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Good But Sloppy


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Good But Sloppy

Posted: November 21st, 2021 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

Sunday’s 40-29 win over the Saints gave the Eagles their first winning streak of the year. They have now won two games in a row and 3 of the past 4. The Eagles who looked so bad a few weeks ago are now legitimately hot.

We can debate whether the Eagles are actually good, because these wins aren’t coming against good teams or good QBs, but for now let’s just enjoy the hot streak. Winning in the NFL isn’t easy. Enjoy it when it happens.

While the schedule has been soft recently, the Eagles are winning games the right way. They beat Detroit by 38, Denver by 17 and New Orleans by 11. The game was 33-7 at one point, but the Eagles got conservative and sloppy, never a good combination. The Saints tightened things, but never got closer than 11 after halftime. That’s quite a difference for a team like the Eagles that fell behind on a weekly basis for the first couple of months.

The big story on Sunday was the Eagles outstanding run game against the Saints stifling run defense. They limited teams to 73 yards per game, with only one team breaking the century mark. Who would win this showdown?

The Eagles dominated on the ground, running for 244 yards and three TDs. The Eagles had 152 rushing yards at halftime.

Crazy.

The credit goes to a lot of people. The offensive line was outstanding. They consistently opened up holes for the runners. Miles Sanders returned to action and ran for 94 yards. He showed his speed when he went to the left side for 25 yards. Sanders can really move. There were a couple of bad moments as well. He fumbled inside the Eagles 10, setting up the Saints first TD of the game. Sanders also failed to stay inbounds late in the game. Both issues need to be addressed aggressively. You aren’t going to beat good teams when you are sloppy like that.

Jordan Howard was terrific as well. Jalen Hurts ran a lot and set a franchise record by running for three TDs. Boston Scott, Howard and Hurt combined for 148 yards on the ground.

The Eagles defense was outanding for three quarters. At the 2:38 mark of the third quarter, the Eagles had allowed 7 points and just 110 yards. That changed in the final 17 minutes as the Saints piled up 213 yards and 22 points. This isn’t all on the defense playing soft or sloppy. The Eagles special teams set the offense up with bad field position and then the offense failed to move the ball. The Saints got 10 points on drives that started in Eagles territory.

Darius Slay wasn’t on the field in that stretch. He got hurt earlier in the game and is in the concussion protocol. Slay had been outstanding, breaking up a third down pass to end one drive and then jumping a route and coming up with a pick-6 late in the first half. He really has become Big Play Slay. He’s now got 3 TDs on the season.

Give the Saints some credit as well. They made a few wild plays. Trevor Siemian really struggled to complete normal throws, but he had some success with YOLO passes. And his guys delivered some impressive catches.

TJ Edwards had another outstanding game. He led the team in solo (7) and total tackles (10). Edwards had a TFL, PBU, interception and fumble recovery. Eagles LBs just don’t have games like that very often. You won’t mistake him for Seth Joyner or Bill Bergey, but Edwards is playing good football. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon would tell you he’s playing "winning football”.

Gannon called a good game and was aggressive, especially early. He blitzed and forced Siemian to make quick decisions. Siemian struggled with making good reads and good throws. Several passes were thrown into groups of Eagles defenders. It was just a matter of time before they picked him off. The Eagles tied a season high with 3 takeaways.

Make sure to give Jake Elliott some credit for today’s win. He was 4 for 4 on both extra points and field goals. He accounted for 16 points. A miss or two by Elliott could have made this a different game.

The Eagles can walk away from this game feeling good about the win, but knowing they have plenty of issues to fix. Penalties, missed blocks, drops and mental mistakes kept this game closer than it should have been.

Today’s win puts the Eagles at 5-6 on the season and 9th in the playoff standings, just half a game out. The Eagles have a soft remaining schedule so they control their own destiny. If they keep winning, they have a solid chance at the postseason.

We can debate whether that is the best thing for the franchise. I do think there is value in a team learning how to win. And it is fun to see the players playing with good energy and emotion. Football is actually fun for Eagles players and fans right now. That wasn’t the case earlier this year or at all in 2020.

http://igglesblitz.com/2021/11/good-but-sloppy/

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