Recap
The Eagles dropped to 10-4 on the year in a 20-17 loss to Seattle. Both sides of the ball struggled against the Seahawks; the defense gave up a game winning touchdown with 28 seconds left in the 4th quarter, while the offense only scored a measly 7 points in the second half. This game was a disappointing one, as the Eagles are definitely the better team on paper. That being said, this Eagles team’s recent struggles have certainly raised some questions.
Positive Observations
1.) Young CB’s
Kelee Ringo & Eli Ricks played a good game in Darius Slay’s absence; neither player gave up a reception on 5 combined targets. In a game that had little to celebrate, Ringo & Ricks showed flashes that should give them more playing time. Both corners should get some more reps as Slay continues to heal from his surgery.
Negative Observations
1.) Jalen Hurts
Hurts has struggled through the last few weeks of the season; he seems slower as a runner, indecisive as a decision maker, and it seems like he isn’t seeing the field. His struggles continued against the Seahawks; Hurts was 17-31 with 143 yards and 2 interceptions. Although he was the leading rusher for the Eagles with 82 yards and 2 TD’s, the Eagles simply need more out of their franchise QB.
2.) James Bradberry
To say that Bradberry seems to have lost a step is an understatement; Bradberry gave up 7 receptions on 8 targets for 116 yards, 1 TD, and a 118.8 rating when targeted. What makes matters worse is that he especially struggled in crunch time; Drew Lock completed 4/4 passes for 87 yards and the game winning TD against Bradberry.
3.) Quez Watkins
Quez Watkins has had a rough 2023 season thus far & he continued that trend last week. Although he didn’t record a single catch, his lack of effort is what’s most frustrating. Jalen Hurt’s first interception came off of a deep shot to Watkins, who seemingly gave up on the play & allowed the DB to make an uncontested play on the ball. Although the ball wasn’t great, a little bit of fight from a fringe player on the roster would’ve been nice.
Upcoming Opponent
The Eagles (10-4) host the New York Giants (5-9) on Christmas Day at 4:25pm. Everything on paper screams that the Eagles should win this game decisively, but the Giants have been playing some good football recently as they have won 3 out of their last 4 games. With that being said, I refuse to believe that the Eagles are not good enough to leave a must win game with an 11-4 record. If the Eagles can control the trenches, they will win this game.
Final Prediction- PHI: 24, NY: 14
NFC East Standings
The updated NFC East standings are as follows:
- Philadelphia Eagles: 10-4
- Dallas Cowboys: 10-5
- New York Giants: 5-9
- Washington Commanders: 4-10
Final Thoughts
The Eagles are still surprisingly in 1st place in the NFC East thanks to a Dallas loss to the Dolphins on Christmas Eve; this Giants game is a great get right game for the Eagles. It’s no secret that the Eagles have looked like a completely different team the last 3 weeks and they need to turn that around quickly if they want a shot at a deep playoff run. We’ve seen what happens when a team gets hot right before the playoffs; here’s to hoping that the Eagles start to get hot. As always, Go Birds!
Subscribe to our posts and bookmark these feeds:
* * *
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts
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.
