Posted September 22nd, 2024 | Comments Off on Game Review – ATL 22, PHI 21
The Eagles lost on Monday night. Some might say the Falcons won, but no. The Eagles lost that game. They made blunders throughout the game that kept the Falcons close. And then the Eagles defense put up virtually no resistance as the Falcons flew down the field for the winning TD.
Embarrassing.
I’m behind schedule again this week so I’m not going to do a normal review. I want to cover some key areas that stood out to me when I re-watched the game.
JALEN HURTS
It kills me that Hurts threw the INT to close the game because he played so well prior to that. He threw for 183 yards and a TD. He ran for 85 yards and a TD. He played smart. He was clutch. He ran the ball better in this game than in a long while. Hurts didn’t struggle without his buddy and key target, AJ Brown. Hurts bailed to the right too much in the opener. He seemed concious of that in this game and didn’t do it nearly as much. I liked the way he spread the ball around.
I thought he made a mistake on the first trip to the red zone. Hurts scrambled left on third down. He had a shot to run for the first or get very close. Instead he threw a low percentage pass that was incomplete. He should have run.
The huge mistake was forcing the ball at the end. The Eagles were 15 to 20 yards from FG range. They had a timeout. Just throw the ball away. There are times when you have to play desperate. That wasn’t one of them. Be smart. He was reckless and it ended the game.
SOFT
The Falcons were the more physical team. Watching Dallas Goedert try to block? Pitiful. Watching Darius Slay try to tackle? Pitiful. The DL got stuck on blocks over and over. I did not like the vibe I got from the Eagles at all. They were a soft, entitled team last year. I do not want to go through that again. This team better find an edge and in a hurry.
ROLE PLAYERS
Britain Covey caught a career-high 6 passes. He didn’t pile up many yards, but proved to be a valuable checkdown option.
Thomas Booker only played a handful of snaps, but made his presence felt when he was in the game. He deserves more snaps.
Nolan Smith played the run well.
FLAWED BUT GOOD
The Eagles struggled on defense in a big way. The offense was a bit erratic. The team had 9 penalties. And yet they took control of the game in the fourth quarter. The Eagles should have won this game. If Saquon Barkley catches that third down pass, game over. Eagles win.
This is a talented roster. The team isn’t playing good, clean football right now, but they’re talented enough that they should be 2-0. Instead they are only 1-1.
HERO BALL
Sometimes talented players can try to do too much. Slay gave up the winning TD because it looked like he was watching the QB and hoping to try to make a play. Quinyon Mitchell got sloppy in coverage a few times. There were several plays where defenders overran the ball. There were plays when guys shot gaps and left an area unprotected. Blockers sometimes were too aggressive and missed their targets.
Nick Sirianni needs his players to just do their jobs. Quit going for the big play or highlight moment. Don’t force that stuff.
MISSED CHANCES
The Eagles did have chances to make plays. Quinyon had a shot at an INT and just couldn’t come up with the ball. There was a fumble on the ground and Zack Baun couldn’t get to it fast enough. Barkley could have sealed the game with his catch. Jalen Carter missed a chance for a sack. The Eagles need to make plays when those opportunities are there.
PHILLY PUSH
The Eagles did a good job of using and executing the Brotherly Shove in this game. This is a good play when used correctly. Calling it on the slick field in Brazil was a mistake. Running it in Philly was very different. It also helped that the offense had time to get used to each other.
MISC
I’m skipping the coaching decisions and play-calling stuff since that has already been discussed a ton.
If Saquon Barkley catches that pass, the Eagles are 2-0. Since he dropped the pass and the Eagles lost, the focus seems to be on the result of the game more than anything. What if the Eagles run the ball on third down? What if Nick Sirianni goes for it on fourth down? Would the Eagles still have lost? Should the Eagles have kicked the FG earlier in the game?
Even if the Eagles had won, this team has real issues. To me, thinking about the issues is far more important than losing to Atlanta.
We all agree that the run defense was terrible. The thing that jumped out to me was yards before contact. RBs were getting untouched to the second level over and over. That has to change. The DL are not winning enough battles up front. Bryce Huff struggled to set the edge. He was especially bad in the second half. The DTs are not controlling the middle with any regularity.
