Recap
The Eagles beat the Buccaneers 25-11 on Monday night, although the Birds played much better than the score suggests. Philadelphia was up by a score of 25-3 with 9:22 left in the 4th quarter before the Bucs scored their first TD of the night; the Eagles received the ensuing kickoff and slowly drained the remaining time off the clock with a 15 play, 68 yard drive to ice the game. The Eagles looked the best that they have all year during this game; they out-gained the Bucs 472-174.
Positive Observations
1.) Defense as a whole
In short, the Eagles defense was outstanding on Monday night; they held Baker Mayfield to only 133 yards passing while only allowing 41 yards on the ground on 17 carries. The defensive line was constantly in the backfield and the secondary didn’t allow much separation. The highlight of the day for the defense was a safety in the 3rd quarter due to penetration by DT Jalen Carter, DT Jordan Davis, and LB Nicholas Morrow.
Reed Blankenship also had an outstanding game, leading the team with 7 total tackles, as well as recording 2 PBUs and 1 INT. Blankenship has come a long way from being a undrafted free agent; the Eagles seem to have found an absolute gem in their secondary.
2.) Georgia Eagles
Although I already gave props to the defense, I have to give individual awards for both Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter. Davis has been on a tear this season; his pass rushing arsenal has become deeper and his ability to stop the run makes the lives of Eagles linebackers much easier. Jordan Davis is slowly becoming the star in his 2nd season.
Speaking of young talent, Jalen Carter has played extremely high-level football so far this season; he tallied 5 pressures with a 31.3% pressure rate, 2 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Carter’s 22.4% pass rush win rate in 2023 is the 2nd highest out of all defensive tackles in the NFL, trailing only Aaron Donald. In addition, Jalen Carter is has the 5th best PFF grade in the entire NFL, and is the highest graded of his position.
3.) Special Teams
Britain Covey has certainly had his ups and downs throughout his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, but he was incredible on Monday night. Covey returned 3 punts for 81 yards, while returning 1 kickoff for 30 yards after the safety. Covey looked explosive and decisive as a runner, and his returns were monumental in the offense’s success.
4.) Jalen Hurts
I debated whether or not Hurts played well on Monday night; on one hand, he threw for 277 yards and was responsible for 2 TD’s, on the other hand, he also threw for 2 interceptions. Hurts played well for the most part, and simply put, he is a winner. With the win against Tampa Bay, Hurts has broken the Eagles record with 10 straight regular season road wins. 2 interceptions marred an otherwise great performance from Hurts while playing with flu-like symptoms.
5.) AJ Brown
Although Brown didn’t record a touchdown and had two drops on the night, he seemingly found his rhythm against Tampa Bay after being held in check during the first two games of the season. Brown tallied 131 yards on 9 receptions, with an average of 14.6 yards per catch. His run after the catch ability was on full display on Monday night.
6.) Running Game
The identity of the Eagles has shifted from last year; they run more often because defenses are sending extra men in coverage after Hurts’ outstanding 2022 campaign. The Eagles have taken what defenses have given them, and have pivoted to a more run focused offense. D’Andre Swift had a particularly good game, recording 130 yards on 16 carries, and the offensive line was consistently creating lanes for him.
Negative Observations
1.) Turnovers
Hurts’ two interceptions seem worse than they are; one was a miscommunication between Hurts and Swift and the other came off of a great defensive play on a good read by Hurts. With that being said, the offense needs to clean things up and emphasize protecting the ball before mistakes come back to bite them.
Upcoming Opponent
The Eagles (3-0) host the Washington Commanders (2-1) Sunday at 1pm; Washington is coming off of a brutal 37-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills, and will look to turn things around on Sunday after dropping their first game of the season. This is the first divisional matchup for both teams this year, and I expect the Eagles to dominate. Although you can never take a divisional opponent for granted, Washington gave up a whopping 9 sacks last week against the Bills. If the Eagles defensive line continues to play the way that they have been playing, Sam Howell will be under fire all game.
Final Prediction- PHI: 35, WAS: 10
Bold Prediction: Jalen Carter registers 2.0+ sacks
NFC East Standings
The Eagles sit alone atop the NFC East after both the Commanders and the Cowboys lost in Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season. The Giants were bested by the 49ers on Thursday night, while the Commanders got smoked by the Bills. The Cowboys lost a close game against the Jonathan Gannon coached Arizona Cardinals, and for that, I will not tolerate any Gannon slander for the next month. The updated NFC East standings are as follows:
- Philadelphia Eagles: 3-0
- Dallas Cowboys: 2-1
- Washington Commanders: 2-1
- New York Giants: 1-2
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think that the Eagles have a good team; the coaching isn’t there yet offensively, but there have been improvements since the beginning of the season. Philadelphia has yet to show that they are a great team this year, but only time will tell. The Eagles defense looks much improved from last year and the offense has shown in spurts that they can be unstoppable. I truly expect the offense to become more consistent as the season wears on, but in the meantime, I’ll quote Jalen Hurts: “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Winning is the most important statistic on any given week in the NFL, and I think that the Eagles will be doing a lot more of that during the rest of the season. 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.
