Eagles Escape

It had to come to an end. Not the Eagles winning streak. They did beat the Panthers on Sunday, 22-16. I’m talking about all of the good vibes that were around the team for the past three or so week. The win over Carolina was a real struggle, with much of that self-inflicted. The Eagles looked like a Super Bowl contender last week. They were a sloppy football team on Sunday and that has created a lot of angst with Philly fans and media.

The Eagles were big favorites so seeing this game come down to the final minute was disappointing. The Eagles felt like they might pull away a couple of times, but just couldn’t create the separation they wanted. A lot of that is due to erratic play from the Eagles in all three phases of the game. We do also have to give credit to Carolina. QB Bryce Young is showing everyone why he was the top overall pick last year. He gave the Eagles fits with his mobility. RB Chuba Hubbard ran hard and was tough to tackle over and over. WR Adam Thielen did a great job of making plays on third and fourth down.

If you look at the game from a simplistic standpoint, it wasn’t that bad.

• The Eagles ran for 209 yards.
• Saquon Barkley ran for 124 yards.
• Jalen Hurts threw 2 TD passes.
• The Eagles didn’t turn the ball over.
• The offense was 3 for 3 in the red zone.
• The defense only gave up 16 points.

Nick Sirianni would have loved those results if told about them before the game. The problem is that despite all that went right, the game still came down to the final minute.

Carolina was able to sustain long drives. This reminded me a bit of some of the Washington games in recent years. If you are willing to play smallball, you can have success against this defense. The key is being patient and converting on third downs. The Panthers were very patient and went 7 of 16 on third downs. They had drives that lasted 10, 12, 13 and 14 plays. They only had one 3 & out. That kept pressure on the Eagles defense.

It also limited the Eagles offense. They only ran 56 plays. That’s not enough for a team this talented. They want to be in the 65 to 70 play range.

Let’s talk about the sloppy play. The Eagles had 8 QB hits, but only one sack. They could not get Bryce Young down. It was incredibly frustrating to the rush win initially and then lose Young. Milton Williams jumped offside on 3rd & 13. The Panthers got enough on third down that they went for it on fourth and converted. Jake Elliott missed a FG that would have given the Eagles a 17-10 lead and a feeling of momentum.

Jalen Hurts struggled. He was 14-21-108. There were numerous times when a receiver appeared to be open and Hurts hesitated to make the throw. That led to sacks, throwaways and wasted plays. There was an early third down run play where Hurts appeared to have room straight ahead. He went wide and was tackled for a loss. That killed the drive. Hurts took a bad sack on the Eagles final drive. They managed to overcome that. He then failed to get a play off in time and that drew a flag. The Eagles didn’t convert on the ensuing 3rd & 13. That led to a punt.

You expect a better performance from a talented QB making his 64th career start. All players have an off day. He’s a human being. It was just incredibly frustrating because so much of it felt mental. Hurts seemed to make things far more difficult than they should have been.

Let’s be sure to give Hurts some credit. He made some key plays that helped the team to win. Hurts moved out of the pocket and hit DeVonta Smith for a gain of 27 on third down. That drive ended in a Hurts TD run. Hurts had a 15-yard scramble late in the half that set up his first TD pass. He had a 35-yard scramble on 3rd & 10 that set up the team’s final TD.

The passing game must get better, in terms of design and execution. Throwing for 108 yards in this game is inexcusable. Hurts had a healthy OL and plenty of weapons. He must execute better. He started slow, as usual, but never got into a groove like he normally does.

The Eagles are 11-2. They have secured a playoff spot. It is fine to be frustrated with the game, but also remember that they did win. Eagles history is littered with games like this that the Eagles lost. This team did enough to win. Darius Slay struggled for much of the game. He broke up the fourth down pass at the end of the game. That was clutch.

I’ve heard more than a few people point out that Carolina dropped the “winning TD pass”. Yes and no. Xavier Legette did drop it, but the Eagles had all 3 timeouts and 52 seconds left on the clock. They would have had a chance to go kick the winning FG. Fortunately that scenario didn’t play out. Carolina couldn’t get the job done. The Eagles did.

Learn from this and play better next week.

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Game Preview – CAR at PHI

The Eagles are substantially more talented than the Panthers. If you combined the rosters, I don’t think one Carolina player would get a starting job. That’s a big advantage for the Eagles. But the Chiefs and Panthers also had more talented teams when they played Carolina over the past two weeks. Both of those games went down to the wire. The Panthers lost them, but easily could have won both games.

Carolina’s record is 3-9, but they are vastly improved from the team that struggled to even be competitive earlier this year. They lost five games by 18 points or more. This team is playing much better football at this point in the season. They are having fun and playing with confidence. They still need a lot of talent, but this organization finally feels like it is heading in the right direction.

QB Bryce Young is a key reason for the change. The former #1 overall pick was benched earlier in the year. He’s back to being the starter and is finally starting to show signs of why he was taken so highly. Young is more aggressive and confident than ever before in his NFL career. He throws well on the move and shows some playmaking ability. He’s willing to put the ball in tight windows and take some chances. There are still issues for him to work on, but it is good to see him making strides.

I’m telling you…no 2nd year QB is playing better right now than Bryce Young.

Truly remarkable turnaround…happy for the guy! pic.twitter.com/HIPPjn7FWZ

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) December 2, 2024

Carolina runs the ball well with Chuba Hubbard (4.9 ypc). They don’t have great weapons in the passing game. TE Tommy Tremble played well last week and Adam Thielen is a proven WR. Young needs more guys who can make plays for him.

Reed Blankenship is out and Tristin McCollum will replace him. Carolina could try to test McCollum. The Eagles pass coverage is good enough that I don’t think this will be a big issue.

While Carolina did battle KC and Tampa, the Eagles are a different story. They have the most dominant line play in the league. Neither Tampa or KC is close. The Panthers will struggle to block the Eagles DL and will struggle so beat the Eagles OL. Big advantage for the guys in green.

The Panthers have the worst run defense in the league so I would expect the Eagles to run a lot. If Carolina decides to load the box and take their chances, the Eagles can throw on them. Opposing QBs have a rating of 102.5 against the Panthers. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles attack them. Do they keep it simple or try to work on the passing game?

Dallas Goedert was put on IR so Grant Calcaterra will take over as the key TE. CJ Uzomah and EJ Jenkins will add depth. The Eagles will have FB Khari Blasingame for this game so they can run from 2-back sets if they want. Saquon Barkley could have a big day if the Eagles feed him the ball.

Jadeveon Clowney is out this week. He leads Carolina in sacks so having him out will hurt. DT A’Shawn Robinson is the best interior player on the defense. Safety Xavier Woods leads the team in INTs and tackles. CB Jaycee Horn is a talented young player. He leads the team with 12 PDs. There are some pieces to build around, but this defense is last in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed. They need help.

The Eagles are clearly the better team and they have more to play for. This is a game they should win and it shouldn’t be all that close. But the NFL can be funny. You never know when a bad team will play well and a good team will have an off-day.

Nick Sirianni has done a great job of having the Eagles ready every week. The message this time around is a need for “relentless effort”. If the Eagles play like that, they will win this game and get closer to securing a playoff spot.

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