Game Review – PHI 26, DAL 17

Posted: October 20th, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

There were two huge games on Sunday, with the Bills taking on Kansas City and the Eagles hosting the Cowboys. These felt like playoff previews. The Bills and Chiefs played in an instant classic, with Buffalo hanging on for a 24-20 win. You came away thinking those are the two best teams in the AFC and maybe the NFL.

The Cowboys-Eagles game was more complicated. Dallas didn’t have their starting QB in the game, but had won four games in a row with his backup. Each team brought an outstanding defense to the game. We were going to learn a lot about each team.

The Eagles dominated the first half, leading 20-3. Dallas had only 81 yards. Cooper Rush had a passer rating of 1. The vaunted Dallas defense gave up more points in that half than they had in any game all year. Micah Parsons was a non-factor.

Dallas outscored Philly in the second half, 14-6. They controlled the third quarter. The Eagles responded by taking control back in the fourth quarter and closing out the game.

The Eagles were far from perfect, but still controlled most of the game. They looked like a playoff team. It is harder to get a read on the Cowboys. Give them a lot of credit for making good adjustments in the second half and really competing. They easily could have folded when down 17 on the road and playing with a backup QB. They cut the score to 20-17 and put all the pressure back on the Eagles. Like a good team should, the Eagles responded by scoring a TD and making winning plays down the stretch.

While Dallas showed heart, it is easy to get into desperation mode and battle your way back into a game. We see this all the time. “Why didn’t they play like this earlier”, we ask ourselves. Last October the Eagles fell behind the Bucs 28-7. The Eagles cut the lead to 28-22 with 5:54 left and made Tampa sweat a little, but never could get the ball back after that. Comebacks are good. Wins are better.

And the Dallas comeback was heavily influenced by an injury to Lane Johnson. He had kept Parsons in check in the first half. Johnson suffered a concussion and missed the second half. Backup RT Jack Driscoll struggled against the most explosive rusher in the NFL, hardly shocking. It took the Eagles a couple of series to adjust to life without Johnson. Once they did, the Eagles marched right down the field and scored a TD. The dominant Dallas defense couldn’t get stops when they needed them, and the Eagles had backups in at LG and RT.

The return of Dak Prescott will make Dallas a better team. I don’t think it will make them better than the Eagles.

The Eagles have too many weapons this year.

COACHING

Nick Sirianni had the right message for his team. He didn’t obsess on the rivalry, but focused on the Eagles playing for each other. He had tried the rivalry angle last year and it didn’t go so well.

In terms of strategy, Sirianni mostly made good decisions. The one thing you can question him on is going for 2 when up 26-17. A penalty moved the ball down to the 1 and I think that’s why he went for it. It would have been smarter to kick the XP and go up 10 right there. It didn’t affect anything since the final score turned out to be 26-17.

The gameplan put together by the offensive coaches was outstanding. They knew Dallas wanted to rush the passer and play confusing coverages. The Eagles ran the ball 39 times and only threw 25 passes. When you adjust for scrambles/kneel downs/misc, that gets closer, but the Eagles still kept Dallas out of its comfort zone.

The coaches wanted to be creative with how they handled Micah Parsons. He’s too good to just have one simple plan for dealing with him. Lane Johnson handled him one-on-one at times, but the Eagles also used a smart tactic…don’t block him at all. This sounds crazy, but isn’t when you have the right players and plays.

The Eagles used their RPO playbook very effectively in this game. They went to it in key situations and it worked perfectly. Great calls, great execution.

They did block Parsons on most plays, of course. He had to deal with the RT a lot, but the coaches mixed in help from RBs and TEs. I saw Zach Pascal chip him at least once. They kept Parsons under control until Johnson got hurt. His impact was felt more when going up against Jack Driscoll.

The defensive gameplan seemed to be focused on limiting CeeDee Lamb. He was the most explosive weapon in the pass game. Lamb finished 5-68, but he was only 3-37 going into the final desperation drive. Cooper Rush had little success with WRs. They produced 96 yards on 21 targets. The Eagles focused more on coverage than pressure and it worked, with the D picking off Rush 3 times.

The Cowboys made some key adjustments at the half. They started running a lot, using bootleg pass plays and mixing in tempo. The Eagles struggled with this. It seemed to be more execution than scheme. Players lost TEs in coverage. Rushers let the QB get wide and have time to throw. Tackling Zeke Elliott was an issue. He got way too many yards after initial contact.

One thing that was clear in this game is that the Eagles were the smarter, more disciplined team. They lined up on 4th/4 at the DAL 10 very late in the first quarter. They wanted to try to draw Dallas offside. All the players knew this. The guys on TV knew this. All of us watching knew this. And yet Dante Fowler jumped offside, giving the Eagles a gift first down. The player has to know better.

There was a play in the second quarter where Dallas got a bad spot. They should have gotten a first down, but instead the ball was marked short, making it 4th/1. Dallas went hurry-up, hoping to catch the Eagles defense off-guard. They ran a play from deep in their own territory and it failed. They basically handed the Eagles points. Dallas should have gone slow there to check out the replay. If challenged, the play would have been overturned. It was obvious. The coach has to know better.

