A few reactions to last night's shootout (coming in a day late as I was at the game and didn't get home till nearly three):
Funny moment right at the start where a kid who was supposed to take part in a promotional event ran out on the field immediately after the kickoff by mistake. Security had to gently get him off. This came just after the fan code of conduct that forbids fans on the field was announced. The fans appreciated that comedy.
Philadelphia might as well have called 80 running plays yesterday; they literally ran at will against a banged up Green Bay defense. Their total of 363 yards was not only a team record but were the fifth-most by any team this century. We all know about Jalen Hurts' monster effort on the ground but the running backs, led by a career day from Miles Sanders, combined for 32 carries, 206 yards (6.4 YPC) and three scores. Perhaps the most impressive effort by the running game was the final three carries of the contest, when the Packers knew exactly what was coming, had to have a stop to keep the game going and couldn't get it done.
I should not fail to give huge credit to Hurts' running yet again. This week was the second straight contest that the team basically called on Jalen's legs to get the offense going, and he really delivered.
Lots will be said in criticism of the defense this week, and some of it is certainly warranted, but let the record show that Green Bay did not have a sustained long scoring drive until the fourth quarter. Their first three scores came on relatively short fields (covering a grand total of 109 yards). Philly surrendered 342 total yards. The Packer's average yards gained going into last night's game? 345 yards. Not the defenses' best effort, but hardly the disaster you'll read about.
On the other hand, the run defense surrendered 5.0 yards per carry. It didn't bite them as badly as the Packers trailed most of the way, but with Derrick Henry on deck they'll need to improve quickly.
There will be a lot of hand wringing over the passes surrendered over the middle, which is understandable, but I do wonder how much a healthy CJGJ and Maddox will help with that. Hopefully both return soon.
If you want to blame a unit for the 33 points surrendered, you could do a lot worse than look at the kick coverage unit. Excluding the very first return (where the returner fumbled without contact and slowed himself down), the Packers got a stunning 162 yards on four kick returns, setting up short fields all night long. This really needs to get fixed quickly as it's something teams are learning they can exploit. I can't prove this, but I believe Green Bay told their guys to run the kicks out no matter what as they felt they had an advantage there.
These last few weeks have done nothing but reinforce my theory that a great TE is more important to offensive success than a great WR. The Eagles' talented receivers have struggled to get loose consistently since Goedert went down.
All that being said, don't let anyone fool you into thinking that this was anything other that a solid Eagles win. Philly had decisive advantages in yards (500-342), first downs (29-19), time of possession (35-25) and plays run (79-49). This game will not go down as a “win that was a possible loss” in my year-end notebook.
Great moment at halftime as Trent Cole and Hugh Douglas were inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame. Great to hear from them, see the legends that came out to support them and to hear the love of the fans for these guys. Philly's pass rush tradition over the last 40 years or so is deep.
Looking ahead, I've been ragging on the Titans so far this season, but I do believe that they pose a threat this coming week. While I maintain that they're not much better than average on balance, they're still a well coached and physical team that's going to be able to exploit the Eagles' run defense. Additionally, the Titans are coming off a loss and will be looking to get right. The Eagles will be favored and they should be, but this is not a game that can be overlooked.
I had speculated that the Giants may shock Dallas on Thanksgiving, and while they came up just short it showed that the Cowboys are vulnerable. Philly remains two games up in what has proven to be an extremely competitive division (seriously, the fourth place team is 7-5 and is currently the third Wild Card). As of right now, I believe the most likely finishing records are 4-2 for Philly and 5-1 for Dallas. If that plays out, the Birds will win the division and secure the top seed in the NFC. Stay tuned...
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