Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Game Review – PHI 21, KC 17

Posted November 26th, 2023 | Comments Off on Game Review – PHI 21, KC 17

The rematch of Super Bowl LVII had the same two teams of course, but the game was very different. The winning team in the SB scored 38 points. The two teams combined for 38 points on Monday night. There were still great QBs and smart coaches, but both defenses played worlds better than last February.

This was a hard-fought, tough, competitive game. I know that is Cliche City, but sometimes that’s just true. Both teams made plays. Both made mistakes. The Eagles were just a bit better.

The Eagles aren’t blowing people away, but they are showing they can beat good teams, even on the road. This game was in KC and the Chiefs were coming off a bye. Andy Reid is normally outstanding coming off byes. Don’t underestimate what an impressive win this was.

The Eagles didn’t have their A-game, but they did find a way to win. That can serve them well in the postseason. Any team can win when it is working at peak efficiency. The Eagles are showing they can win in different ways. They have a toughness about them. Down 17-7 at the half, there was no panic.

The coaches made good adjustments and the players executed well. The Eagles won the second half 14-0. The Chiefs offense has struggled in recent second halves, but shutting them out coming off a bye is big. Reid and his coaches had time to study the issues and find answers. They weren’t able to do that. Dropped passes certainly hurt them, but that’s been a problem all year.

The Eagles are now 2-0 in the schedule gauntlet. Those are key wins that have enabled them to keep the best record in the league at 9-1.

COACHING

Sirianni preached togetherness to his team all week. That message didn’t do much in the first half, but maybe it helped keep the team together when they were down 10. There weren’t a lot of strategic decisions in this one. The Eagles never went for it on 4th down. They didn’t challenge any calls. There was a questionable spot early in the game. It sure looked short by half a yard, but spot challenges are tough to overturn so I don’t fault Sirianni for not challenging.

Brian Johnson had an up and down game. The offense only produced 78 yards in the first half. KC had sacks and got the best of the Eagles offense. Johnson made some good adjustments and the offense was worlds different in the second half. They gained 160 yards and scored 14 points. Hurts wasn’t sacked.

Johnson had some good play-calls. There was a handoff to Swift on an end around that went for a good gain. The Eagles used middle screens to Swift effectively. There was a great pass play to DeVonta on a crucial third down.

On another play, Johnson had DeVonta line up in the backfield and then catch a short pass for a good gain. There was a Hurts run for a TD that took advantage of a blitz by the Chiefs.

Sean Desai did some good things. I was surprised to see KC run for 168 yards. A good part of that was the Eagles not setting the edge. Multiple players jumped inside and left the edge wide open for good gains. That did get cleaned up a bit at halftime. Desai used Reddick as a spy on Mahomes a few times. The Eagles did benefit from dropped passes. Desai did some creative things to slow down Travis Kelce. He did catch 7 passes, but only had 44 yards.

OFFENSE

Jalen Hurts got off to a slow start. He dropped his eyes and didn’t handle pressure well early on. Hurts played much better after halftime. He finished 14-22-150 with an INT. He was 12-29-2 as a runner. Hurts called an audible and then threw a terrific pass to DeVonta to set up the go-ahead points. Great play by Hurts.

 

Hurts INT came on a play where AJ was supposed to run a certain route, but adjusted because he got behind the CB. KC got pressure on Hurts and he didn’t see AJ raise his arm to signal for a deep ball.

D’Andre Swift had a good game. He was 12–76-1 on the ground and 3-31 as a receiver. Swift had runs of 17 and 35 yards. He had a 20-yard catch. It was good to see him get out in space and deliver some chunk gains.

DeVonta was 6-99 and delivered several key plays. He came up big in a tough game. AJ was just 1-8. The Chiefs covered him aggressively. There were chances for a couple of other receptions, but he and Hurts were a bit off.

Jack Stoll was the primary TE, but only played 31 snaps. He was solid as a blocker. Caught 1 pass for 3 yards. The coaches need to find a way to get a bit more out of the TE position.

The OL was up and down. They struggled to block DT Chris Jones no matter where he lined up. The OL didn’t communicate well in the first half, but they did fix that at halftime.

Kelce had terrific blocks on multiple runs. His ability to pull and block on the move remains special. He did struggle with Jones at times.

It was good to have Cam Jurgens back at RG. He did some good things in the run game. Jones got the better of him on some pass plays.

DEFENSE

Haason Reddick played well. He had a sack and a TFL, as well as multiple pressures. He drew a pair of holding calls. Reddick lost contain on the 24-yard run by Pacheco. He has to stay wide and not jump inside. Reddick was spy on some sets and did a good job.

Josh Sweat didn’t have a sack, but did have 3 QB hits. He just missed a sack late, but did get an intentional grounding call. Reddick got pressure from the other side and that gave Sweat a good angle to Mahomes. Sweat lost contain on a couple of outside runs. He also had an offside call that turned 3rd &7 into a much easier play.

