I'm not going to dwell on this loss, especially on Christmas Eve. The truth is just that we really shouldn't feel too badly about this defeat. Without spending too much time on this, here are a few reasons why:
The game itself was a statistical dead heat (25-25 first downs, 442-419 yardage, 69-72 total plays, 28-32 TOP). That doesn't prove that Philly deserved to win by any stretch, but it isn't that the Birds got manhandled out there.
There really were three major turning points; the fourth down conversion for the Cowboys permitted by a sketchy defensive pass interference call (and a much worse non-call on an obvious hold on the Cowboy OL), the scrambled handoff between Minshew and Boston Scott and Miles Sanders' weird no-contact fumble, both fumbles lead directly lead to scores. Be sure to note that none of those incidents have anything whatsoever to do with Dallas, those were completely self inflicted blows.
Gardner Minshew did not have the greatest game. His accuracy was scattershot and he got fixated on his targets too often. It's not accurate to blame the loss on him, though. He definitely made enough plays to win this game, especially on the final drive that came up just short. The four turnovers certainly can't fully be blamed on him; I'd say that Quez Watkins deserves some responsibility for letting the DB grab the ball out of his hands both times. We already talked about the fumbles.
Both teams finished with multiple key players out of the game with injuries, but the key difference is that Philly lost their guys (Lane Johnson, Avonte Maddox, Jordan Davis) during the game, meaning they had to adjust on the fly.
Speaking of Lane Johnson, I'd rather have him be OK and able to go for the playoffs than win this game and having Johnson out for the season. We'll have to sit tight and hope he'll be alright. He'll need to be; he's as important as anyone to this team.
I said before the game that we should not use Jalen Hurts' absence as an excuse, and I don't plan to. It's entirely possible that we'll get a rubber match in January and in all probability, we'll find out what happens if BOTH quarterbacks are healthy.
As I mentioned before the game, if the Cowboys won tonight... they'd still have less than a 1% chance at grabbing this division. Relax, Eagles fans, we're still slated for the top seed. Let's just be sure we're going to be healthy for the playoffs.
Merry Christmas and Fly Eagles Fly!
Comments