That is beautiful to OL fans, but a nightmare for Eagles coaches to watch. Yikes.
The poor run defense would be easier to swallow if the DL was doing a great job of rushing the passer. The Eagles were credited with 2 QB hits on Monday. That sounds about right. The Eagles pass rush couldn’t even get close on the final drive. Forget sacks, I’m just talking about getting some pressure on Kirk Cousins. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Atlanta used chip blocks very effectively. The Eagles have to be able to combat that. Use stunts. Rush three and drop eight. Run a zone blitz.
Of course the DL wouldn’t be so problematic if the DBs could cover tightly. Quinyon Mitchell had some breakdowns on the final drive. Darius Slay got burned on the final play. It feels like the guys are trying to play hero ball. I hate to do this, but they need to go back to the old mantra used by so many coaches.
Do your job.
Don’t try to be the hero. Cover your guy. Cover your zone. Keep the play in front of you and tackle the ball. No rush and wide open receivers meant the final drive was easy. Think about that. The game winning drive was easy. That should make Lurie, Howie and Sirianni sick to their stomachs. Vic Fangio should be chugging Pepto Bismol by the gallon.
There is no shame in losing. We see wild plays and wild drives happen all the time. That looked like 7-on-7. You simply cannot have that with the game on the line. That is embarrassing.
Let’s move on from that drive and talk about the defense in the rest of the game. The Eagles got an early third down stop, but only because Atlanta’s RB dropped the pass. There was the play where Ray Ray McCloud was running wide open behind the defense. The Eagles got lucky Cousins didn’t see him. The Eagles did give up a 41-yard TD after giving up a 70-yarder in the opener. No bueno.
The defense is 31st in DVOA. They are #1 in making me punch my desk. I knew there would be some ups and downs with so many new faces and new coaches. I just didn’t expect them to struggle so much across the board.
They are Top 5 in both red zone defense and third down defense. Fangio can build on that, but he’s got Grand Canyon sized holes to fix.
The offense has 5 plays of 20 or more yards, which is middle of the pack. That would be fine if the offense wasn’t loaded with talented playmakers. The Eagles are 16th in red zone offense. They are moving the ball between the 20’s, but aren’t scoring enough TDs.
Jalen Hurts threw a pair of critical INTs in the opener. That got us all very nervous. Hurts then mostly played a terrific game against the Falcons. That had everyone feeling okay even after the late TD. The Eagles had time and timeouts. They could go steal the game back. Hurts threw to Dallas Goedert for 13 yards and the Eagles were suddenly one to two plays from being in FG range. They called a timeout.
Hurts has to know at that point there is no reason to be greedy. Hurts still had time to work the middle. Heck, he could have even run if he needed to. The Eagles still had a timeout. Hurts dropped back, got some pressure and forced a throw into coverage. Just throw the ball away. It is first down!!!
Hurts decision-making is starting to be a real issue in some key situations. Last week he gave GB 3 points with an INT and cost the Eagles at least 3 points with an INT. This time out he ended the game. All of those plays were avoidable.
Some people are getting all gloom and doom on this team. I certainly get where they are coming from. There are some really troubling signs after the first couple of weeks.
I also know that football teams are constantly evolving. They are not finished products in September. The Texans started 0-2 a year ago, but were loved by everyone by the end of the year. The Chiefs scored 37 total points in the first two weeks. They did okay when it mattered.
A huge key for both of those organizations is that they played good team football as the season went along. Right now the Eagles feel like a collection of individuals more than a team. DBs don’t always work well together. Receivers don’t seem sure what to do when Hurts scrambles. Rushers look confused when trying to execute stunts. OL look confused when trying to block stunts. Blitzes are not well executed.
There were three penalties for an OL being downfield. Are players not listening? Did Jeff Stoutland forget how to coach? It feels like even OL might be trying to do too much. Just settle down and do your job.
Play hard.
Play smart.
Play tough.
I think that is the message the coaches need to be preaching. The last thing they want is this group coming out on Sunday and trying to make big plays happen. That stuff has to come within the flow of the game. They have to be organic.
Sirianni better find the right message in a hurry and get his players to buy into it.