Zach Ertz was standing about 15 feet from Carson Wentz in the locker room Monday night when he was asked about the quarterback’s fourth-quarter, sack-avoiding Houdini act that resulted in a 17-yard scramble on a key third down.

“Yeah, that was ridiculous,” Ertz said. “I don’t know how you stop that as a defense. They had everyone covered, and this guy looks like he’s sacked and takes off for 17 yards.

“I saw him about to get sacked so I thought the play was over. And then I see the guy take off for 17 yards. It was incredible. I looked up at the video board after and was shocked, in awe like everyone else.”

In some ways, Wentz has the traits of a common, ordinary guy. For example, at 12:28 a.m., he apparently decided he needed a mirror to put his tie on. So he left his locker, found one and was suited up nicely for his post-game press conference.

In other ways, ordinary seems like a downright ludicrous word to describe him. That was the case in the fourth quarter with the Eagles facing a 3rd-and-8, up 24-17. The pocket collapsed, and it seemed for sure that Wentz would take a sack, the Eagles would punt, and Washington would have a chance to tie the game.

But with bodies surrounding him, Wentz somehow escaped, found running room up the middle and picked up a first down.

“It’s difficult, especially when we have him covered for a sack and he ends up busting out for a long run,” said Washington safety D.J. Swearinger. “It’s definitely devastating when you see him running around.

“He gets out of trouble. He breaks tackles. And he throws dimes. He’s a great quarterback, and he’ll be one of the greats in this league for a long time.”

Halapoulivaati Vaitai admitted he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“I honestly didn’t know what happened,” he said. “I was just looking at [Junior] Galette, and I hear all of a sudden everybody cheering. And I see Carson down there. I was like, ‘Huh?’ I looked at the pile. I was like, ‘How’d he escape that?’”

Alshon Jeffery felt the same way.

“I thought he was sacked on that one, honestly,” he said. “That’s my complete answer. I can honestly say I thought he was sacked until I saw the replay.”

There were other plays that defied logic too, like the 9-yard touchdown pass to Corey Clement. Again, protection broke down, but Wentz somehow spotted Clement on the far right side of the end zone and threw a perfect ball.

The play had broken down, it turned into a scramble drill, and Clement was the last read in Wentz’s progression.

“He threw it off his back foot,” said Jason Kelce. “Threw it over the defender’s head right into the guy’s arms. For a guy to be able to do that, that’s happened before where I’ve had bad snaps before and he’s picked them up off the dirt and still kept his eyes downfield and made a great play. That’s very unordinary, very uncommon for a guy when something goes wrong at the beginning of the play to have the poise and the ability to stay with it and make something happen.”

On the 10-yard touchdown to Nelson Agholor, Wentz made an adjustment at the line of scrimmage.

“That is from watching film, knowing coverages and just knowing the game so well that when you get to the line, you just check like a vet, not just a second year in the league, but, ‘I’ve been doing this for a long time,’ ” Agholor said. “And then you throw a dime for a touchdown.”

The 64-yard bomb to Mack Hollins traveled 62.8 yards in the air, the longest of any pass in the NFL over the last two seasons.

The arm, the escapability in the face of pressure, the toughness in the pocket, the adjustments at the line of scrimmage. This was the full Carson Wentz experience. And through seven weeks, he’s thrown 17 touchdowns, two more than any other NFL quarterback.

“I think the biggest thing was we had a good game plan,” Wentz said. “They did some things early that got to us, and we just knew we had to weather the storm, keep our poise. We knew the plays would be there.”

The Eagles are 6-1 and have back-to-back home games against the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos coming up before the bye. No other team in the NFC East has more than three wins.

Injuries can change the course of any team’s season, but as long as Wentz is on the field, the Eagles figure to continue to be one of the most entertaining shows in the NFL.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN…

1. What the plan is at left tackle?

Jason Peters went down with a knee injury, and Vaitai came in to replace him. Lane Johnson stayed at right tackle. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen suggested that Peters’ injury might not be a season-ender, but the Eagles have not offered anything definitive.

“I really don’t know,” Johnson said. “I haven’t had any reps there, so I’ll probably know more this week. I’m fine with it. We’re going to be facing pass rushers like DeMarcus Lawrence and Von Miller coming in here, so there’s really no place to hide.”

Johnson is right. Opponents are going to challenge Vaitai wherever he’s lined up. The guess here is that the Eagles will stick with Vaitai at left tackle and keep Johnson at right tackle, where he is playing at an extremely high level. A left side of Vaitai and Stefen Wisniewski is concerning, but it makes more sense than changing two positions.

The Eagles also lost linebacker Jordan Hicks to what the team called an ankle injury. This will be a big week in terms of injury news and planning for the rest of the season.

2. What’s gotten into Agholor?

The comeback story continued Monday night. Agholor caught four balls for 45 yards and a touchdown. It was the third straight game he’s reached the end zone.

Ertz had an interesting take on one factor that’s made a difference.

“I think [wide receivers] coach [Mike] Groh has done a great job,” Ertz said. “I think it’s one of the best hires we’ve had in terms of bringing someone onto the team. Nelson is probably the guy that struggled the most. I think he’d be the first to admit it. But I think it shows the resiliency that he has, the hard work that he’s put in. It’s incredible what he’s doing this year. We’re extremely proud of him. Just a guy that overcame adversity. You can’t say enough good things about him.”

