. Being able to mature as a quarterback, still taking a lot of reps, he’s still a rookie but he’s our guy and I’m so excited to continue to work with him. Listen, he’s such a competitor that these types of things bother him. He’s going to clean it up and be ready to go next week.”

Eagles fans hope he’ right.