From the end of the Christmas Eve defeat I felt pretty good about this game today, going so far as to tell a couple people that we should win comfortably, probably by double digits. Of course, I had given Philly an 85% of winning two weeks ago. Clearly that was misplaced confidence as the Birds came out uninspired, flat and ready to lose. I really don't know how a coaching staff can allow the team to come into this week feeling so entitled (more on the coaching in a minute). Philly theoretically could have won this game (the double gut punches of the terrible penalty that wiped a score off the board and the pick six made up the whole difference), but no one is going to pretend that Philly deserved more than they got considering their first half was easily the worst half of football they've played so far.
What went wrong? Here's a list, admittedly incomplete:
Other than allowing their team to be complacent, this was a REALLY bad outing for the coaching staff. Why are we sticking with the zone defense when it's clearly broken?... On the very first drive, Sirianni made the same mistake he's made before, accepting a penalty that should have been rejected (who actually prefers 2nd-and-11 over 3rd-and-6?). Predictably, the Saints gained eight yards with their second down redo and scored a couple plays later. Huge gaffe...Why do we forget to run the ball when 1) it's the strength of the team and 2) Minshew clearly didn't have it today?... Building on that, why so many empty sets when the pass game wasn't working and the line was missing Lane Johnson badly?... Why stick with the QB sneak at midfield when you had other options, the Saints were clearly ready for it, and most importantly, you don't have Jalen Hurts? If the team had belief in Minshew as a runner, we would have seen a designed run play for him at some point in these two games before that sneak. They don't, and we didn't... We once again saw a barrage of penalties on the OL, which is a disaster, especially at home... Too many times, we saw Minshew throw more than ten yards short of the sticks on third and lone; normally I'd be tempted to blame him for that and maybe he deserves some blame, but it seemed to be the play design too often to rely on that explanation. Each of these items represents a mistake by the coaching staff that didn't need to happen and heavily contributed to this loss.
Speaking of Minshew, this was not a proof game for my theory that he's a starting caliber corner. He clearly missed Johnson, but that's not an excuse, especially since his pocket poise seemed to take a couple steps back in just one week. The pick six was a disaster of a throw that essentially ended the game. His counting stats will be helped by the long catch-and-run by AJ Brown, but I wondered why Brown was barely targeted before that play. Just a rough outing all around for the QB.
It's disappointing to recall how many Eagles were swearing revenge after giving away the Christmas Eve game, and then the team showed up so flat and unprepared.
I have to think that Miles Sanders was more hurt than let on for this game. Why else would you refuse to feature a player that's gashed the Saints the last two times he's played them (30 carries, 209 yards, 2 scores)? Not to belabor the point made earlier, but 15 rushing plays is less than half the number it should have been.
It's a shame that the magnificent effort by the pass rush went to waste, but maybe we should wonder where they were on that first drive. Let's hope that Sweat's injury is less than what it looked like; that was scary.
The Saints gained 79% of their yards in the first half. The Eagles gained 80% of their yards in the second half. The final box score registered a dead heat (313-313 in total yards). Again, those two plays referenced earlier spelled the difference.
It doesn't matter for this year, but the Eagles' choke job probably guarantees that the pick they hold from the Saints will not land in the top ten after all.
All told, this is exactly what it feels like: a really bad and embarrassing loss to an inferior team. The Eagles' chances to clinch the division have fallen from the 98-99% range to something like 80%. It's difficult not to wonder what the result might have been if Hurts and Johnson had played (not to mention CJGJ and Sweat), but it's fair to point out that the Saints were missing players too and that the injuries were NOT the biggest reason for this loss; a lack of preparation was. Now everything will likely rest on this coming weekend's clash with the Giants. Buckle up, this is getting tense.
Comments