Game Review – LAC 22, PHI 19 in OT

The Eagles made me want to believe. Saquon Barkley ripped off a long run to give the team the lead in the fourth quarter. The defense was playing great and all they had to do was stop a QB who was playing with a broken hand. Before I could fully commit, they let the Chargers tie the score and send the game to overtime.

I felt bad going into OT, but then Jalen Hurts led the team down into the red zone. They could tie with a FG or win with a TD. I wanted to believe, again. Before I could buy in, Hurts threw an INT to seal the loss. Ugh.

There were some positive signs on Monday night, but they were overshadowed by key mistakes that led to the loss. The Eagles usually do a great job of protecting the ball. They turned it over 5 times, including twice on one play. That’s not the kind of history you want to make. There was a missed FG that proved costly. There were a handful of dropped passes. There were some missed assignments on defense that led to key plays. The Eagles simply aren’t good enough to make that many mistakes and beat a good team.

This one stings because it felt so winnable.

COACHING

Nick Sirianni had a mixed night. The defense and STs played with the kind of urgency you need in December. They flew to the football. They played with good energy and emotion. The offense felt a bit different, but the execution wasn’t good. Sirianni always says mistakes start with him so…bad job Nick.

Strategically I thought he was mostly good. The situation before halftime was the big exception. The Eagles were in FG range, but had 10 seconds and a timeout. You either throw deep or work the middle to pick up extra yards and make the kick easier. Hurts threw wildly out of bounds, gaining nothing. Jake Elliott then missed a 48-yd FG. That could have completely changed the game.

Kevin Patullo and the offensive staff did mix some things up. They did a better job of working the middle of the field. There was a great fake out of the Tush Push that resulted in a long TD. It is hard to judge how good the changes were because the Eagles were so sloppy and the Chargers defense is outstanding. The offense went 0 for 2 in the red zone and that really hurt.

Vic Fangio’s defense played really well. LA had almost half of their yards on five plays. They struggled to move the ball with any consistency, despite having good field position. Not a single drive started inside the red zone. Fangio was able to get his defense to cover and rush. The Eagles gave up 169 rushing yards, but 66 of them were by QB Justin Herbert.

Michael Clay had his STs units ready to play. It was a good game by them, aside from the missed FG.

OFFENSE

Jalen Hurts played his worst game of the season. He was 21-40-240 with 4 INTs and a lost fumble. He had another pass that was almost picked off. He never looked comfortable in the pocket and wasn’t seeing the field well. Troy Aikman pointed out a lot of missed reads, especially on checkdowns. Hurts tended to throw the ball away.

The highlight moment came when he hit DeVonta on 3rd & 16. That pass was on time and on target. Big gain to ignite the final drive of the night. He threw a beautiful ball to AJ late in the game that should have been a TD, but Brown couldn’t make the grab. If he makes that catch, we talk about Hurts ability to overcome mistakes and win a tough game. Instead we rip him for a bad game.

I didn’t like his decision on the final play. Give the defense credit. The DBs were great on that. I just think Hurts had to be more protective since the Eagles were in the red zone and it was only first down. That’s a situation where you want to be careful. Hurts was more aggressive in the game. That can be a good thing when you’re facing a tough D. You have to take some chances. Still, Hurts made some terrible decisions. He was picked off by a DL who dropped back on a zone blitz. That’s not good. Jalen’s performance was hurt by a handful of drops. One drop by AJ turned into an INT.

Saquon Barkley finished 20-122-1. His highlight was a 52-yard run on a fake off the Tush Push. Great call and execution. Barkley exploded upfield and no one was going to catch him. He had a gain of 19 yards on a run to the left. He had several other carries that went for 8 or more yards. That’s encouraging. The offense seems to come alive when they see Barkley in space. Tank Bigsby was 1-4.

AJ Brown had a weird night. He caught 6 passes for 100 yards and made some key plays. He also had 3 drops. 2 of those were deep balls that would have been key plays. The other drop was picked off. I thought Brown stunk as a blocker. His results were back, but also the effort. That bugged me. Get out there and bust your ass to help your teammates in a big game against a good defense.

DeVonta went 4-37. His 28-yard catch and run in OT gave us all hope. That was such a good moment. He also had a drop that hurt. It was a quick screen late in the game. I don’t think Smitty would have gotten the 1st, but he did have a bit of room. It also stopped the clock. Jahan Dotson was 1-3. He was wide open for a TD on a play where Hurts forced the ball into traffic. Great route to get wide open. Darius Cooper was 1-19.

