A Win is a Win, Right?

On to Dallas, on to Dallas, on to Dallas, on to Dallas, on to Dallas, on to Dallas,.

Seriously, what else is there? Most of us (myself included) felt this game would be a comfortable Eagles win. It wasn’t, but so what? Philly got the win and avoided serious injuries, which is really what we’re after. The game was only close on the scoreboard, with the Birds holding decisive advantages in yards (421-248), first downs (20-15) and plays (71-58). Hurts had two bad picks in the first half, but one wonders how much the weather (very cold, windy and humid) and the excessive delays at the start to deal with Chicago’s injuries and penalties (seriously, it was 1:30 before we got to five snaps, at least it felt that way) messed with his rhythm. Of course, bad weather is to be expected this time of year, but extremely unusual game flows typically won’t be. Hurts was a little gimpy today, and I’m wondering if he’s nursing a minor injury that didn’t make it to the report. He did get nicked up in the third quarter but didn’t seem too hurt, so as long as that’s the case I don’t look for any of this to be repeated.

While Miles Sanders was largely nonexistent, you can’t help but be impressed with the effort from AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, who combined for 14 catches for 307 yards. We should get Dallas Goedert back for next week; look out.

As was reasonable to expect, Justin Fields’ scrambling gave Philly fits but ultimately didn’t kill them. I do hope to see the tackling get tightened up for next week, but thankfully Dak Prescott isn’t anywhere close to Fields in terms of the threat he presents on the ground.

The Eagles have generally followed up their sloppy performances with something more crisp. I think the pressure that the local media will be applying will help in that regard. I’m reminded of our October escape in Arizona that immediately preceded the Dallas game; remember how that turned out? This forthcoming matchup with the Cowboys will be the biggest regular season game in recent memory; look out for a forthcoming deep dive article on the subject.