Groh replaced Greg Lewis this offseason. Between Agholor’s rebound season and Hollins’ ability to contribute immediately as a rookie, it’s probably time to give the wide receivers coach some credit.

THE NUMBER THAT MATTERS: 13

That’s the number of catches Ertz has in two games against Washington this season. That’s on 13 targets.

Wentz when targeting Ertz against Washington: 13-for-13 for 182 yards and a touchdown.

“Today was tougher than last time for sure,” Ertz said. “I thought D.J. [Swearinger] played a really good game. Early in the game, he was locking me down, so I just had to adjust little certain things.”

Travis Kelce, whose team played Thursday night, was in attendance to watch his brother, Jason, play. He saw Ertz on the concourse after the game and gave him a big hug. They are two of the best tight ends in the league right now.

GAME BALL OFFENSE: CARSON WENTZ

He finished 17-for-25 for 268 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception (which was essentially a punt). Wentz also ran for 63 yards. His passer rating of 126.3 was the second-highest of his career, behind only the mark he posted a couple weeks ago against the Arizona Cardinals.

Wentz’s YPA average of 10.7 was a career high.

“I talk about how great and how athletic he is and how he has a great arm, but the attention to detail, the film study, the professionalism he has as a quarterback is second to none, in my opinion,” said Agholor.

“Magic,” added Malcolm Jenkins. “Some of the things he does, to be as young as he is, you forget that this is only his second year.”

GAME BALL DEFENSE: DEREK BARNETT

The rookie got on the board with half-a-sack last week. He added two more in this one.

Afterwards, Barnett credited the veteran defensive linemen on the team for helping him along.

“They all have given me a lot of tips,” he said. “I’ve asked a lot of questions, and it’s helped me improve my game every day that I’ve come to work. I’m very lucky to have those guys to help me.”

THAT’S WHAT HE SAID

“You never know whose day it could be, whose game it could be. One game at a time. Everybody eats. One eat, we all eat.” —Alshon Jeffery

Jeffery had just two catches for 37 yards, but once again, he appeared to be in good spirits following the Eagles’ win.

Jeffery has not had a 100-yard game as an Eagle, but the offense is working, and Wentz is spreading the ball around.

FIVE THOUGHTS AND LEFTOVERS

1. This performance was a mixed bag for the defense. Kirk Cousins was 30-for-40 for 303 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. Washington had five plays of 20-plus yards, although only one of those came in the second half. The injuries at linebacker (Mychal Kendricks was inactive) were a big factor. That could be a problem area going forward. On the flip side, the Eagles could receive some help at cornerback if Ronald Darby returns in the next couple weeks.

2. Pederson talked last week about making sure that Wentz only hears one unified message, and that’s probably been a challenge. Wentz works with Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. Pederson said his job is to make sure that they’re all on the same page with what they’re preaching to Wentz.

“I think it’s important from my standpoint as the head coach and being an offensive guy that there is only one voice,” Pederson said. “And I want to make sure that when I install a play or I’m talking to the offense or to the quarterbacks that my message is carried through Frank, through John to the quarterbacks.”

If the results are any indication, Pederson and the coaches have done a tremendous job of making sure Wentz hears a consistent message.

3. Speaking of Pederson, if we’re putting Wentz in the MVP race, shouldn’t he be in the Coach of the Year conversation? The Eagles are 6-1. If the season ended today, they would have a first-round bye and be the top seed in the NFC. There’s obviously a long way to go. But Pederson is developing a young quarterback and has created a culture in which players exhibit great effort, are prepared and seem to want to play for each other. Teams like the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams are exceeding expectations. So too are the Eagles.

4. The Eagles got significant contributions from their rookie class on Monday night. Barnett had two sacks. Rasul Douglas was a part of the cornerback rotation. Hollins caught the 64-yard touchdown. And Clement had a score as well. Of that group, I’m most interested to see if Hollins’ role expands going forward. He has six catches on six targets for 134 yards this season. And he’s probably their best blocking wide receiver.

“First of all, he is a really smart guy,” Wentz said. “So he can get plugged in at X, at Z, at F. Every time he is in there, it seems like he just makes plays. He does a great job in the run game with run blocking. We can put him on some linebackers and do some different things. But when he is in there, he just makes plays. He finds a way to get open, and he is effective. And I don’t think a lot of teams really respect that or know that about him. So he is just a big weapon for us when we need a guy. He can just step in and kind of be anywhere.”

I think Hollins deserves more snaps going forward.

5. Odds and ends. … I think the loss of Peters will be felt more in the run game than in pass protection. … “You on that Cam [Newton] sh-t, huh?” That was Brandon Graham to Rodney McLeod in the locker room. McLeod was rocking a black fedora. … The Eagles were 6-for-12 on third down. “Third down, I usually don’t even get off the bench,” said Jenkins.

GUESSING THE LINE: EAGLES (-10)

The 49ers are winless, but before Sunday’s blowout loss to the Cowboys, their previous five defeats were by a total of 13 points. They were playing opponents close. Having said that, this is a matchup between the team with the NFL’s best record and the team with the NFL’s worst record. Plus, San Francisco is traveling across the country for an early kickoff. My guess is that the Eagles will be a double-digit favorite.