Forget the Loss

If Saquon Barkley catches that pass, the Eagles are 2-0. Since he dropped the pass and the Eagles lost, the focus seems to be on the result of the game more than anything. What if the Eagles run the ball on third down? What if Nick Sirianni goes for it on fourth down? Would the Eagles still have lost? Should the Eagles have kicked the FG earlier in the game?

Even if the Eagles had won, this team has real issues. To me, thinking about the issues is far more important than losing to Atlanta.

We all agree that the run defense was terrible. The thing that jumped out to me was yards before contact. RBs were getting untouched to the second level over and over. That has to change. The DL are not winning enough battles up front. Bryce Huff struggled to set the edge. He was especially bad in the second half. The DTs are not controlling the middle with any regularity.

Chris Lindstrom is a true cut block artist that would make the late great Alex Gibbs proud. Last of a dying breed h/t @markschlereth pic.twitter.com/RcfuAb8bJv

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 17, 2024

That is beautiful to OL fans, but a nightmare for Eagles coaches to watch. Yikes.

The poor run defense would be easier to swallow if the DL was doing a great job of rushing the passer. The Eagles were credited with 2 QB hits on Monday. That sounds about right. The Eagles pass rush couldn’t even get close on the final drive. Forget sacks, I’m just talking about getting some pressure on Kirk Cousins. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Atlanta used chip blocks very effectively. The Eagles have to be able to combat that. Use stunts. Rush three and drop eight. Run a zone blitz.

Of course the DL wouldn’t be so problematic if the DBs could cover tightly. Quinyon Mitchell had some breakdowns on the final drive. Darius Slay got burned on the final play. It feels like the guys are trying to play hero ball. I hate to do this, but they need to go back to the old mantra used by so many coaches.

Do your job.

Don’t try to be the hero. Cover your guy. Cover your zone. Keep the play in front of you and tackle the ball. No rush and wide open receivers meant the final drive was easy. Think about that. The game winning drive was easy. That should make Lurie, Howie and Sirianni sick to their stomachs. Vic Fangio should be chugging Pepto Bismol by the gallon.

There is no shame in losing. We see wild plays and wild drives happen all the time. That looked like 7-on-7. You simply cannot have that with the game on the line. That is embarrassing.

Let’s move on from that drive and talk about the defense in the rest of the game. The Eagles got an early third down stop, but only because Atlanta’s RB dropped the pass. There was the play where Ray Ray McCloud was running wide open behind the defense. The Eagles got lucky Cousins didn’t see him. The Eagles did give up a 41-yard TD after giving up a 70-yarder in the opener. No bueno.

The defense is 31st in DVOA. They are #1 in making me punch my desk. I knew there would be some ups and downs with so many new faces and new coaches. I just didn’t expect them to struggle so much across the board.

They are Top 5 in both red zone defense and third down defense. Fangio can build on that, but he’s got Grand Canyon sized holes to fix.

The offense has 5 plays of 20 or more yards, which is middle of the pack. That would be fine if the offense wasn’t loaded with talented playmakers. The Eagles are 16th in red zone offense. They are moving the ball between the 20’s, but aren’t scoring enough TDs.

Jalen Hurts threw a pair of critical INTs in the opener. That got us all very nervous. Hurts then mostly played a terrific game against the Falcons. That had everyone feeling okay even after the late TD. The Eagles had time and timeouts. They could go steal the game back. Hurts threw to Dallas Goedert for 13 yards and the Eagles were suddenly one to two plays from being in FG range. They called a timeout.

Hurts has to know at that point there is no reason to be greedy. Hurts still had time to work the middle. Heck, he could have even run if he needed to. The Eagles still had a timeout. Hurts dropped back, got some pressure and forced a throw into coverage. Just throw the ball away. It is first down!!!

Hurts decision-making is starting to be a real issue in some key situations. Last week he gave GB 3 points with an INT and cost the Eagles at least 3 points with an INT. This time out he ended the game. All of those plays were avoidable.

Some people are getting all gloom and doom on this team. I certainly get where they are coming from. There are some really troubling signs after the first couple of weeks.

I also know that football teams are constantly evolving. They are not finished products in September. The Texans started 0-2 a year ago, but were loved by everyone by the end of the year. The Chiefs scored 37 total points in the first two weeks. They did okay when it mattered.

A huge key for both of those organizations is that they played good team football as the season went along. Right now the Eagles feel like a collection of individuals more than a team. DBs don’t always work well together. Receivers don’t seem sure what to do when Hurts scrambles. Rushers look confused when trying to execute stunts. OL look confused when trying to block stunts. Blitzes are not well executed.

There were three penalties for an OL being downfield. Are players not listening? Did Jeff Stoutland forget how to coach? It feels like even OL might be trying to do too much. Just settle down and do your job.

Play hard.

Play smart.

Play tough.

I think that is the message the coaches need to be preaching. The last thing they want is this group coming out on Sunday and trying to make big plays happen. That stuff has to come within the flow of the game. They have to be organic.

Sirianni better find the right message in a hurry and get his players to buy into it.

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