Dallas had one player get a personal foul while blocking on a return. They had a DB get an unsportsmanlike penalty when he ripped off his helmet after a TD. Parsons got a penalty for taunting Goedert. That is the very opposite of smart, disciplined football.

OFFENSE

268 yards
6 of 14 on 3rd downs
1 of 1 on 4th downs
3 of 4 in the red zone
2 plays of 20 or more yards

The Eagles were great in the second quarter. They only had one good drive in the second half. Missing Johnson and facing a good Dallas defense is part of this, but there also were problems with execution. This needs to get sorted out.

The Cowboys defense was disruptive. They sacked Hurts 4 times and had 6 TFLs. Their stunting caused problems and led to some throwaways and missed opportunities.

QB

Jalen Hurts played pretty well. His numbers weren’t great (15-25-155 with 2 TDs), but he didn’t turn the ball over and he made key plays. He was excellent on RPOs, especially when throwing the passes to AJ in the flat. Great execution on those.

The pressure did affect Hurts. He missed AJ Brown on a third down pass and it looked like he rushed the throw, despite having time to get it off. There was a play later in the game when AJ was wide open on third down and was over the middle. Hurts took off running earlier than he needed to. He almost got picked off in the third quarter. Hurts tried to hit Goedert, but Parsons was there and almost got the ball. It fell incomplete.

When pressure got home, Hurts took the sack. That’s fine. Don’t put the ball up for grabs. Better to punt. He did make plays with his legs, most notably going 3 for 3 on QB sneaks.

RB

Miles Sanders was 18-71-1. That was only the second rushing TD of the season allowed by Dallas. I was surprised that his longest run was 13 yards. Dallas had been susceptible to long runs. His TD was trickier than I thought. Live, it looked like a great block gave him an open path to the end zone. Sanders dipped inside and that drew the DL and LB inside. Sanders then went back outside and no one was there.

Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott combined to go 11-41. Both guys ran hard. All three of the RBs had carries on the key drive in the fourth quarter that extended the lead to 26-17.

WR

AJ Brown is a stud. He went 5-67-1 and made huge plays in the game. His catch on 4th/3 helped set up the first TD. Brown scored the second TD. His 22-yard catch and run set up the final TD. Dallas had no answer for him. He could have had a few more catches and 30 to 40 more yards if Hurts did his part. Brown did drop one pass.

DeVonta Smith was 5-44-1. He caught short throws, mostly over the middle. Smith helped to move the chains.

TE

Dallas Goedert caught 2 passes for 22 yards. He had some outstanding blocks. Goedert threw 24 to the ground on one run play. On the very next play, he hustled to block for Stoll. Love that kind of effort. He was good overall in the run game.

https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1582389284111261696

Jack Stoll had his best catch and run in the NFL. He was 1-21. His blocking needs some work. I have seen progress from Grant Calcaterra as a blocker.

OL

Up and down game. They helped the Eagles to score 26 points and make some key plays. The flip side is that they gave up 4 sacks, 6 TFLs and were inconsistent with the run blocking. Most of that should really be credit to the Dallas defense. Their DL is very good and made plays.

I do give the OL a lot of credit for their blocking on the fourth quarter drive. They were outstanding as the Eagles marched the ball right down the field.

Lane Johnson was very good until he left with the concussion. He did get beat by Lawrence on one play. Hurts managed to escape the rush and keep from being hit or sack, which keeps Johnson’s streak alive. Most of the time, Johnson was handling 90 or 11 just fine.

Jordan Mailata did not have his best game. I’m not sure if he was rusty from missing games or the Dallas DEs just got the best of him. He got beaten inside and outside by Armstrong. He gave a free run to Fowler. It is possible that Gainwell should have picked up Fowler. It was hard to tell. Mailata got pushed back on the 2-point try. It was a tough reach block, but his DL blew up the play. Mailata did have some outstanding run blocks. He caved in DL a few times. Also had some good pulls. Jack Driscoll played RT in the second half. He struggled in pass protection, but was good in the run game.

Landon Dickerson didn’t always sustain blocks the way you’d like and that caused problems a couple of times. He was good in the run game. He paved the way for Gainwell on a good run. He had the key block on Sanders TD. Late in the game Dickerson pulled and got a good shot on Parsons. He got hurt and Sua Opeta took over for him on the final drive. Isaac Seumalo struggled with the stunts and quickness of the Dallas DL.

Jason Kelce had a strong game. He had a couple of terrific shots on DEs coming inside.

Things got a bit chippy at the end of the game between Kelce and 97. Neither guy was going to back down. That led to a bunch of pushing and shoving but luckily it didn’t go full tilt.

DEFENSE

315 yards
4 of 10 on 3rd downs
0 of 1 on 4th downs
2 of 3 in the red zone
2 plays of 20 or more yards
3 takeaways

DL

Up and down game. No sacks or TFLs. They were able to limit the Dallas run game in the first half and kept Cooper Rush from being comfortable in the pocket. The DL did get good pressure on the final drive of the game, just missing sacks a couple of times and almost forcing a fourth INT.

