Game Review – DAL 37, PHI 10

Rather than doing a standard review of such a terrible performance, I’m going to write some observations on the most interesting aspects of the game.

Gone Guys – Orlando Scandrick and Akeem Spence deserved to be cut. Spence played with terrible pad level. He struggled against the run and wasn’t having any luck attacking up the field. Scandrick struggled in coverage and as a tackler. I can live with guys not having elite talent, but neither player showed any sense of urgency in their play.

Compare that to Vinny Curry. He isn’t exactly tearing the league up right now, but Curry plays hard. He made multiple hustle plays in the game. You would prefer your #3 DE to be more disruptive as a pass rusher, but at least you’ve got a guy who is doing everything he can to get the job done. With Hassan Ridgeway being hurt, Curry moved inside and played some DT snaps.

Young Guys – Andre Dillard got his first NFL start. He was up and down, but you can see he has tremendous potential. Dillard has great feet and moves very naturally. He was quick off the ball and pretty smooth as a pass protector. He still must anchor better and has plenty of learning to do, but he has the potential to be a stud LT in the future.

I thought LB T.J. Edwards had some good moments. He had 2 tackles in 22 snaps. I liked the way he took on blocks and played with physicality. LB Nate Gerry led the team with 11 tackles, but did not play well. He missed tackles and made some odd decisions.

Daeshon Hall got 9 snaps at LDE. He made a couple of plays. The most impressive came when he tackled Zeke from behind. Hall used his length and speed to catch Zeke right at the LOS. Please put this guy on the field more. I’m not saying he’s going to be the next Reggie White, but I want to see a young, athletic DE on the field.

Tackling – The Eagles gave up 402 yards and 37 points. The thing that really jumped out to me was poor tackling. Jim Schwartz is right to point out that Dallas has some very talented weapons that are tough to bring down, but the Eagles were bad. Tackling doesn’t require talent. It takes effort and skill. Schwartz is right when he points out that there were too many moments when the Eagles were 1-on-1 in space. Good defenses gang tackle. They fly to the ball as a unit. That was not happening in Dallas.

Coaching Matters – Jason Garrett and his staff out-coached the Eagles. Plain and simple. The Eagles offense didn’t have any plays that really jumped out. There were well-designed runs and some good pass plays, but nothing special. Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard were on the field at the same time, but not much came of it. The Eagles used motion on some runs and Dallas didn’t even pay attention to the guys in motion. You can’t always fake. You must mix in different twists to make the defense honor the different elements of the play.

Dallas creatively got Tavon Austin the ball in space and that led to a TD. The Eagles struggled to get the ball to Zach Ertz, the team’s top offensive weapon. Where were the creative throws to Miles Sanders?

I think Schwartz gets ripped too much by some fans, but his defense late in the half was infuriating. You can’t play that soft. I know Dallas hit a long, long FG, but the Eagles made that way too easy.

The Eagles had no answer for the Dallas run game. They did limit big plays. That didn’t seem to matter. The Cowboys were 8 of 14 on 3rd downs so they were able to move up and down the field. Ugh.

Situational Football – The offense turned the ball over to open the game. That would have been a perfect time for the defense to come up big. DAL 7, PHI 0. The offense turned the ball over again. Maybe this time the defense will respond. DAL 14, PHI 0. Ugh.

The offense responds with a TD to cut the lead to 14-7. The defense then forces a Dallas punt. If the offense can go score a TD or just kick a FG, the Eagles will have real momentum. The Eagles went 3 & out. Dallas scored a TD to up 21-7 and the game was over. Ugh.

Carson Wentz – Wentz hit Dallas Goedert for a 28-yard TD. That was a terrific throw. Wentz put some good 50-50 balls on Alshon Jeffery. I don’t need to tell you how they turned out. Wentz gave Nelson Agholor a chance for a long TD, but that didn’t work out.

Wentz did not do enough. He wasn’t getting help, but Wentz is a top flight QB. He must be able to produce even when he doesn’t have a great supporting cast.

Agholor – The most notable play in the game came when Agholor couldn’t catch up to a deep ball from Wentz. Agholor stretched his arms and at the last moment pulled them back in. A lot of people labeled this as a lack of effort. I don’t agree with that. Agholor already 50 to 60 yards. That was the effort. Pulling his arms in was stupid. Why would you do that at the catch point? That’s not laziness. That’s not a lack of courage. To me, that’s just stupidity. Even if you don’t see the ball clearly, keep your arms out there. That’s your only chance to catch the ball.

The Passing Game – The Eagles trailed the for 54 of 60 minutes on Sunday night. They trailed by double-digits almost the entire game. Wentz threw 26 passes. Dak Prescott threw 27 passes. Even with limited weapons and a rookie LT, you must throw the ball. You must take chances. The Eagles have a good run game, but you must be able to throw the ball.

This goes on the players and the coaches. The staff must call more passes. The OL must block better. Wentz needs to be more accurate. The receivers must get open and they must catch the damn ball when it comes their way.

The bad news is that Buffalo has the #4 pass defense in the league. This isn’t the week you want to be trying to fix your passing attack, but here we are. Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz better figure some things out before Sunday.

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