Recap
The Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Washington Football Team on Tuesday night; the beloved birds came out victorious with a score of 27-17. Washington came into this game decimated from COVID-19 cases, which is why the game was played on Tuesday night rather than Sunday. The birds came out flat against Washington, allowing Washington to jump out to a 10-0 lead. The Eagles finally started putting things together from the 2nd quarter forward, scoring 20 unanswered points. The Eagles offense played well after a rough first two drives, out gaining the Washington Football Team 519-237. Though sloppy, a win is a win especially this late in the season as the Eagles fight to secure a playoff spot in the NFC. Let’s take a closer look at how the Eagles performed.
Positive Observations
1.) Nick Sirianni
After the abysmal start to the season, Sirianni has truly turned things around in regards to his play calling. After Eagles fans essentially bullied him into running the ball, the Eagles offense has become statistically a top-five offense in the league. Sirianni has truly come into form as the season has drawn on; I think that most Eagles fans would agree that he has more than earned his job as the Eagles head coach. Sirianni continued his hot streak of great games called by him on Tuesday; he balanced the run and the pass well on offense. Hats off to him.
2.) Jalen Hurts
After being sidelined with an ankle injury against the New York Jets, Hurts was healthy enough to play on Tuesday and he delivered. He had a few missed reads and his fumble left a sour taste in the mouths of most Eagles fans, but the way that he turned around and played for the rest of the game was outstanding. He had 296 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and had 20 completions on 26 attempts. 3 of those incompletions, including his interception, were dropped by Eagles receivers. In addition to this, Hurts had 38 yards on the ground as well as 2 rushing touchdowns. Though he is still a work in progress, his performance on Tuesday night certainly wasn’t one to scoff at.
3.) Jalen Reagor
No, this isn’t a typo; Jalen Reagor actually had a great game on Tuesday. He hauled in 3 receptions for 57 yards, but the play that stood out for me came on the Jalen Hurts fumble. After the fumble, Reagor chased down the defender and actually forced a fumble. Although Washington recovered, that was a heck of a play by Reagor. Incredible effort from him during Tuesday’s game.
4.) Rushing attack
Ever since Sirianni started calling more running plays, the Eagles have been lethal on offense. In Tuesday’s game, Miles Sanders had a career high 131 yards while Jordan Howard rushed for 69 yards. Overall the Eagles rushed for 238 yards on the ground; for perspective: the Eagles had more yards on the ground than Washington had total. Great game plan by Sirianni and great execution by the offensive line, running backs, and Hurts.
Honorable Mention: Dallas Goedert
Goedert had a great stat line in Tuesday’s game: he had 7 receptions for 135 yards. Although this is a great statline, especially for a tight end, I cannot put him in the positive observations list due to two dropped passes, one bouncing off of his heel and resulting in an interception. Both of his drops were routine catches; he simply started to run before he had secured the ball. Although the Eagles escaped with a win on Tuesday, Goedert needs to clean up those drops.
Negative Observations
1.) The entire first quarter
As mentioned earlier, the Eagles had a rough start to Tuesday’s game. At the end of the first quarter, the Washington Football team was leading 10-0. 2 rough plays, the interception off of Goedert’s heel and the Hurts fumble, made this game more competitive than it would have been otherwise. Although the Eagles ultimately won, these types of plays need to be avoided when the Eagles are fighting for a playoff spot deep in the season.
2.) Zone defense
Although the defense played relatively well on Tuesday, I would have liked to see more man coverage & more blitzes from Gannon. Although giving Washington short fields twice isn’t setting the defense up for success, they still allowed a Garrett Gilbert led Washington team score 17 points, as well as pass for just under 200 yards. The defense still needs to improve if the Eagles have a shot at making a run in the playoffs.
Standings
The Eagles have overtaken 2nd place in the NFC East after Tuesday’s win over the Washington Football Team. The Giants are still holding down the last place spot, while the Cowboys are sitting in the drivers seat. The last three games on the schedule are all divisional opponents; the Eagles certainly have their work cut out for them. The updated NFC East standings are as follows:
- Dallas Cowboys: 10-4
- Philadelphia Eagles: 7-7
- Washington Football Team: 6-8
- New York Giants: 4-10
Upcoming Game
The Eagles host the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday at 1pm. The Eagles have a chance at redemption on Sunday after losing to the Giants in Week 12. The Giants have lost quarterback Daniel Jones for the rest of the season, so the Eagles will be facing Mike Glennon. Although the Eagles struggled offensively against New York the last time that these two teams played, I fully expect the Eagles to win this coming week. My official prediction is that the Eagles will be 8-7 coming out of this game.
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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.
