DeSean Jackson quickly puts Eagles back into Super Bowl contention

Week 1 was a tale of new faces in new places making big impacts, be it Kyler Murray rallying Arizona to a tie, Zac Taylor transforming Andy Dalton in Cincinnati, or Odell Beckham Jr. suiting up for Cleveland, complete with six-figure watch on his left wrist.

Those debuts were exciting, but the most significant development of Week 1 may have involved a veteran's homecoming in his 12^th year in the league.

DeSean Jackson came back to the Eagles, the team that drafted him, and looked just as fast and dangerous at 32 as he did at 22. That is bad news for the rest of the NFC. He caught touchdown passes of 51 and 53 yards as the Eagles rallied from a 20-7 deficit to beat Washington, 32-27.

Philadelphia made it to the divisional round last season in defense of its Super Bowl LII title, but the Eagles did so while lacking anything resembling a downfield threat. Mike Wallace was supposed to play that role, but he only played in two games because of a fractured fibula suffered in Week 2.

Consequently, there was no one on the roster with a track record of taking the top off defenses. Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor didn’t fit the bill, and Golden Tate, acquired at the trade deadline, was always at his best underneath, making yards after the catch. The Eagles had plenty of receiving talent, but no home run hitter to keep a defense up at night. As a result, the offense bogged down, finishing 18^th in points and 14^th in yards.

Enter Jackson. A two-year stint in Tampa was a mixed bag. His 13.4 yards-per-catch average in 2017 was the lowest of his career, but he rebounded last season to lead the league with an 18.9 average. It was Jackson’s fourth time atop the NFL in that category, and third since leaving Philadelphia after the 2013 season. (By the way, Jackson’s 13.4 yards per catch in 2017 would have been tops among receivers with at least 30 catches on the 2018 Eagles.)

Jackson's talents were going to waste with the Buccaneers, however. Sure, the long touchdowns were there, including a 75-yarder in an upset win over Philly in Week 2. As the season wore on, though, Tampa Bay faded, and Jackson’s production dipped. His targets didn’t go down, but he only had one touchdown after Week 2, after scoring three in the season’s first two games.

The Bucs couldn’t figure out their quarterback situation and struggled through a lost season. The Eagles have no such concerns. Carson Wentz is their guy, and his relationship with Jackson should be mutually beneficial. Wentz gets a true deep threat to make big plays and create space for the rest of the offense, and Jackson gets to catch passes from an MVP-caliber player.

It is not hyperbole to suggest that Jackson is the NFL's greatest ever big-play threat. His 24 touchdowns of at least 60 yards —19 through the air and five on rushes or returns — are the most in league history. Drop the number down to touchdowns of at least 50 yards, and Jackson’s 31 are second to only Jerry Rice’s 36, and he has plenty of time to catch him.

Jackson's two scores Sunday actually hurt him in one category: Entering the game, his average length of touchdown was 44.5 yards. Now it’s down to 43.7. Among players with at least 60 career touchdowns, both numbers still keep him comfortably ahead of Hall of Famer Bob Hayes’ 41.5 average.

Jackson’s traditional numbers are gaudy, and advanced metrics also view him favorably. Pro Football Focus has consistently rated Jackson as one of the league’s better receivers. PFF ranked him 21st overall last season, but his impact goes beyond numbers. It is psychological as well.

Jackson is the league’s best one-punch knockout artist. He might not do anything for a few series, then all of a sudden, just as the defense’s attention slackens, he runs under a rainbow and puts a quick six on the board.

Given the choice, every defensive coordinator in the league would rather get dinked and dunked than give up one huge play. For one thing, the longer a drive goes, the more chances the defense has to rise up and stop it. For another, no coordinator wants to suffer the embarrassment of having his plans detonated in the span of eight seconds. Jackson is a defense's ultimate nightmare.

His homecoming is more than just a feel-good story. Jackson is the missing piece for the Eagles, who look like Super Bowl contenders again.