Big Game

Posted: October 13th, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Big Game

The Eagles and the Cowboys have been playing each other for more than 60 years. It doesn’t feel like they became rivals until Dick Vermeil and Ron Jaworski showed up about 45 years ago, but things have been interesting since then. Both groups have had real peaks and valleys. There have been some incredible games and insane moments. It will be interesting to see what we get on Sunday night.

Too many of the recent games have been ugly, with Dallas winning and having some blowouts. Since winning the Super Bowl in 2017, the Eagles are 2-6 vs Dallas and four of those losses have been by 20 points or more.

Ouch.

Jimmy Bama tried to ask Nick Sirianni about the Eagles recent struggles. Sirianni seemed to get a bit confused and talked about the rivalry in general. He pointed out that the past didn’t mean anything to AJ Brown. That’s true. But Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce and some others have been part of those losses. I wouldn’t totally dismiss the Eagles recent struggles with Dallas.

Still, this is a different team. The Eagles are 5-0 and playing at a high level. If you study the stats and metrics, the Eagles are the best team in the NFC. You can argue that Jalen Hurts is the most improved player in the league. He’s a huge reason they are undefeated and playing so well.

The Eagles have passed every test so far this year. Sunday night will be a key game.

https://twitter.com/FO_ASchatz/status/1580201485098373120

Wow.

A win doesn’t guarantee anything, but it sure would be nice to create some separation from the Cowboys.

We all know the Cardinals started 7-0 last year and then fell apart. A hot start is just that…a hot start. You have to finish well. The Eagles have better coaching and are much stronger on the line of scrimmage.  It also helps that the Eagles are balanced, ranked 5th in both offensive and defensive DVOA. That makes it harder for them to fall apart. They can beat you in a variety of ways.

You get a feel for that when you see all the guys contributing.

How cool is that?

Offensive players like Hurts, DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown and Miles Sanders all could have won awards with their standout performances. This really is a balanced team.

As for Dallas, they are 17th in offensive DVOA and 6th in defensive DVOA. They are playing good football, even with Cooper Rush at QB instead of Dak Prescott. Rush reminds me of AJ Feeley back in 2002. Feeley went 4-1 as the starter, aided by a Top 5 defense and the #7 rushing attack in the league. There were arguments about Feeley vs Donovan McNabb back then, just as today some Dallas fans want Rush over Prescott. People love backup QBs.

Rush has played pretty well. Dallas only has one turnover with him as the starter. They haven’t scored more than 25 points in a game and the last two weeks they were held to under 280 yards. But Rush is making enough plays to win. Sunday won’t be a game where Rush can play “not to lose”. The Eagles are the best team he’s gone up against on offense and defense. Unless the Eagles have a dreadful showing, there will be pressure on Rush to perform. We’ll get a better feel for what he can do in that game.

Against the Rams, Rush was 10-16-102. Once you took away sack yardage, the Cowboys had 76 yards of passing. Their D and STs really dominated that game. It is tough to rely on that week in and week out.

The Eagles have yet to play a complete game. Sunday night would be an ideal time to do that. They could send a big message to the rest of the NFC.

*****

The Eagles added James Bradberry and CJ Gardner-Johnson to help fix the secondary in the offseason. One player they didn’t replace is Marcus Epps. He’s having a good year. Epps is third on the team in tackles. He’s got a couple of PDs and a couple of TFLs. He can make plays down the field or in the backfield.

I love his physicality. He’s tough without being reckless or dirty. Going with Epps proved to be a smart move by Howie Roseman and the coaching staff.

*****

One of the things that gives me a lot of hope for this team is the chemistry they seem to have.

The 2017 team had a lot of fun and won a lot of games. This team is doing both right now as well.

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