Game Review – PHI 23, LAR 14

The Eagles went to Los Angeles and out-gained the Rams by 205 yards. They held the ball for 15 minutes more than the Rams. The Eagles didn’t allow a point in the second half. Somehow this was still a six-point game with 4:30 left.

You have to give the Rams some of the credit for that. They were tough on defense and played bend but don’t break to perfection. Matthew Stafford is a talented veteran QB and led the Rams to 14 points in the first half.

The Eagles deserve some blame. They were sloppy in the red zone on offense. Turn just one of those FGs into a TD and you have a different game. Jalen Hurts threw a bad INT, in scoring territory. The Eagles defense struggled in coverage early on.

The Eagles were in control the entire second half, but the score was close and we’ve all seen plenty of games where the trailing team makes the one big play and steals the game. That is kind of what happened between the Ravens and Steelers on Sunday. The Eagles are a good team and never let the Rams make that play. That’s a sign of a good team.

COACHING

Nick Sirianni had one huge decision to make in this game. The Eagles had the ball at the Rams 1-yard line with just :01 left in the first half. The Eagles trailed 14-10. Kicking the FG would have been the safe move. Sirianni went for the TD. The Eagles used the push play and scored. That put them up 17-14 and changed the game.

LA wanted to force the Eagles to play small-ball on offense. That can frustrate a team, but the Eagles just did it. They moved the ball methodically. Brian Johnson mixed in a few deep plays (gains of 49, 38 and 36 yards), but mainly called a more conservative game. The Eagles had four drives of 10 or more plays.

The red zone remains an issue. The Eagles were 2 for 6 for the game, but the last one was just them running out the clock. 2 for 5 still isn’t good. Part of that is on the players for not executing well. Part is on Johnson for not calling better plays.

Sean Desai didn’t look so smart early on. Cooper Kupp was lighting up the Eagles. He had 5 catches on the opening drive. The Eagles didn’t change all that much, but executed better after that. The pass rush got better as well, especially after halftime. The Eagles ended up holding the Rams to their lowest point and yardage totals of the season. And this was their first game with Kupp and Puka Nacua on the field together.

OFFENSE

Jalen Hurts played his best game of the year. He was 25-38-303, with a TD and an INT. Hurts had his best game as a runner, going 15-72-1. The Eagles were great on third downs, going 13-18 against the #2 third down defense in the league. Hurts was the key to that success. He threw the ball short when he had to. He converted some with his legs. Hurts made good decisions and accurate throws.

Hurts did a great job on his TD throw to Goedert. He looked off the backside safety and came back to DG for the score. Hurts threw a beautiful pass to AJ over the middle late in the half. That went for 38 yards and set up the TD. Hurts got the ball to Swift and Gainwell effectively on short throws. Hurts and Goedert had their best connection of the year. It was good to see them get going.

The INT was a throw into the end zone. Hurts was trying to get the ball to AJ, but the DB undercut the route. Hurts took too much of a chance on that play. He should have been more careful. Getting a FG there would have been a big help. Sirianni got after Hurts for the pick.

D’Andre Swift was 17-70 as a runner. The Rams limited him early, but Swift kept grinding away and had some key runs late. He made sure to go down inbounds as the team worked the clock at the end. Swift was 6-38 as a receiver and had to fight for a couple of first downs. Great effort. This wasn’t his sexiest game, but he did a lot of little things at a high level.

Gainwell was only 7-17 as a runner, but had a key catch and run on a third down. He moved the chains on that play.

AJ Brown had another monster game, going 6-127. His catch before the half was a thing of beauty. He just extends his left hand and snags the ball.

https://twitter.com/EaglesXOs/status/1711199299395043343

Brown’s chunk plays were especially important because they came with the Eagles offense backed up. Those plays flipped the field in a huge way.

DeVonta was just 1-6. He was frustrtated and Sirianni had to talk to him. Quez Watkins was 2-4. He had one of the worst moments of the game. The Eagles threw him a screen on third down. Instead of going up the field, where he had enough room for the first, he went wide and was tackled for no gain. Ugh.

Dallas Goedert had his first huge game of the year. He was 8-117-1.

https://twitter.com/Eaglesfans9/status/1711137885817012294

Goedert caught some short throws, but also had this gain of 49 and another one of 19. It was good to see the Eagles get the ball to him. The Rams have struggled with covering TEs so this was the game for him to come up big.

The OL had another strong game. Hurts was sacked once (and that was on him). The Rams were credited with 2 QB hits. The Eagles ran for 159 yards. None of that happens without the OL controlling the line of scrimmage.

Sua Opeta got the start at RG. I thought he played well. I was especially impressed with his footwork. He looked very natural in pass pro. Opeta pulled and had some nice run blocks. Lane Johnson had a highlight moment that TV analyst Greg Olsen pointed out in the game. Aaron Donald tried to move away from Johnson to get free up the middle. Lane extended his arm and moved with Donald, never letting him get free. Jason Kelce was a key player in shutting down Donald (no big plays). Kelce doubled him to both sides a lot of the game. Really good showing from the whole group.

DEFENSE

Jalen Carter had another big game. He had 4 tackles and 2 sacks. Just watch him in action.

.@Eagles @breadmanjalen Carter is Coming to ruin your party. Every week the skills; talent; the fury shows up #FlyEaglesFly #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/rqTQeEfnK0

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 9, 2023

He is so disruptive. It is hard to quantify that, but you see him making life hell for offenses just about every week.

Jordan Davis only had 1 tackle, but played well. He got push on some pass plays and hustled after the ball on runs and screens. Milton Williams was credited with 2 tackles, but he was disruptive on multiple plays. He blew up one run where someone else got the TFL. He chase Stafford out wide and made him throw the ball away. Williams isn’t filling the stat sheet, but he affects games. Moro Ojomo played some. He didn’t stand out, but looked ok. Kentavius Street played and had one tackle.

Josh Sweat had a fantastic game. He had 3 tackles, 2 QB hits and a FF. He got good pressure on several plays. He forced Stafford to make off-target throws and got a couple of big hits on him. No sacks, but Sweat got good pressure on a regular basis.

Haason Reddick had his most productive game, with 2 sacks and 3 QB hits. The sacks came late in the game and basically sealed the deal. He got pressure on other plays. Brandon Graham played inside and outside. He didn’t make any plays, but got some pressure.

Nick Morrow…almost. He almost had an INT and almost recovered a fumble. Those would have been huge plays. Morrow still played well. He had 5 tackles and a TFL. I thought he looked ok in coverage on some plays. Zach Cunningham was in on 4 tackles and had a QB hit.

Reed Blankenship had a good game. He led the team with 7 total tackles and was solid in coverage. Justin Evans didn’t do anything special, but he was a big upgrade on Terrell Edmunds from last week. Evans had 4 tackles and broke up a pass.

James Bradberry moved back outside and played better. He broke up a pass that Morrow almost picked off. Bradberry did give up a TD to Nacua. JB was in good position, but that was a better throw and catch. Darius Slay had 4 tackles. This wasn’t his strongest coverage game. He’s not built for smaller, quicker receivers.

Mario Goodrich got some slot reps and was up and down. I thought he was better in the 2nd half. He was too passive early on. Eli Ricks played some and I thought he showed good promise. Courtney Roby made his Eagles debut. He should be the slot moving forward. He showed the ability to cover and blitz.

ST

Jake Elliott hit 3 FGs, all short.

Braden Mann had one punt. It was downed at the 9-yard line.

Another game, another 20-yard PR for Britain Covey.

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