Recap
Unfortunately, the 2021 season for the Philadelphia Eagles has come to an end with a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Eagles were eliminated in embarrassing fashion, losing 31-15 after trailing 31-0 entering in the 4th Quarter. The Eagles looked sloppy, unprepared, and completely lethargic during the game. Tom Brady had no issue moving the ball against the defense even with the wind being present. Although the Eagles attempted to mount a comeback in the 4th Quarter by scoring 15 unanswered points, the comeback fell short and Philadelphia was sent home.
Positive Observations
1.) DeVonta Smith
Smith’s stats aren’t the most impressive from Sunday’s loss; he hauled in 4 receptions for 60 yards. Although he only caught 4 passes, he was a bright spot in an otherwise dim game on Sunday. DeVonta Smith has been one of the best draft picks that the Eagles have made in years; I’m looking forward to see how he continues to grow and progress throughout his young career.
2.) Landon Dickerson
Dickerson played extremely well on Sunday. Out of all the offensive lineman that played during Wild Card weekend, Dickerson received PFF’s third highest grade at 82.3. The decision to draft Landon Dickerson this past year left many Eagles fans scratching their heads; with a team that has been so injury prone over the last few years, why would they take the chance to draft an offensive lineman who had struggled with injuries during his time in college? Needless to say, Dickerson has impressed this season.
Negative Observations
1.) Jalen Hurts
Hurts has had quite the up and down season; he has sincerely impressed during some games and has completely underwhelmed in others. Unfortunately, in the biggest game of the season, he did the latter in Sunday’s game. Hurts was inconsistent, looked scared in the pocket, and made a few very questionable throws. Hurts simply needed to be better on Sunday in order to win, and unfortunately that did not happen.
2.) Nick Sirianni
It is a shame to see such a great season come to an end, and it was equally frustrating to watch Sirianni fall into his old ways from earlier in the season. The Eagles only rushed for 95 yards throughout the entire game, and Jalen Hurts threw the ball 43 times in the loss. Although credit is due to Tampa Bay’s defense, I am disappointed in how Sirianni seemingly gave up on running the ball.
3.) Jonathan Gannon
Gannon has had a rough year in Philadelphia and his shortcomings showed yet again in Sunday’s game. He opted not to have Darius Slay follow Mike Evans, but rather stay on one side of the field which Tom Brady then took advantage of. The Buccaneers were able to move the ball with ease on Gannon’s defense and Gannon made adjustments too late in the game for it to make a difference. Gannon had an extremely poor showing during Sunday’s game.
4.) Jalen Reagor
Jalen Reagor had one reception for two yards in Sunday’s game. In addition to this, he also muffed two punts, one of which was recovered by the Buccaneers’ special teams unit. I feel for Reagor; he didn’t ask to be picked in front of Justin Jefferson, nor does he intentionally try to make mistakes. With that being said, I personally believe that the Reagor experiment is over; he doesn’t just help the team, he actually hurts the team by being out on the field. I am a firm believer that he needs a change of scenery next season.
Draft Picks
Although the season is unfortunately over, at least Eagles fans have three first round draft picks to look forward to. As of now, the Eagles hold the 15th, 16th, and 19th picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. I expect the Eagles to target a few defensive players with those picks.
Final Thoughts
Although I am frustrated with how the season ended, I would genuinely describe this season as a success. To take a team that was projected to have 4 wins or less and end the regular season with a 9-8 record and a playoff berth during a rebuilding year is nothing less than impressive in my eyes. This was Sirianni’s first year being a Head Coach and Hurts’ first year starting; the future looks bright in Philadelphia.
I fully believe that the Eagles should use at least two out of the three first round draft picks that they have on defense and build around Jalen Hurts. He has shown enough flashes this season for me to be comfortable with him being the starter next season. The jury is still out on whether or not he deserves to be the franchise quarterback, but I certainly believe that he should be the starter next year. As always, Go Birds!
Subscribe to our posts and bookmark these feeds:
* * *
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.