Milton Williams probably played his best game of the year. He had 5 tackles and a TFL. He was disruptive. Jalen Carter was in on 3 tackles. He was disruptive throughout the game. He almost made an insane play when he dove for the ball as Mahomes spiked it. That would have been the greatest INT of all time. Fletcher Cox was only credited with a tackle, but he had multiple pressures and chased Mahomes out wide on multiple plays. I thought he was good.

Zach Cunningham played well. He was in on 7 tackles and had a PD. Cunningham had some good coverage plays. Nick Morrow was in on 5 tackles and recovered a fumble. His run defense was sloppy at times.

Kevin Byard played his best game of the year. He led the team with 8 solo tackles. He had his first INT of the year and had 2 PDs. He might have been responsible for a wide open TD pass. It looked like his mistake. Byard covered Kelce a decent amount a did a good job.

Reed Blankenship had 7 tackles and was good in coverage.

Bradley Roby came back from injury to man the nickel spot. He played his best game of the year. He had 5 tackles and a forced fumble. He punched the ball away from Kelce in the red zone. MVS got open behind him late in the game for what could have been a TD, but it was dropped.

Darius Slay was credited with 4 tackles and 2 PDs. He did have a PI call that erased 2nd & 14. He also missed a tackle. James Bradberry didn’t make any plays.

ST

Britain Covey had a good game, averaging 17.7 yards on 3 punt returns.

Braden Mann had to punt 7 times and averaged 47.7 per kick.

The Eagles struggled to tackle Kadarius Toney on multiple punts. Josh Jobe did make a great coverage play late in the game when he tackled Toney at the 8-yard line.

_

Lucky vs Good

Posted November 22nd, 2023 | 5 Comments »

The Eagles have the best record in the NFL at 9-1. Plenty of analysts consider the Eagles the best team in the league. There are some who have questions, which I think is fair. Plenty of opposing fans see the Eagles as overrated. Great record? Yes, but some lucky wins in there.

Nick Sirianni’s team knows how to win. No one can question that. What we haven’t seen from them is their A-game. The Eagles haven’t come out and blown the doords off another team for a full 60 minutes. They have had dominant stretches, but nothing matches what we’ve seen from Dallas or SF or Miami or Buffalo at their best. They have been dominant with a capital D. At times.

Those teams also have at least three losses. When they aren’t clicking on all cylinders, they become vulnerable. That’s where the Eagles are different. They find a way to win. Sometimes it is the running game. Sometimes it is Jalen Hurts and the passing game. Sometimes the defense steals the show.

The Eagles don’t panic when they fall behind. They trailed Washington by double-digits in both games, but also won both. The Eagles trailed by 10 on Monday night and came back to win. They just lock in and keep grinding. It isn’t always pretty, but aside from a miserable afternoon in New Jersey, they win.

People wanting an extreme point of comparison have brought up last year’s Vikings. They went 13-4, winning a lot of games in odd fashion. The Vikings got to the playoffs and got handled by Daniel Jones and the Giants. They had a negative point differential for the season. DVOA had them ranked as one of the worst teams in the league despite their record.

The Eagles have a point differential of +61 this year. DVOA doesn’t love the Birds. They’re only 10th. I think the lack of blowout wins affects that. But the Eagles do have some quality wins. They beat:

7-3 KC
7-3 DAL
7-3 MIA
6-5 MIN

And the upcoming schedule (BUF, SF, DAL, SEA) leaves more opportunities for big wins.

The Eagles are a good team. Anyone questioning that is an irrational fan or maybe Skip Bayless (or is he also an irrational fan?). The gauntlet will give us an idea just how good. Then there is the postseason, where you get a chance to erase any doubts and secure your place in history.

I do think the Eagles ability to win games in different ways can serve them well in the postseason. Think about the Super Bowl team beating Atlanta in a tough, defensive game on a cold night. Then think about those same Eagles beating the Patriots in a shootout in a dome.

*****

Some people might point out the Eagles as being lucky for winning last night when Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a potential game-winning pass. You can make that argument. But you can also point out that the Eagles took the lead after DeVonta Smith caught a 41-yard pass to set up a TD.

https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1726811315891470708

Both teams had a chance to make a big play and win. The Eagles did that, KC didn’t. Is that luck or is that talent? DeVonta would immediately be the best WR on the Chiefs. They traded Tyreek Hill last year and have been trying to find someone to emerge. That hasn’t happened.

Howie Roseman has a star QB in Jalen Hurts. He’s done a great job of surrounding Hurts with talented playmakers. Even a historically good QB like Patrick Mahomes needs guys who can make plays.

*****

One big difference from last year to this year is upgrading from Jonathan Gannon to Sean Desai.

That shows the ability to adjust during games. There were times when Gannon seemed to struggled adjusting within a season.

The defense is still a work in progress thanks to all the changes in the secondary, but we’ve seen real progress from this team. This group has a chance to play well down the stretch. The front is dominant at times and the secondary has potential if they can just stay healthy.

*****

The Colts cut LB Shaq Leonard.

He was a big time playmaker from 2018-2021. He got injured last year and only played in three games. Leonard has started nine games this year, but hasn’t been the same level of player.

I doubt the Eagles claim him with that salary, but they could talk to him if he goes unclaimed. Interesting player.

_