In just a week after trading cornerback Ronald Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles for wide receiver Jordan Matthews, the Buffalo Bills instantly regretted their decision. When the two teams met on Thursday night, Aug. 17, Darby was very impressive against his former team.
The new cornerback for the Eagles made his first impact in the first quarter when he intercepted a pass from Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Following the brilliant interception, he ran the football for 48 yards before his former teammates took him down at the 16-yard-line. The Eagles defeated Buffalo 20-16 in a game that showed a promising season for the 23-year-old player.
On the opposite end, the Buffalo Bills were not able to play their new wide receiver Matthews after he was injured and fractured his sternum during the first practice with Buffalo. As a result, coach Sean McDermott played Anquan Boldin at wide receiver. His option was very risky because the 36-year-old Boldin was completely outmatched by Darby, who possesses superior speed and agility. Darby’s interception in the first quarter clearly showed his quickness to cut off the pass intended for Boldin.
Darby, who made 137 tackles for Buffalo last season, showed that the team’s decision to send him away was a very bad one. Darby also cut off two more passes in the game, exhibiting his prowess on defense. After the game, Darby said that his former team still ran the same play that he knew very well, which made it easy to read the play and cut them off.
“They were running a lot of routes that looked similar, so I was being patient with everything and cutting them off.”
Beautiful job by Ronald Darby undercutting the throw to pick off…Tyrod Taylor. pic.twitter.com/AHSxaKiAqt
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) August 17, 2017
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Despite winning the game and showing their solid defensive line, Philadelphia played a very sloppy offensive game. They made so many mistakes in the game and the victory was achieved because of the Bills’ bad defense. Overall, the game was not an entertaining one, as both teams made seven turnovers and 23 penalties.
@realronalddarby has arrived in Philadelphia. #BUFvsPHI
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Ahead of the 2017 regular season that will start next month, Philadelphia has homework to do to improve their offense. On the other hand, after trading one of the top 20 defenders among the cornerbacks in the league, the Bills need to revamp their defense greatly. The Eagles will start the regular season against Washington on Sept. 10, while Buffalo will meet the Jets on the same day.
[Featured Image by Matt Rourke/AP Images]