Game Review – PHI 25, TB 11
Posted September 29th, 2023 | 3 Comments »Before Monday night, I wrote about the game being a test for the Eagles and Bucs. Was 2-0 Tampa to be taken seriously? Would the Eagles start to look more like the team that dominated the NFC last year? We got our answers.
Tampa is better than expected, but they are not good. They just don’t have the playmakers you need in today’s NFL. Being tough or solid only gets you so far.
We still have yet to get the breakout performance by the Eagles, but we saw flashes of it in Tampa. The Eagles dominated the game. It was more methodical than explosive, but you never had the feeling the Bucs were a real threat to win.
I came away from the game feeling good about the Eagles. Jalen Hurts got better. The coaches had some answers. The defense was really good. This team is trending in the right direction.
COACHING
Nick Sirianni had his team ready to play after a long layoff. You never know when a team will be flat after 10 days off. The Eagles came out ready to go. There weren’t a whole lot of key decisions to be made with the Eagles in control all game long.
Brian Johnson helped the offense put up their highest yardage total of the season (472). They had 277 yards passing after only 325 combined passing yards in the first two games. The coaches focused on getting the ball to AJ Brown and getting their star receiver off and running. Good job on that.
Not everything was great. The team was 1 for 5 in the red zone. Some of that was on the players, but some on the coaches. The play-calling left a little to be desired. I expect the offense to improve as they execute better and as Johnson figures out which plays work in the RZ.
Some people didn’t like the coaches getting away from running D’Andre Swift in the 4th quarter. He’s never been a volume runner. He got 28 carries last week and 16 vs the Bucs. I have no problem with the coaches feeding Kenny Gainwell to close out the game.
Sean Desai did a good job with the defense. They took away Tampa’s running game and limited Mike Evans to 5-60-1, his worst game of the year. I liked the way Desai was creative with his personnel. I also liked him mixing in a lot of guys. Sydney Brown got reps in the slot. Nolan Smith got snaps at Edge. Kentavius Street and Marlon Tuipulotu played. With the Eagles in control, Desai was able to use his bench and did so. No DL or rusher played more than 32 snaps.
OFFENSE
Jalen Hurts had a solid performance, but there were some mistakes as well. He played with flu-like symptoms so you have to keep that in mind. Hurts was 23-37-277, with a TD and an INT. He was 10-28-1 as a runner.
I liked Hurts showing patience in the pocket on some plays. He hit Oz for a gain of 24 and then for a TD of 34 yards on plays where he had to be patient. That’s a good sign for the future. I thought Hurts and Dallas Goedert showed good chemistry, something that had been lacking in the previous games. As odd as this may sound, I thought Hurts throwing motion looked better than the first two games.
His decision-making still needs to improve. There were some plays where he was forcing the ball. Hurts threw an INT on a downfield pass. The DB made a great play, but was in position the whole time. Josh Allen can make that throw. Hurts couldn’t, at least on Monday night. There was miscommunication on a couple of throws. One was picked off. I’m not sure what Hurts thought Swift should do. He was wide open over the middle of the field.
I did not expect a big game from D’Andre Swift. He went 16-130 and looked great again. He didn’t do as much reading as the MIN game. This was more about hitting the hole and using burst to get to the second level. He had runs of 26 and 29 yards. He was also 1-8 as a receiver. Gainwell was the workhorse on the final drive. He finished the game 14-43. Those aren’t big numbers, but he helped the offense eat up the final 9:22 of the game. That’s impressive.
AJ Brown had his first breakout game of the year, going 9-131. It felt like some of that was forced. You could see they really wanted to get him a TD. Brown dropped one pass that would have been a score. He did a great job of running after the catch. That was great to see. DeVonta Smith was only 4-28, but did a great job of running routes. Olamide Zaccheaus had his breakout game, going 2-58-1.
Goedert went 5-41. That was his best game of the year. They aren’t throwing downfield to him. I wonder if they’re saving that for a tougher opponent. Jack Stoll dropped a pass that came his way. He also missed a block on a 4th down run that got stuffed. The backup TE must be better than that.
The OL had another strong performance. Landon Dickerson was outstanding. He had some crushing blocks and opened holes in the run game all night long.
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1706805855696437644
I thought Cam Jurgens played his best game. His athleticism helped him come up big in the run game. Lane Johnson was outstanding, as usual.
#philadelphiaeagles O line against the blitz is simply elite! #gobirds #flyeaglesfly #jasonkelce #jalenhurts #LaneJohnson #nfl pic.twitter.com/Xy5wQ4qYtd
— Weapon X Eagles Media (@WEAPONXMEDIA) September 28, 2023
Sua Opeta took over for Dickerson due to an injury. Opeta was solid.
DEFENSE
Jalen Carter had another outstanding game. He was disruptive all game long. Check out him and Fletcher Cox.
https://twitter.com/EaglesXOs/status/1707108434473034184
Carter is showing dominant ability. He’s able to win with power and athleticism. He also is showing a great motor. I loved one play where he chased Baker Mayfield out of the pocket and forced an errant throw. Great hustle and impressive agility/burst. Just a stud.
Jordan Davis controlled the middle of the line and really shut down the run game. Marlon Tuipulotu played snaps at DT and as the backup NT. He had a sack.
Haason Reddick got moved around, but wasn’t able to get to the QB. I thought maybe they should have just left him at his base spot more in this game. Josh Sweat moved around and had a good game. No QB hits but he was in on 4 tackles and played the run well. Nolan Smith got a big hit on Mayfield.
Mayfield was only sacked twice, but the Eagles got good pressure on him and landed some big shots.
I was impressed by the Eagles LBs. Nick Morrow had 2 TFLs and a safety. Zach Cunningham had 4 tackles. They were good against the run and I thought they did a solid job in pass coverage as well.
https://twitter.com/EaglesXOs/status/1707180065795322189
Reed Blankenship returned from injury and had a terrific game. He led the team with 7 tackles, adding a TFL and an INT. The pick was impressive. He jumped a route over the middle. He can be a difference-maker on the back end.
James Bradberry played in the slot for most of the game. I thought he was solid. Sydney Brown got snaps there as well. He was in on a couple of tackles and looked good. Evans pushed off on one play and got open. Brown recovered and knocked the ball out at the last second. That was impressive.
Josh Jobe and Slay were both solid.
ST
Braden Mann made his debut. He had one punt for 38 yards. There was pressure on him so he had to rush. The punt was downed inside the 20.
Jake Elliott had a perfect night.
The star was Britain Covey. He had returns of 14, 15 and 52 yards. He also added a KOR of 30 yards.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1706452146907177027
Devon Allen made his NFL debut. He returned a KO 17 yards. Allen shouldn’t have brought that out, but he wanted to. He didn’t exactly have a great game in punt coverage.
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