Eagles Going Bowling

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Eagles Going Bowling

Posted: January 26th, 2025 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

The Eagles beat the Packers in the wild card round in a game that was closer than it should have been. The Eagles beat the Rams in the divisional round in a game that was closer than it should have been. That didn’t happen in the NFC championship. The Eagles left no doubt, beating Washington 55-23.

Washington came into the game being talked about as a team of destiny. The Eagles took a sledgehammer to destiny and broke it into a thousand pieces. The offense scored TDs on 8 of 11 real possessions (non-kneel downs). The defense came up with 3 takeaways. Even STs came up with a takeaway. The Commanders couldn’t get closer than 11 points away in the second half. The Eagles outscored them 21-0 in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a total blowout.

Jalen Hurts and the offense played their best game of the season. They ran for 229 yards and threw for 246. The Eagles tied an NFL playoff record with 7 rushing TDs. Hurts quieted any doubters, for at least a week. He was decisive and made good reads. He made good throws. He got the ball to his playmakers in positions where they could make things happen.

AJ Brown was 6-96 and looked like an elite receiver. Dallas Goedert was 7-85 and even had 2 carries for 13 yards. The passing offense was explosive and efficient. What about Saquon Barkley and the run game?

That came on the first play of the game. Washington wanted to stop Barkley and force Hurts to beat them. Barkley went for 60 on his first touch and set the tone for the game. The Eagles never trailed after that.

Washington oppened the game with an 18-play drive that covered 54 yards and just over seven minutes. That resulted in a FG. They converted a couple of third downs and a couple of fourth downs on that. You wondered if Daniels magic would continue to work. Then Barkley worked his magic and you could see a stark difference in the two teams. Washington has Daniels. The Eagles have the better team.

I wonder if things going so easy for the Commanders last week actually hurt them. That game was inside and against a team with a banged up defense. They also love to blitz, which Daniels just eats up. Detroit had several turnovers. Washington won 45-31 and was in control for most of the game. Things were completely different in Philly. The Eagles made big plays on offense and defense. They made Washington work for everything.

In the preview I talked about how getting stops would be critical for the Eagles defense. Washington had 11 possessions and scored 2 TDs. The Eagles forced one punt, had 3 takeaways and came up 2 fourth down stops. They also forced Washington to settle for FGs on three possessions. The Eagles did give up 350 yards, but only allowed 4.5 yards per play and they made key plays throughout the game.

The Eagles hired Vic Fangio for situations like this. He was able to make the right calls to keep Daniels off balance. The Eagles covered well and the DL was able to affect Daniels on a regular basis. He was sacked 3 times and had 3 passes batted down by DL. If not for Daniels mobility, the defense would have really shut down Washington.

Zack Baun led the way with 12 tackles, a TFL, a FF and a FR. Oren Burks wasn’t far behind. He had 9 tackles, a sack and a FF. Those guys made plays all over the field. Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell each broke up 2 passes. Q even picked one off.

Let’s go back to the offense. The Eagles OL played a big part in this win, but it wasn’t easy. Cam Jurgens back wasn’t ideal so the team had him active, but he didn’t start. Landon Dickerson played center in the first half. Dickerson hurt his knee and was really struggling to move around. Jurgens took over in the second half and battled his way through the rest of the game. Tyler Steen got the start at LG. The OL helped the offense to have success by winning the line of scrimmage.

We have to give rookie Will Shipley some love. He made a huge play on kickoff coverage by knocking the ball out and getting it back for the offense. He had a 35-yard KOR as well. Shipley got to play RB late. He broke off a 59-yard run and later scored a TD.

Finally we have to talk about Nick Sirianni. His message has been the same all year, getting his team to focus on the game at hand and not worrying about anything else. The Eagles weren’t in awe of the situation. They played Eagles football and won the game. Sirianni made some aggressive choices, knowing his team would need to score points. He set the right tone and his players delivered in a big way.

The Eagles will take on the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch in two weeks. Get healthy and get ready for Mr Mahomes and company.

http://igglesblitz.com/2025/01/eagles-going-bowling/