Recap
The Eagles snapped their three game losing skid with a 33-25 win against the Giants. The game was not unlike many of Philadelphia’s wins this season; there were some great plays, some awful plays, and the Eagles did just enough to squeak out a victory. The offense started to find their rhythm during this game, scoring more than 30 points for the first time since Week 12. Although this was not a convincing win by any means, at least the birds are back in the win column.
Positive Observations
1.) Jalen Hurts
Contrary to popular belief, I thought that Hurts played well against the Giants. Hurts finished 24/38 with 335 total yards & 2 total TD’s. Hurts’ lone interception came when Dallas Goedert slipped coming out of his break, giving the defender an easy break on the ball. Although this wasn’t a career game for Hurts, he seemed to be more decisive in his reads & got the Eagles back on track.
2.) Kelee Ringo
Ringo has quickly climbed the depth chart, due in part to both injuries in the secondary as well as his high caliber play. He allowed 3 receptions on 5 targets for 18 total yards while recording a PBU, 5 tackles, a game sealing INT & only allowed a 25.0 passer rating.
3.) Britain Covey
Although Covey fumbled on his third punt return, he was electric against the Giants on Christmas Day. Covey returned 3 punts for 66 yards, averaging 22.0 yards per return. Covey’s development has been extremely fun to watch and his contributions helped spark the offense.
4.) Shaq Leonard
After a rough start to his Eagles tenure, Shaq Leonard showed up in a big way for the birds on Sunday. Leonard totaled 7 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 TFL’s; he was excellent on Sunday & may be the piece that will help reinforce a weak LB position group.
Negative Observations
1.) Self-inflicted wounds
The Eagles may be the best team in the NFL at shooting themselves in the foot. Some of these mistakes can be easily forgotten about after a win, but sooner or later these mistakes will come back to haunt the Eagles. Fumbles by Britain Covey & Boston Scott coupled with Hurts not stepping out of bounds at the end of the first half & an INT due to Goedert slipping almost cost the Eagles this game.
2.) Turnovers
The Eagles have struggled to protect the ball this year & this trend continued on Sunday; the Eagles turned the ball over twice which allowed the Giants to build momentum. Although the Eagles survived with a win, protecting the ball needs to be a point of emphasis for this Eagles team for the rest of the season.
Upcoming Opponent
The Eagles (11-4) host the Arizona Cardinals (3-12) in Jonathan Gannon’s first game back in Philadelphia after taking the head coaching job in Arizona. Kyler Murray has been dealing with an illness this week but is expected to play. Although the Eagles have not been winning convincingly, I have a hard time believing that they will drop a game to the Cardinals. The key to this game for Philadelphia is to commit to the run game; the Eagles are such a better team when they have the ground game going.
Final Prediction- PHI: 35, AZ: 21
NFC East Standings
The updated NFC East standings are as follows:
- Philadelphia Eagles: 11-4
- Dallas Cowboys: 11-5
- New York Giants: 5-10
- Washington Commanders: 4-11
Final Thoughts
I genuinely am not sure what to make of this Eagles team. On one hand, they’re sitting at 11-4 atop the NFC East; on the other hand, they have struggled immensely over the last month, and some of the issues that this team is facing seem to be deeper than expected. Although being back in the win column feels good, the Eagles have shown that they need to clean up a significant amount of execution & coaching in order to make a deep playoff run. 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.
