Who Dey

Posted: October 27th, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

Bengals fans have a chant they love to do. “Who Dey? Who Dey? Who Dey think they gonna beat dem Bengals?” For the first time in 24 years, the Eagles can tell everyone that they did “beat dem Bengals”.

I wrote earlier in the week about this game being a good test for Nick Sirianni’s team. Could the offense score enough to beat Cincy? Could the defense have success against Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase? The Eagles had won two games in a row, but the Bengals are a much better team than the Browns or Giants.

The Eagles passed their tests with flying colors.

The offense put up 37 points and 397 yards. They ran for 161 and threw for 236. The Eagles started a pair of backup OL, but didn’t allow a sack. The offense didn’t turn the ball over. While they didn’t score in the first quarter, they did score on their first drive. Braden Mann only had to punt once.

The defense gave up a TD on the opening drive and that got everyone wondering if the past two weeks were a mirage. The Bengals converted their first 5 third down opportunities. The defense settled down after that. Cincy finished the game with 17 points and 280 yards. They ran 20 times for just 58 yards. Ja’Marr Chase caught 9 passes, but only had 54 yards. The Eagles had 1 sack, 2 takeaways and a fourth down stop.

The Eagles have now won three games in a row. They won the last two by 20 or more points. The team is starting to show what they are capable of.

There is still plenty of work to be done. The Bengals were 10 for 13 on third downs. Give Burrow a lot of credit for that. He used his feet a few times and made some good throws on others. TE Mike Gesicki went 7-73 and made some impressive catches. The Eagles gave up a 28-yard catch to TE Erick All, who averaged 6.4 ypr coming into the game. Vic Fangio will need to tighten up the TE defense.

There is less to be critical of with the offense. There are some penalties to clean up. Jalen Hurts threw a couple of questionable passes. AJ Brown missed a couple of blocks. Overall, the offense was excellent.

Let’s talk about Hurts for a second. He has now gone three games without turning the ball over. The Eagles are 3-0 in those games. Hurts has completed a key deep ball in each of the games. There was the pass to AJ to clinch the Browns game, the fourth down TD pass last week and a long TD to DeVonta Smith on Sunday.

Hurts is making plays and protecting the ball. That is him at his best.

Saquon Barkley had another good game, going 22-108. I say it every week…that in one special dude.

This game was tied at 17-17. The Eagles dominated after that and Barkley was key. He had his longest runs in the fourth quarter. The Bengals knew he’d be running, but Barkley still moved the ball.

There wasn’t one guy who stood out on defense. They really played well as a unit. Zack Baun led the way with 12 tackles. Brandon Graham and Nakobe Dean combined for a key third down stop. Cooper DeJean had a TFL on a fourth down that led to a FG. CJGJ had his first INT of the year. Baun punched a ball loose and Dean recovered it.

The Eagles covered well. They tackled well. They got pressure on Burrow and kept him from attacking downfield as much as he wanted. This was smart, sound defense.

A win like this doesn’t mean the Eagles are all good and will dominate from here on out. It does show the team is headed in the right direction and can play at a high level. Hurts is starting to figure things out. The defense is coming together. Nick Sirianni seems to be settling into his role and figuring out the right buttons to push. The challenge now is to keep it going and to keep improving.

The Lions are the best team in the NFL. After that, things are pretty open. If the Eagles stay focused, they can be one of the best teams in the league.

*****

The Eagles had never won in Cincinnati before today. They had been 0-4-1 with some bad games. History didn’t mean anything to Hurts and company. They also weren’t worried about the Bengals whiteout.

Cincy had been 4-0 in the white helmets. Not anymore.

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One Comment on “Who Dey”

  1. 1 The Linc - “The best Jalen Hurts has looked in a long, long time” - SportSourcio said at 10:01 AM on October 28th, 2024:

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