Game Review – PHI 26, WAS 18

Posted: November 20th, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

Since we are about a week removed from the game, I’m not going to do a standard review. Still, this is a win worth talking about. The Eagles took on the upstart Commanders and star rookie QB Jayden Daniels and handled business. This game doesn’t diminish the turnaround by Washington. They are a great story. But as we saw last week, they aren’t a great team. The Eagles were clearly better.

PLAYS

Let’s take a look at some of the key plays from the game.

The Eagles led 12-10 when Washington drove to the PHI 25. They faced 2nd & inches. Easy conversion, right? The Eagles stuffed a run, creating 3rd & 2. Jordan Davis blew up that play, which set up the play of the game. 4th & 2. I thought for sure Washington would kick the FG and try to take the lead. That would have put pressure on the Eagles. They would have had plenty of time to go score, but you never know if that pressure would have led to a mistake.

Instead, Dan Quinn decided to be aggressive. WAS had only been stopped once on 4th down prior to that play. Quinn felt good with the ball in Daniels hands. Oops.

Jalen Carter got into the backfield and disrupted the play. Daniels had already bobbled the snap and that threw off the timing of the play. Reed Blankenship flew up the field and took away any cutback lane. Zack Baun got off his block and nailed Daniels to kill the play. That was great team defense, and in a critical situation.

***

Sometimes a great play is more about hustle than talent.

I’ve been very critical of Calcaterra for his poor blocking, but he deserves a ton of credit for making this play. He could have just watched Goedert running down the field. Instead, Calcaterra hustled in pursuit and ended up making a huge play. The Eagles scored a TD three plays later and took control of the game.

***

With the Eagles up 19-10, Reed Blankenship picked off a pass and set up the Eagles offense in position to put the game away. Not all INTs are created equally and this was an impressive pick. It wasn’t a great catch so much as it was a great read and break on the ball. As always, if you want to get smarter, listen to Fran Duffy breaking down plays.

The Eagles were able to make the game 26-10 and basically put it away. WAS scored late to make it interesting, but the INT and ensuing TD gave the Birds an effective cushion and a good win.

***

The Eagles faced 3rd & 6 from their own 40. They trailed 10-3. The game felt uneasy at this point. Then we got this.

Hurts did the smart thing and got the ball to his playmaker. Then Saquon did the rest. His burst and elusivness led to a 43-yard gain and that play set up a FG that made the game 10–6.

***

Cam Jurgens is still more inconsistent than you would prefer, but he does have some great moments. And boy did he have one against WAS.

OL love to get out in space and pound on defenders, just like that. I’m sure Jason Kelce felt like a proud father when he saw that.

***

PLAYERS

Jordan Davis was credited with 3 tackles against the Commanders. Big deal, right? DTs should not be judged by the stat sheet. Davis played well and helped to limit the WAS run game. They were limited to 28-93, with 18 of those yards coming on one run. Davis came up huge on the sequence that resulted in the 4th down stop.

***

Jalen Carter was the defensive star of the game. He had 7 tackles and a TFL. Carter was disruptive all game long.

When Carter plays at a high level, the Eagles defense is really hard to deal with.

***

Saquon Barkley continues to show us just how special he is.

  • 43-yard catch and run
  • 39-yard TD run
  • 23-yard TD run

Barkley made that play look easier than it was. That what special players do. His big plays led to 17 points. Barkley is a game-changer. Thank you Giants.

***

Terry McLaurin went 13-149-1 last year in two games against Philly. He was 1-10 last Thursday and had to move around to get that catch. Quinyon Mitchell shut him down.

I’m starting to think Mitchell deserves the Defensive Rookie of the Year talk that he’s been getting.

***

Zack Baun gets most of the attention and deservedly so, but Nakobe Dean is playing well this year. He can be up and down in space so it was impressive to see him make this tackle of Daniels.

Dean finished with 10 tackles and a PD.

***

We have to mention Jake Elliott. He missed 2 FGs and an extra point. Ugh. Elliott is arguably the best kicker in Eagles history, but he had a bad showing last week. Thankfully the Eagles were able to overcome it and win the game.

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One Comment on “Game Review – PHI 26, WAS 18”

  1. 1 The Linc - Madden adds Saquon Barkley’s reverse hurdle to the game - SportSourcio said at 2:02 PM on November 21st, 2024:

    […] Game Review – PHI 26, WAS 18 – Iggles Blitz […]