Eagles Week 3 stock watch: Tush Push still works, run defense lacks in remarkable walk-off win

We're still trying to make sense of how the Eagles pulled this one off. A look at a reason for hope and for dismay.

By Evan Macy
PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Hartline/Imagn Images

Jalen Hurts rushes for a touchdown against the Rams during the first half in Week 3.

Submitted without comment, the Eagles' offense in the first half against the Rams, and their offense in the second half against the Rams:

Something clicked in the third quarter for the Eagles, and it was a familiar sight. Instead of a gun-shy, middling, mediocre offense that controlled the ball and did just enough to win games, Jalen Hurts let loose a bit. He was finding A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith open in space. He was handing the ball to Saquon Barkley with room to run. There was aggression and confidence.

As a result, what could have been the ugliest loss in the Nick Sirianni era turned into perhaps one of the signature regular-season wins of his coaching tenure, as a walk-off blocked field goal return for a touchdown by big Jordan Davis clinched the unforgettable 33-26 victory.

As a whole, the Eagles' offense's stock is up. What a second half. But stock is down for Lane Johnson, who is thankfully expected to be back after a stinger held him out for most of the game. We're going to dive a little deeper into one more cause for uplifting optimism and one for dismay as the Eagles pulled off a 19-point comeback in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.

Stock up: the "Tush Push" 📈

We mentioned the offense in the second half, as well as Davis — who used his 81 inch wingspan to block not one, but two kicks to lift the defense. But after the dust settles, one byproduct of this game could be the conversation around the "tush push" quieting down. For a play that was largely responsible for Philadelphia's Super Bowl title last winter, that's good news.

Not long before kickoff Sunday, amid heated discussions about the merit and the legality of the Eagles' patented quarterback sneak technique, NFL insider Adam Schefter turned down the temperature a bit:

Then in the first quarter against the Rams, the play worked to perfection twice. First on a risky fourth-and-1 play after a Zack Baun interception. And then with a long yard to go near the goalline, Hurts scored on it — though as usual it wasn't without controversy:

They pulled it off again on a fourth and one in the third quarter inside the red zone, once again with no penalties and no drama. A perfect 3-for-3.

The Eagles have some glaring issues, and winning thanks to two blocked field goals will probably change the conversation and discourse a bit this week.

Stock down 📉: The run defense

The Eagles are lucky Matt Stafford is an old man (OK, well, he's 37, which is old in the NFL). The Rams' future Hall of Fame quarterback has clearly lost a step, and while he's still a capable starting quarterback in the NFL, he missed a bunch of open receivers, most often in the direction of fellow aging star Davante Adams, who was targeted eight times but had only three catches.

Why is this relevant as we break down the Eagles' lackluster run defense? Because somehow, as the Rams ran for 160 yards and 5.2 yards per carry, they had no rushing touchdowns and their efficient ground game led to L.A. settling six times (!) for Joshua Karty field goal attempts (four good, two blocked). That's playing with fire.

The Rams pounded the run game in the first half, running it 20 times (to 18 passes), and the Eagles bent but didn't break. However, allowing a first down every two rush attempts, as they have this season, is not a recipe for continued success. 

In two games prior to Week 3 — going up against Javante Williams and Miles Sanders of the Cowboys and Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt of the Chiefs, the Eagles allowed 5.0 yards per carry (8th most) and 240 rushing yards in total. A bunch of that came from Patrick Mahomes scrambles, but that doesn't change the sentiment and the cause for alarm.

It's bad tackling, it's losing battles up front, and it's losing football. While the Eagles are a remarkable 3-0 somehow to start the year, they're going to need to turn this around with the Buccaneers, a team with a good run game and two solid backs in Bucky Irving and Rashaad White, next week.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-week-3-stock-watch-rams-jalen-hurts-blocked-field-goal-jordan-davis-tush-push-run-defense/

Winning an NFL game takes 60 minutes.....and there are a lot of plays that get ignored that contribute to winning. The eagles defense was bad in the first half, but making LA settle for field goals saved 12 points. The rams 2nd half touchdown resulted from a fumble from inside the 10 and then the eagles defense shut the rams down.

The eagles offense was equally as bad in the first half. Producing only an early TD from a Zach Baun INT.

It was easy to look at the whole game stats and declare that the team is dodging bullets.....but when you analyze half by half, quarter by quarter, possession by possession, the game ebbs and flows.

The rams pushed the eagles around in the first half.......the eagles dominated the rams in the 2nd half. And you can argue the eagles have some issues, but they are great at 2nd half adjustments, they can grind teams down over 4 quarters and they can beat you in any number of ways.

The eagles are going thru adjustments........with 5-6 new defensive players and a new offensive coordinator/play caller, it's going to take some time to work out kinks. The problem with playing the eagles is, an opponent MUST play a solid 60 minute game with zero mistakes and consistent execution. The eagles can make mistakes but they have so much talent on each side of the ball, that they can overcome those mistakes most of the time.

The eagles are Super Bowl champs and that means every team wants to make a statement.....every game could be like a divisional rivalry intensity. I think the rams are the 2nd best team in the conference....they came in to the Linc wanting to prove something.....but, they couldn't do it for 4 quarters.....the eagles physicality eventually won out. And I think the eagles are going to get better as the defensive players get more adjusted to Fangio and Patullo opens up the offense.

One last thing.......this is the last year for the tush push......the NFL is set on eliminating it and making it look bad at every turn. The player safety nonsense, and telling the refs to "call it closer" is flat out bullish--. Then to have mike perrera watching the play in SUPER SLOW MOTION to detect a false start and saying it's a "hard play" to officiate when you have refs who can't make the right call a pass interference play or a "roughing the passer" play.

With any play in the NFL, it's always been, if you don't like it, then stop it. But that pansy Goodell is lobbying to get rid of it because of the way it looks and bunch of bullish-- reasons. Just like the ridiculous "player safety" changes that have been made over the years due to public perception.

The eagles have just one owner vote. And there are a few owners who have been around a while who believe that it's a play that should stay in the game. But the NFL campaign will convince enough to vote it out, especially when the eagles continue to use it and win.