Javon Hargrave played the best of the guys up front. He had 2 tackles and batted down a pass. He got multiple pressures and got a good hit on Rush late in the game. He didn’t do much against the run.

Fletcher Cox had a quiet game. He was in on 4 tackles, but didn’t make any plays. Zach Martin, the best OG in the league, kept Cox under control.

Josh Sweat was solid. He made the tackle on 3rd/2 and kept Zeke from getting the 1st down. Sweat blew up another run play. He drove the LT back into Rush on a pass and just missed a sack late in the game.

Jordan Davis made one tackle when he shed the C and held the RB to a short gain. Davis was somewhat quiet aside from that.

Milton Williams got in on a couple of tackles on run plays.

Brandon Graham had one highlight play. He hit Rush as he was releasing a pass and the ball got picked off. Graham got pressure late in the game and almost came up with an INT on the final drive.

LB

The best LB was Kyzir White, who was in on 8 tackles and broke up a pass. He was good in the box, but also flew around the field.

TJ Edwards led the team with 14 total tackles. He also broke up a pass. He lost the TE on one bootleg pass. There was one run where Edwards seemed to go to the wrong gap and left a huge hole for the RB to attack. Not a great game, but he was active and around the ball a lot.

Haason Reddick was credited with 1 tackle and 2 QB hits. He did get pressure on the 4th down bootleg pass and that ball was off-target. Reddick lost contain on the bootleg TD pass. If he stays wide, Rush can’t make an easy throw. Ugh. Got a good hit on Rush on the final drive. Did play the run well when it came to his side.

Patrick Johnson had a tackle and battled on run plays.

SAF

CJ Gardner-Johnson played his best game as an Eagle. He was in on 4 tackles and picked off 2 passes. He played the run well when he was in the box, even fighting to get off blocks so he could get to the RB. He didn’t make a good tackle on Lamb on a 3rd down play. Got lucky that the ref marked it short of the sticks. CGJ blew the coverage on the TE on the bootleg TD pass. Focused on the RB for a second and that’s all the time it took for the TE to get into the flat. CGJ hurt his hand/wrist while trying to strip a RB of the ball. He missed parts of two series and Dallas had their most success with him off the field.

CGJ had a pair of impressive INTs. The first came on a deflected ball. It was up in the air and he leapt up for it aggressively. CGJ wasn’t going to wait for it to come to him. You love to see that mindset of “Go get the ball”. The second pick came with him playing deep and reading a downfield pass and then getting a good break on the ball. BG hit the QB so it was a bit of a duck, but CGJ still had to cover ground to get over and then make a tough catch.

Marcus Epps had a solid showing, making 5 solo tackles and breaking up a pass. He had some good hits in the game. My one complaint is that he tried to shoulder tackle (hit) Zeke near the LOS instead of wrapping him up. Zeke bounced off that and kept trucking. You must wrap-up strong RBs like him.

CB

Darius Slay had a terrific game. He picked off a pass, broke up a pass and had a couple of tackles. One of the tackles came out in space against Pollard, who can be tough to bring down. Slay got him low and pulled him down.

James Bradberry continued his playmaking ways. He broke up 4 passes, one of which was picked off by CGJ. Bradberry broke up another one in the end zone and CGJ had a shot at picking that one but didn’t see it in time. Bradberry broke up a 4th down pass. He seems to make plays that count. Not a lot of help against the run.

Avonte Maddox played in his first game in a few weeks and was somewhat quiet. He was in on 2 tackles.

ST

Jake Elliott hit both FGs and XPs.

Arryn Siposs had 2 of his 4 punts downed inside the 20. No touchbacks.

Britain Covey had a 14-yard PR where he made a couple of guys miss. He also did a great job of selling that he was catching a punt when the ball actually bounced near the goal line and into the end zone for a touchback.

The coverage units were great on a few kicks and really bad on a few others. The low point was a 63-yard KOR. Kyron Johnson lost contain and let the returner get to the edge. You can’t do that if you’re the widest guy. You must funnel the returner inside where your help is. Dallas also had a couple of good punt returns. One was negated by a penalty.

_

One Comment on “Game Review – PHI 26, DAL 17”

  1. 1 The Linc - Eagles offensive linemen are placing out a Christmas album - Philadelphia News Station said at 11:59 AM on October 20th, 2022:

    […] Game Review – PHI 26, DAL 17 – Iggles BlitzJalen Hurts performed fairly nicely. His numbers weren’t nice (15-25-155 with 2 TDs), however he didn’t flip the ball over and he made key performs. He was glorious on RPOs, particularly when throwing the passes to AJ within the flat. Nice execution on these. The strain did have an effect on Hurts. He missed AJ Brown on a 3rd down go and it regarded like he rushed the throw, regardless of having time to get it off. There was a play later within the sport when AJ was broad open on third down and was over the center. Hurts took off working sooner than he wanted to. He nearly acquired picked off within the third quarter. Hurts tried to hit Goedert, however Parsons was there and nearly acquired the ball. It fell incomplete. When strain acquired dwelling, Hurts took the sack. That’s high-quality. Don’t put the ball up for grabs. Higher to punt. He did make performs together with his legs, most notably going 3 for 3 on QB sneaks. […]