Make It Count

The Eagles were the best team in the NFL in 2017. They also won the Super Bowl. That seems like common sense, but things don’t always work out that way. I thought of that today when I stumbled across this on Twitter.

They may wind up being a one hit wonder and getting the '91 Eagles treatment, but the '19 Ravens offense was legendary.

Just 41 punts in the season — with only 15 turnovers (!) and 64 (!) touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/7zAu6bymHa

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) June 23, 2020

The Ravens went 14-2 last year. They lost by five at KC, the eventual Super Bowl winner. Baltimore lost to the Browns by 15 in a fluke game where they turned the ball over three times and gave up more than 500 yards of offense.

The Ravens were the top scoring team in the league and number three in points allowed. They were so good that even when they rested starters in the season finale, Baltimore won 28-10. They were the best team in the league.

And they lost 28-12 in their only playoff game.

You cannot count on having another amazing season like that.

Lamar Jackson had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history. He set the league record for rushing yards by a QB. He had a passer rating of 113.3 and threw 36 TD passes. Those are staggering numbers.

As I said…you cannot count on having another amazing season like that.

The Ravens have lots of great memories from 2019, but no trophies. They got the same Division Winner t-shirts and hats that the 9-7 Eagles did. Yikes.

I’m not ripping on the Ravens. They just happened to come up short in an otherwise great year. My point is to appreciate what the Eagles did in 2017. That team started 11-2, but lost QB Carson Wentz. They overcame that and a slew of other key injuries.

And the Eagles didn’t have any shortcuts. They had to face Matt Ryan and the Falcons in the first game. Atlanta had been in the Super Bowl the year before and Ryan was a talented, veteran QB with a Hall of Fame WR in Julio Jones. Then the Eagles had to deal with the Vikings and their record-setting third down defense. The Eagles put up 31 offensive points on that team, even with a backup QB at the helm.

Then the Eagles went to Minneapolis and beat a pair of GOATs in Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. That’s how you take care of business.

Go beyond the Ravens.

Dallas has had a star QB and star RB duo for the past four years. Dak Prescott has started 64 straight games, while Zeke Elliott has started 56 games in that span. We can debate how good Prescott is, but there shouldn’t be any doubt that he’s an above average player who has some great moments.

That duo combined with Amari Cooper, Jaylon Smith, a very good OL, DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Jones and some other talented players to win two division titles and one playoff game (Wild Card round at that).

Talk about a waste of talent. How on earth did Jason Garrett keep his job that long?

Think about the Eagles from back in the Reid era. They had a star QB in Donovan McNabb and a star RB in Brian Westbrook. Unfortunately those two guys had trouble staying healthy at the same time.

They were healthy in 2004 and the Eagles went to the Super Bowl.

Both started most of 2007, but McNabb was coming off an ACL injury and not his usual self. The Eagles went 8-8.

Both started most of 2008 and the Eagles came just short of another Super Bowl trip.

No trophies, but the duo of McNabb and Westbrook was outstanding when they were both healthy. They won some big games and came through in some key postseason situations.

I’m interested to see what the duo of Wentz and Miles Sanders can do in the coming years. They are both incredibly talented. If Wentz stays healthy and Sanders takes another step forward, the sky is the limit.

Just keep Jason Garrett away from them.

*****

If you need something to really entertain you, Jimmy Bama is halfway done with his annual dumpster fire series.

Cowboys

Giants

Glorious work, Mr. B.

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