Ground n’ Pound

Posted: November 28th, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »

Last week the Eagles needed a comeback to win a defensive struggle against the Colts. On Sunday night, the Eagles won a shootout with the Packers, largely by running for an amazing 363 yards. The Eagles finished with 500 total yards and 40 points.

Sounds great, right?

It was, except when the defense or STs were on the field. The Eagles gave up 349 yards and 33 points. They allowed 172 kickoff return yards. Yikes and yikes. As we saw, the downside to scoring was kicking off. Green Bay had two drives start inside the Eagles 40. They had three others that started near midfield. That’s not a good formula for stopping a team from scoring.

Let’s go back to the offense for a minute. The run game worked for a few reasons. The OL was fantastic. They continually got movement and gave the runners room to run. Miles Sanders ran for a career high 143 yards. He scored a pair of TDs and kept the chains moving all game long. Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott combined for 63 yards and a TD.

Jalen Hurts was the X-factor. He ran 17 times for 157 yards, a franchise record for a QB. He had runs of 42, 32, 28 and 24 yards. The Packers simply had no answer for him. Some of those runs were scrambles. Others were designed runs.

Hurts was solid as a passer. He threw a pair of TDs, one to Quez Watkins for a 30-yard score. He made a couple of key throws on third down. The Eagles were 8 of 15 on third downs. That was important when you’re trying to win a game by running and playing ball-control.

The defense had some good moments. They came up with 3 sacks and a pair of INTs. They only allowed one third down conversion all game. It is kind of crazy that Green Bay was able to score 33 points.

CJ Gardner-Johnson left the game in the first half with a rib injury. Uh-oh. Rookie Reed Blankenship took his place and played really well. He led the team with 6 total tackles and even picked off a pass. Aaron Rodgers tried to hit a TE over the middle. Blankenship read the play and jumped the route. That showed good awareness and a good burst to the ball. He also had good hands. Not every DB makes that grab. Blankenship was a phyiscal hitter and tackler. He played confident, aggressive football.

There were a couple of mistakes. Blankenship took a poor angle on a pass over the middle and that turned into a 63-yard TD for Christian Watson, who can really fly. Still, he was impressive for a young safety.

The Packers had 6 plays of 20 yards or more. They ran the ball well and got chunk plays in the passing game. RB Aaron Jones hurt them as a receiver, going 3-56-1.

It wasn’t a perfect performance by the Eagles, but they improved to 10-1. It was great to see the Eagles offense come alive. They had 38 points in the past two weeks combined so scoring 40 tonight was good to see. The offense did have some issues. AJ Brown had a costly fumble and a turnover on downs put the defense in a bad situation.

You can see how good this team can be on each side of the ball. It would be nice for them to play a complete game, something they haven’t done since beating the Steelers 35-13.

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2 Comments on “Ground n’ Pound”

  1. 1 The Linc - “Each week, Jalen Hurts does one thing astonishing” - Philadelphia News Station said at 10:31 AM on November 28th, 2022:

    […] Ground n’ Pound – Iggles BlitzThe Packers had 6 performs of 20 yards or extra. They ran the ball effectively and received chunk performs within the passing sport. RB Aaron Jones damage them as a receiver, going 3-56-1. It wasn’t an ideal efficiency by the Eagles, however they improved to 10-1. It was nice to see the Eagles offense come alive. They’d 38 factors prior to now two weeks mixed so scoring 40 tonight was good to see. The offense did have some points. AJ Brown had a pricey fumble and a turnover on downs put the protection in a foul state of affairs. You possibly can see how good this workforce could be on all sides of the ball. It will be good for them to play a whole sport, one thing they haven’t accomplished since beating the Steelers 35-13. […]

  2. 2 The Linc – “Every week, Jalen Hurts does something astonishing” - Balance Sportscast said at 1:09 AM on November 29th, 2022:

    […] Ground n’ Pound – Iggles BlitzThe Packers had 6 plays of 20 yards or more. They ran the ball well and got chunk plays in the passing game. RB Aaron Jones hurt them as a receiver, going 3-56-1. It wasn’t a perfect performance by the Eagles, but they improved to 10-1. It was great to see the Eagles offense come alive. They had 38 points in the past two weeks combined so scoring 40 tonight was good to see. The offense did have some issues. AJ Brown had a costly fumble and a turnover on downs put the defense in a bad situation. You can see how good this team can be on each side of the ball. It would be nice for them to play a complete game, something they haven’t done since beating the Steelers 35-13. […]