Rodney McLeod felt good after Eagles’ win, pending tests; Dallas Goedert has his best game so far

Eagles' starting safety took a Jalen Mills helmet to the knee and left the game in the third quarter.

Eagle safety Rodney McLeod grimaces in pain after suffering an injury in the third quarter of the game against the Colts.he was helped off the field and the Eagles won 20-16 on Sunday , September 23, 2018. MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff PhotographerRead moreMichael Bryant

by Les Bowen and Zach Berman | Columnist

Published Sep. 23, 2018, 8:28 p.m. ET

Rodney McLeod exited Sunday's 20-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the third quarter with a knee injury, but the Eagles' starting safety sounded encouraged about his status after the game.

"I feel good," McLeod said. "We'll see. I don't want to make any speculation right now, but I feel good."

McLeod collided with cornerback Jalen Mills, whose helmet banged into McLeod's knee. McLeod stayed on the turf for an extended period. The medical staff examined McLeod on the sideline before he walked to the locker room on his own power.

Coach Doug Pederson should have more information about McLeod's status on Monday. McLeod left the locker room without a noticeable limp.

Corey Graham replaced McLeod. Deiondre' Hall is the only other reserve safety on the roster. Tre Sullivan is on the practice squad if the Eagles need to make a move this week.

McLeod, 28, took every defensive snap during the first two games of the season. He has missed only two games since entering the NFL in 2012. Both came last season, when he injured his hamstring in Week 2.

Tight fit

The Eagles opened the game with a three-tight end formation that included Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, and Josh Perkins. They used that formation throughout the opening drive, when all seven of Carson Wentz's pass attempts went to tight ends.

For the day, only 45 of Wentz's 255 passing yards went to wide receivers. The Eagles might finally see Alshon Jeffery on the field next Sunday at Tennessee.

"We felt like, with our three tight ends, that it gives us a little bit of a personnel advantage," Pederson said. "Teams want to play a base defense. They eventually went to nickel defense. We still had some success doing that. Then we began to run the ball. Just bigger people, athletic people on the field. It really worked for us on the opening drive, and just wanted to get the quarterback in a rhythm, too, with that."

Goedert had the best game of his brief career, catching all seven targets for 73 yards and a touchdown. Ertz finished with five catches for 73 yards. Perkins caught one pass for 10 yards.

The Eagles sounded committed to getting Goedert more involved in the offense this week after he took only 23 percent of the snaps during the first two games. Carson Wentz found an immediate connection with the second-round pick from South Dakota State.

"He's a smart football player," Wentz said. "Throughout training camp and then being able to do the no-huddle stuff and getting him in different situations and getting him in different spots, making calls at the line, checks at the line. He's very instinctive and a good football player and obviously came up big with a couple of plays."

Pederson said he wanted to "cut [Goedert] loose a little bit and don't keep him back," and that Goedert will continue improving with more time in the offense and more plays designed for him. The Eagles especially like Goedert in the red zone. That's why Sunday's touchdown could be the first of many.

"That was really cool, you know, the first drive of the game," Goedert said. "Nothing better than getting the first one out of the way. It felt real good."

He said he gave the ball to the equipment staff but wasn't sure where it got to from there.

Colts see red

One of the game's biggest factors was the Colts' 1-for-5 red-zone performance, on a day when the Eagles' offense wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard.

Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck, who was left pounding the turf in frustration after being tripped up by Derek Barnett and collapsing in slow motion on fourth-and-3 from the Eagles' 4, with a minute and 13 seconds remaining, said: "Our defense put us in some great situations, and we did not capitalize."

When the Colts got the ball back with 39 seconds remaining, Luck moved them from their 11 to their 46 with five seconds left. Then Indianapolis coach and former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich subbed backup Jacoby Brissett for Luck, to throw a final-play Hail Mary. It was batted down and landed in the back of the end zone.

"It took me a second to figure out what was going on, but I support the decision 100 percent," Luck said afterward. "Jacoby has a stronger arm than I do."

The subject of Luck's arm strength is a recurring one in Indianapolis, as he comes back from having missed the 2017 season with a shoulder problem.

>> READ MORE: NFL Week 3 in review

Birdseed

Jordan Matthews caught both passes thrown to him, for 21 yards, in his Eagles return. … Fourth-round rookie defensive end Josh Sweat was activated for the first time but did not see action. … Corey Clement looked shaky on punt returns; it's unclear when Darren Sproles (hamstring) will return … The Eagles took 10 penalties for 110 yards.

>> READ MORE: Eagles-Colts as it happened

>> MORE PHOTOS: Eagles 20, Colts 16 | Scenes from the sidelines

>> ANALYSIS: Eagles exude confidence on both sides of the ball in character win over Colts | David Murphy

>> SOCIAL MEDIA ROUNDUP: What they're saying about Carson Wentz's return