Sitting Pretty

[time2rock]

Sitting Pretty

Posted: January 2nd, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

The Eagles went to Washington hoping to win and do their part in securing a playoff berth. They did win, although not comfortably, and then got the result they needed in the afternoon game, with the Niners beating the Texans. Now the Eagles will watch Sunday Night Football to see if the Packers can beat the Vikings (without Kirk Cousins). If Green Bay wins, the Eagles are in the postseason.

Let’s go back to the key point in all of this…the Eagles beat the Washington Football Team. A couple of weeks ago, the Eagles beat them 27-17 and totally dominated the second half of that game. There was no domination on Sunday.

The Eagles got off to another slow start and found themselves down 10-0. They scored a TD to make it 10-7 and I thought the Eagles would take control of the game. Instead WAS added a pair of field goals to go up 16-7 at the half. I started to think this might be the week when the slow start became a problem.

Jalen Hurts was brilliant on the drive that opened the third quarter and led the Eagles to a TD. The game was 16-14. At that point, the WFT had not punted at all. Their offense had moved the ball all day and you wondered if the Eagles defense would finally wake up.

It did.

The Eagles stopped consecutive drives by WAS, both ending with third down sacks. Jonathan Gannon was more aggressive in the second half and the front seven got more pressure. The Eagles offense added a field goal to go up 17-16. Again, you felt like the Eagles might put the game away.

They didn’t.

The Eagles stopped another drive and then added a field goal to go up 20-16, but WAS got the ball with 2:21 left and only needed a TD to take the lead. They marched 55 yards before Rodney McLeod made a diving INT in the end zone to seal the win.

Exhale.

I was highly frustrated with the Eagles performance. I knew WAS would be fired up after getting curb-stomped last week and still delusionally hoping to sneak into the playoffs. This game meant everything to them. The Eagles didn’t show the same sense of urgency. This wasn’t about effort, but more about focus and discipline. Missed blocks. Missed tackles. Poor angles. Just sloppy play, in all three phases.

It was good to see the Eagles win on a day when they didn’t have their A-game. There is a real benefit in that.

It was also good to see the Eagles tested. Prior to today, the Eagles only win in a close game came when they beat the Panthers 21-18 way back in October. While it has been fun to see them win by two or more scores over the past few months, that isn’t likely to happen from here on out. This game had the kind of tight feel that you can expect in the postseason. Every play and every possession mattered.

The Eagles were clutch in this game. Hurts was sensational on the drive to open the second half, topped off by this play.  CLICK ON LINK TO ARTICLE BELOW TO VIEW VIDEO

Wow. Just wow.

Boston Scott ran for a pair of TDs, both on 4th downs. Those were huge plays.

Greg Ward had a critical 27-yard catch that set up that TD run.

Dallas Goedert was 6-71 and made some crucial catches to keep drives going.

Avonte Maddox made a couple of key stops after drawing a questionable PI call.

Josh Sweat had 1.5 sacks and deflected 2 passes.

Genard Avery had the biggest sack of his NFL career to end a WFT drive. He almost had the biggest INT of his career, but it was negated by a penalty…by him. Ugh.

The biggest play of all was McLeod’s diving INT. I had to pause and wait to make sure it wasn’t going to be ruled incomplete. If you’re an Eagles fan, you’re always waiting for the penalty or the challenge flag. Instead, McLeod made a terrific play to seal the win.

We do need to give WAS some credit. Taylor Heinecke Heinicke was incredibly frustrating. He made plays with his legs and made some terrific throws. I knew his playmaking ability would be an issue. RB Jarrett Patterson was tough. He ran hard and broke his share of tackles. The DL played worlds better than the past two weeks. DT Jonathan Allen won more than his share of battles. WAS never panicked and battled all game long. Ron Rivera has his flaws, but he got his team to bounce back from a humiliating loss.

The Eagles were just better, especially in key situations. It was good to see the team making clutch plays in a tight game. I felt even better after listening to Nick Sirianni’s postgame press conference.

Sirianni praised the calmness of his team. They didn’t panic when they were down 10-0 or 16-7. That might not sound like a big deal to everyone, but it sure resonated with me. The Eagles were 4-11-1 last year. There are plenty of young faces on the roster. They haven’t exactly played in a lot of big games.

With a lot on the line, it would have been easy for the Eagles to panic or get flustered. Instead, they kept working and eventually started playing well. That will serve them well this year and in the future.

Beyond that, Hurts went to Sirianni and told him the playbook was wide open, meaning don’t worry about protecting the ankle. Call any play you want to. Hurts is a gamer. He will do anything he can to win a game. You love that mentality in your QB. Players will feed off his example. They know his ankle isn’t 100 percent. It has to fire them up to see Hurts moving around and making plays.

The Eagles have their share of issues, but this is a tough team that has a lot of heart and more talent than we thought last summer.

Stay tuned for some postseason football.

*****

Things weren’t easy after the game.  CLICK ON LINK TO ARTICLE BELOW TO VIEW VIDEO

The worst stadium in the league.

http://igglesblitz.com/2022/01/sitting-pretty/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

It wasn't pretty (it rarely is with our Eagles) but they got it done. It was frustrating and it was infuriating at times but they got it done. Now they've got to consider what they do next weekend and get ready for a really tough wildcard game. But they are in the dance and that's all that we could ask for really. 

[PoconoDon]

Enjoy the "W"

Rest the starters vs. Dallas.

Go on a 4 game winning streak in the playoffs.

Have a parade.

That is all.

[birdman#12]

Wasn't pretty???   LMAO......In philly, not only do you have to win.....you have to win "pretty".

An NFC East game........which are always unpredictable and hard fought.....

The Redskins game 2 weeks ago wasn't pretty, the giants game wasn't pretty, and the now this game wasn't pretty......who give a flying f---?

"only in phlly can you experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day".......