Four weeks in and I see little reason to be concerned (something about being the only undefeated team in the league). If there’s reason for concern, I’ll let you know. But for now, I have no complaints.
Group Plays
Strip City
Just like I did with the sacks last week, let’s take a look at the five forced fumbles (!) that the Eagles had this week.
- Fletcher Cox FF #1
- Haason Reddick FF #1
- Haason Reddick FF #2
- Haason Reddick FF #3
Individual Highlights
T.J. Edwards Sack
A couple of years ago, most Eagles fans didn’t know who T.J. Edwards was. Now, we’d be hard-pressed to forget. He’s been one of our most tried and true LBs over the past couple of years. Now, he didn’t have three forced fumbles on the day or anything, but I reward consistency just as much as I reward big plays.
Davis TFL
There are few feelings more satisfying than watching top draft picks make plays. I’d say only winning games are the only better feeling, but what are wins made up of if not many big plays stack on top of one another? In the admittedly limited snaps Davis has had, he’s been a presence, showing the reason that he was drafted.
James Bradberry INT
Plays that prevent points on defense are just as important as plays that gain points on offense. No doubt that if the Jaguars make this conversion, to put it lightly, things get interesting, and not in a good way if you’re an Eagles fan. Philadelphia is not a great scoring team in the second half (albeit, they often don’t need to be), so there’s no telling if they’re able to score again if they give up points here. Fortunately, Bradberry made it so that I only need to worry about doomsday scenarios. .
Sanders TD
The one that got away (from my attention on first watch, somehow). I don’t know if Sanders’ day was somewhat quiet considering how good it was, but in 60 minutes, he racked up two touchdowns and 155 yards. On this play in particular, Sanders showed off some nifty footwork, navigating defenders on his way to the end zone.
Hurts TD
Just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the road back from a two-score deficit begins with a single touchdown. It’d be hard enough to do this in normal conditions, but in the middle of a downpour? Traditionally, teams down 14 points tend to abandon the run, but the Eagles have shown they’re not exactly a traditional team.
Gainwell TD
Ironic as this sounds, it’s easy to look good when down by multiple touchdowns, but how will you look when a defense tightens up, especially one that’s a top 10 unit like the Jaguars (a crazy thought, but one that’s nonetheless true). So, for Gainwell to find the end zone essentially untouched speaks volumes both about Gainwell’s speed and the o line’s ability to block.
Sanders TD
The reason I put this as the most important is because it was a paradigm shift of sorts, it shook off the Eagles’ boogeyman that’s plagued them in recent weeks: second half scoring. Hurts is on record saying that the Eagles haven’t played their best ball yet (naturally), but if the Eagles become as good at scoring in the second half as they have been in the first, we should have no issue henceforth.
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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.
