It hurts to say it (no pun intended), but the Eagles are reinforcing that they are a rebuilding team. At the risk of sounding cliche, every part of our team needs to improve. That might welcome with time, but Hurts is still missing throws, Sirianni is still allergic to running the ball, Gannon is still giving up easy yardage. And there are still holes up and down the roster. But it’s not all bad, As always, there were good plays that showed that this team has talented players.
Almost plays
Interc-Epps-ion
Make no mistake, this was an interception, regardless of what the referees said. Safety Marcus Epps kept hold until the ball hit the ground, and the ground didn’t assist with Epps gaining control. This could have been a turning point, especially since the score was 14-7 in Tampa’s favor at this point. While most of the Eagles’ yardage and scoring came in garbage time, who’s to say that the momentum wouldn’t have swung the game in Philadelphia’s favor if this play stood?
Individual Plays
Sirianni Discovers Running Plays
Let this ruminate for a minute: Eagles running backs had one carry for one yard. I’m not going to kill Sirianni for not running the ball, though. Tampa Bay has one of the best rushing defenses in the league, and scheming to play to the enemy’s strengths. I do, however, have a problem with not adjusting when something isn’t working. I’d say that Sirianni seeing the offense click when we run the ball would give me hope for the future, but I’ve done that song and dance before. Sirianni, if you’re reading this, please, stop viewing RPOs as actual runs and hand the ball off more than five times in a game.
Hurts Scramble
Nobody could get open on third and seven. Fortunately, everyone held their blocks, and Hurts was left with a lot of green grass. Instead of taking what was given to him, Hurts made his own yardage, using his speed to advantage to convert 3rd and 7.
Quez Watkins catch
Every game, it seems that Quez is having a big play, even if he doesn’t light up the stat sheet. This week, Watkins had a nice conversion on 3rd & long on a drive that ended in a score. Hurts did a good job of keeping his eyes downfield, directing his receiver, and placing the ball just beyond the reach of a defender. Better still was that this was the first completion of the day for Hurts. Not a bad way to start.
Anthony Harris INT
You’re a Wizard, Harry! In a game where you’re two scores down, a good way to fix a deficit is to force turnovers. With the Eagles down two scores, the Eagles had three timeouts and one minute to gain 40 yards to at least get into field goal range. While this turnover was not capitalized on, as the Eagles offense failed to gain traction, Harris at least gave the Eagles a chance to close the gap.
Reagor Pass Interference (the Good Kind)
I’m putting this in front of Harris’ interception because the Harris pick came two scores down. Reagor also had two PIs that heavily contributed to two separate touchdowns. With that said, this was the same drive that the Hurts scramble and Watkins catch were on. Needless to say, Hurts looked good early against Tampa during the second drive. Underthrown ball notwithstanding, Reagor drew a penalty that ended up resulting in a touchdown a few plays later. Later in the game, when the matchup was well out of hand, Reagor got a similar PI call, which set up another touchdown. Overall, there were some Reagor plays that didn’t show up on the score sheet but definitely impacted the game.
Hurts Rushing TD #1
Of his two rushing touchdowns on the day, Hurts’ second was arguably his least valuable, as the touchdown would not even tie the game. The argument could 100% be made that this play should be celebrated for showing a level of fight. Unfortunately, this touchdown came down 21 points. Admittedly, if we won this game, I’d be singing a different tune. Even then, this would be the least valuable touchdown because the other two would have done more to bring the game within reach.
Hurts Punches It In For #2
If the Eagles ended up pulling off the comeback. Well, this would probably still be the second best play of the game. Instead of being setup by two defensive pass interference calls, the Eagles found themselves in the red zone once Head Coach Nick Sirianni found the running plays in the back of his gameplan. The Hurts rushing TD ended up cutting the deficit to eight (and then six after a two-point good).
Ertz So Good
Two drives aided by pass interference calls, two drives capped off by touchdowns. This touchdown was more significant, as it tied the game, rather than covering the spread. It’s always a hit of nostalgia seeing Zach Ertz catching touchdowns, as he had some of the most reliable hands in the game for eight years. This play was an instance of play-action working, the defense biting on the handoff while Hurts rolls out to the right and delivers a layup to an uncovered Zach Ertz.
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Dylan Patrowicz is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Dylan, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
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