Another week, another comeback. The Eagles trailed by 10 points at halftime and again late in the third quarter. As the Eagles do, they battled back each time and kept the game close. They took their first lead in the fourth quarter. They eventually sent the game to overtime and won it on a walk-off TD.
What a game.
The Eagles struggled mightily in the first half. They had 99 yards of offense and 7 points. They gave up 278 yards and 17 points. A blocked FG helped keep the game as close as 17-7.
I don’t know what adjustments were made at halftime. Whether schematic or simply getting players to settle down, the changes worked. The Eagles scored 30 points in the second half/overtime.
Jalen Hurts showed once again what a special player he is. Hurts overcame a poor first half to lead his team to victory. He made some really impressive plays along the way.
Wow what an unbelievable throw by Jalen Hurts running to his left on third and 15 to Olamide Zaccheaus
That play gave the Eagles the lead. A short-lived lead. Buffalo scored a TD to make it 31-28. The Eagles then had a chance to tie or win. Hurts drove the team across midfield. They got down to the Bills 41-yard line before the drive stalled. Then Jake Elliott nailed a 59-yard FG to tie it up.
The Bills went ahead 34-31 in OT. Hurts got the ball back and drove the Eagles for the winning score.
DeVonta Smith was 7-106-1 and came up big in some key moments.
D’Andre Swift was 14-80 and had some key runs.
Plenty of other guys had clutch moments. Games like this are team wins. Of course, there are also some things to clean up. The Eagles gave up 505 yards. They allowed 13 third down conversions. The Eagles had a pair of turnovers.
There is something special about this team’s resiliency. They battle. They don’t panic if the other team builds a lead. This team just keeps grinding and somehow finds a way to win.
The next two weeks will present major challenges in SF and DAL. But this team isn’t 10-1 by accident. They are good and they are clutch.
The Bills are talented, but erratic. When they dominate, watch out. Those guys make big plays and overwhelm opponents. They also have some bad losses and poor performances.
Buffalo is a desperate team. They are 6-5 and coming off a blowout win, but right now would miss the playoffs as things stand. They are desperate to pile up wins so they can get back to the postseason. We don’t know for sure which Buffalo team will show up, but you better be ready for the good version.
They recently fired their OC so there is only one game to study from the current play-caller. That will make things a bit challenging for Sean Desai, but the key to beating the Bills is containing Josh Allen and limiting Stefon Diggs. Those are tough matchups for the Eagles.
Allen is a dynamic QB. He has the strongest arm in the game so he can put the ball anywhere at any time. DBs have to cover accordingly. He is also an outstanding runner. Running QBs can give the Eagles fits. If the pass rushers get behind him or leave gaps up the middle, Allen can burn them for big gains.
As for Diggs, he can line up in the slot or outside. He has he athleticism and skill to eat up Roby in the slot or Bradberry outside. The Eagles would be smart to put Slay on him as much as possible. They should also mix in double teams.
I do think the Eagles have an advantage with their DL vs the Bills OL, especially on the right side. RG O’Cyrus Torrence is a rookie. He’s big and strong, but still learning. RT Spencer Brown is tall. Rushers can get under his pads and move him backward.
The Eagles should be able to score points against Buffalo. The Bills are missing several key players due to injury. They are vulnerable to the run and with a banged up secondary can be vulnerable to the passing game. The Bills are second in the league in sacks so the Eagles OL will have their hands full. Buffalo has good rushers, but also uses blitzers very effectively.
DT Ed Oliver has 6 sacks and 11 QB hits. He is playing the best football of his career. He’s also good against the run. Leonard Floyd leads the team with 9.5 sacks and 17 QB hits. MLB Terrell Bernard leads the team in tackles and also has 3.5 sacks.
Buffalo traded for CB Rasul Douglas a few weeks back and he’s played well for them. He had a key INT last week. Douglas has great ball skills. You may remember that the way to attack him is with deep throws. Both AJ and DeVonta should go deep against him.
This feels like a game where the Eagles ought to try to run the ball. The run game showed some life last week and could be even better against this defense.
We've activated WR Quez Watkins to the active roster and elevated LB Ben VanSumeren and TE Noah Togiai from the Practice Squad for tomorrow's game. pic.twitter.com/2iaBTlxsss
It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do at WR.
AJ DeVonta Quez Julio Oz Covey
Is there any way they can play all six of them? Oz could sit, but he is a good blocker and does the dirty work better than the others. We’ll see how the Eagles use this group.
I do wonder if playing KC last week will help. Steve Spagnuolo and Sean McDermott both learned defense from Jim Johnson. KC and BUF aren’t twins on defense, but they do have some similarities.
Buffalo has young LBs so the Eagles could try to attack them with RPOs and creative run plays. You want those guys thinking and not attacking.
This will be another tough test for the Eagles. Buffalo makes me nervous, but the Eagles seem to find a way to win every week.