Dallas Goedert had a good game. He finished 8-78 and made some key catches. DG worked the middle of the field well and added some RAC yards on a few grabs. Grant Calcaterra was present.

The OL had another mixed performance. They were solid in pass pro, but once again struggled with run blocking. The most frustrating thing was watching them look so confused. At their best, 5 OL work as one. That wasn’t the case on Monday night. Jeff Stoutland is a great coach, but you wouldn’t know it by watching this bunch.

Jordan Mailata wiped out a TD pass with a holding call. He got away with a grab on Saquon’s long TD. Cam Jurgens had an awful block on a goal line run. He doubled the DT for half a second and then went after a LB. That DT got free and stuffed the run. Tyler Steen was called for holding. Fred Johnson played too high and really struggled in the run game. Landon Dickerson had a few good moments, but then got hurt and struggled after that.

It is shocking to watch this group play so poorly each week.

DEFENSE

Jalen Carter was out with an injury and the front still dominated. That’s good for the Eagles and bad for the Chargers. Their OL is a total mess. Byron Young got a lot of the extra snaps and took advantage of the opportunity. He had 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a TFL and a FR. That’s a damn good game. BY always plays hard. He got off blocks and hustled to the ball. Good for him.

Jordan Davis had a strong game. He finished with 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2 TFLs. He was stout against the run. He shed blocks and got to the ball. It was impressive to see him so disruptive as a pass rusher. He leads the team with 7 TFLs and is tied for the lead with 4.5 sacks. I was disappointed in Moro Ojomo while watching live, but he was better on review. Ojomo only had 1 tackle. The stat sheet can be misleading. He wasn’t credite with any QB hits, but clearly had a couple of good ones. He got penetration several times and affected Herbert. Ty Robinson didn’t play much because the other DL were so good.

Jalyx Hunt had a big night. He had 2.5 sacks, 8 tackles, a TFL and a FF. I thought he was mostly good against the run, but did get out of position a few times. Jaelan Phillips had 6 tackles, a TFL and a PD. That led to an INT. Phillips had a disruptive night and got good pressure. Other guys just finished off the plays. BG played DT and on the edge. Nolan Smith had 6 tackles and a QB hit. He just missed a sack. I thought Smith did a good job against the run. Such a physical player.

Nakobe Dean mostly played well, finishing with 7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL and a FF. He should have had another sack when he came unblocked up the middle, but just couldn’t get control of Herbert. Dean blew a coverage on the initial third down and that turned into a 60-yard gain. He had the RB and for some reason drifted the other direction instead of focusing on Vidal. Zack Baun had 8 tackles and 0.5 sacks. He showed terrific range on multiple plays. Baun was the guy who ran down Vidal from behind and got him out of bounds on the long gainer. Jihaad Campbell got mixed in and had a couple of tackles.

Marcus Epps made his first start of the season and played well. He was in on 3 tackles. Epps was good in coverage and then came down aggressively when needed. He flew up the field to make a good run stop short of the chains. Laid a good shot on the runner. That’s exactly what Fangio wants out of his safeties. Reed Blankenship had a strong night as well. He had 8 tackles and a TFL. He covered well and helped shut down the Chargers passing game.

Adoree Jackson is showing he should be CB2. He picked off a pass, his first INT of the season. Jackson broke up a couple of passes and had 5 solo tackles. Beyond the numbers, he was aggressive and tackled well. He played with confidence and got to the ball in a hurry. This is the version the coaches have wanted to see all season. Quinyon Mitchell didn’t have many passes come his way. He had 2 tackles. He did get called for PI on the final drive of regulation. Legit call.

Cooper DeJean had another terrific game. He had 2 tackles and 2 PDs. Both of those came on downfield passes. Coop was in perfect position and knocked the balls away. He blitzed a time or two. He was active as a run defender even though he didn’t have many tackles.

ST

Jake Elliott missed a 48-yd FG right before the half. Just pulled the ball. That hurt.

Cam Latu and Kylen Granson both made good tackles in kick coverage.

Braden Mann averaged 51.7 on 3 punts, but none were inside the 20 and one was a touchback.

Moro Ojomo had a terrible penalty for pushing off on a FG block situation. It was blatant and did him no good. Didn’t come close to blocking the kick. I have no idea why he did it. Was like he was helping the league make a video of what you cannot do. So dumb. Didn’t end up hurting the team, but it is beyond frustrating for a smart, veteran player to do something so stupid.

Britain Covey averaged 18 yards on his 3 punt returns. He and Will Shipley were solid on KORs as well.

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