Recap
Jonathan Gannon’s return to Philadelphia did not turn out as well as Eagles fans had hoped, as the Eagles fell to the Cardinals last Sunday by a score of 35-31. The Eagles defense simply could not stop Arizona’s rushing attack; the Cardinals were able to move the ball at will. The Eagles offense was decent when they got the ball, although that didn’t happen much due to Arizona possessing the ball for a whopping 19 more minutes than the Eagles. This was a pathetic outing from Philadelphia, as the loss likely means that they will not win the NFC East.
Positive Observations
1.) Sydney Brown
Brown had his “welcome to the NFL” moment, as he took his first career INT 99 yards for a TD. In addition to this, Brown totaled 5 tackles, 2 of which were solo. Brown’s speed & big play capabilities were on display on Sunday; hopefully this is a sign of more to come.
2.) Offense
Although the offense left a bitter taste in the mouths of Eagles fans after their last drive that ended in a field goal, they ultimately played well on Sunday. Despite only having the ball for just over 20 minutes in the entire game, they still managed to put up a respectable 275 yards in addition to only punting twice. Although the offense wasn’t perfect, they were better than they were worse.
Negative Observations
1.) Defense
The defense, with the exception of Sydney Brown’s pick-six, was atrocious on Sunday; they allowed the Cardinals to put up 449 total yards & an astonishing 32 (!) first downs. The defensive line couldn’t get any pressure, as Kyler Murray completed 80.6% of his passes for 232 yards & 3 TD’s. To make matters worse, the Eagles defense struggled with their fundamentals, missing 13.8% of their tackles.
2.) Coaching
The Eagles coaching was… not good on Sunday. Aside from atrocious clock management (yet again), the Eagles play calling left more to be desired. With the game tied late in the 4th & Philadelphia driving in Arizona’s territory, Brian Johnson decided to call two QB runs in a row followed by a screen to Gainwell on 3rd and 20. The Eagles played scared, and they got burned. This is completely inexcusable for a team that has AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, & D’Andre Swift.
Upcoming Opponent
The Eagles (11-5) travel to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants (5-11) at Sunday 4:25pm. Although divisional games are tough, both teams may rest some starters at some point during the game. The Eagles will already be without CB Darius Slay & WR DeVonta Smith and honestly, I’m not opposed to some starters resting to avoid MetLife’s turf. As for the game itself, I think that the Eagles will ultimately win, but I do not expect them to look good.
Final Prediction- PHI: 28, NYG: 21
NFC East Standings
With Philadelphia’s loss, Dallas now leads the division. If Dallas wins on Sunday, they will win the NFC East & the Eagles will be forced to play in a Wild Card playoff game. The updated NFC East standings are as follows:
- Dallas Cowboys: 11-5
- Philadelphia Eagles: 11-5
- New York Giants: 5-11
- Washington Commanders: 4-12
Final Thoughts
There’s no hiding it; the Eagles have a significant amount of question marks surrounding the team right now. What’s most frustrating, is that these question marks have been present for a while now, and they do not seem to be going away. It seems as if the team doesn’t have the “it” factor that’s needed to go on a playoff run. Starting 10-1 & then losing four of your next five games is quite the disappointment. Although the Eagles have the talent to get hot, I just don’t see it happening. Here’s to hoping that I’m wrong; as always, Go Birds!
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Nate Eichner is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Nate, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
