Eagles Swim Past the Jags

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Eagles Swim Past the Jags

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

The Linc was a wet, windy mess on Sunday. That didn’t slow down the Eagles. They piled up 401 yards, scored 29 points and came up with 5 takeways on their way to a big win over the red hot Jaguars. The Eagles are now 4-0 and the lone unbeaten team in the NFL.

Jacksonville had the #1 run defense in the league, allowing just 55 yards per game. That will change on Monday. The Eagles ran for 210 yards and 4 TDs in their 29-21 win. Miles Sanders had a career day, going 27-134-2. Jalen Hurts ran for 38 yards and a score. Kenny Gainwell and Trey Sermon combined for 38 yards and a score. All the runners deserve a lot of credit.

Sanders frustrated me early in the game. He was running wide and the Jags were too fast for that. Sanders said after the game the coaches went away from the outside runs and started attacking between the tackles. He ran more disciplined and really fought for yardage. He put two hands on the ball to protect it and also ran hard. He got some ugly yards when the easy ones weren’t there to get. Sanders isn’t always good at this so it was really impressive to see him come up big in a game like this.

The OL was outstanding. They took control of the LOS against a very talented front seven. The line had to overcome injuries to Jordan Mailata (early on) and Isaac Seumalo (2nd half). Jack Driscoll took over at LT and played well. He wasn’t perfect to be sure, but that’s not a spot he’s practiced at very much. He’s normally a G/RT. Sua Opeta took over at RG and had some good blocks. Jason Kelce had some fantastic blocks and played a huge part in getting the running game going.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1576635077483601925

Hurts and the passing game were limited because of the conditions, but he made some key throws and still ended up throwing for 204 yards. AJ Brown was the workhorse, going 5-95. Dallas Goedert was good as well.

The biggest stat for the offense…no lost fumbles. The Jags looked like they were playing hot potato at times. The Eagles did a great job of protecting the ball.

They did have an early turnover, a pick-six where Hurts forced the ball into coverage and it was deflected. Safety Andre Cisco picked it off and ran it back for a TD. Brown was there to make the tackle, but never made the attempt. Ugh. Not a good look for Brown. He made up for that by having a good game overall, but that was an ugly start.

I used the word "test” a few times this week. The Jags would be a good test for the Eagles. The Jags D would be a good test for Hurts. The Eagles also had to pass the adversity test. They fell behind 14-0. They lost Mailata, Seumalo and Darius Slay. They were without Avonte Maddox. The weather was a problem. That was a lot of stuff for the Eagles to deal with.

They locked in and dominated. After falling behind 14-0, the Eagles went on a 29-7 run. And remember the Jags were #2 in DVOA coming into this game. They have a top offense and defense. The Eagles spotted a good team 14 points and then just took control of the game. Really impressive performance.

Trevor Lawrence drew a ton of praise during the week for his hot start to the season. He was avoiding mistakes and making plays. He looked great. That changed on a rainy day in Philly. He fumbled 4 times and threw a bad pick. He was sacked 4 times and finished 11-23-174.

His biggest problems…the rain and Haason Reddick.

Reddick had 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and a TFL. His strip sack above sealed the game for the Eagles. I knew the RT for Jacksonville was the weak spot on their line and Reddick would have a chance to make plays, but I wasn’t expecting that. Sacks are good. Strip-sacks are great. Those can be game-changing plays, as the last one ways. Reddick has a real shot to be the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Stud performance.

James Bradberry had the INT. That came when Jonathan Gannon dialed up a blitz and Lawrence forced the ball into coverage to avoid a sack.

There are things to clean up. The defense had some blown coverages that could have been really costly. Being without Slay and Maddox hurt the D. We’ll see if those guys are ready for next week. If not, Gannon has game tape to teach off. The coverages will get fixed.

The offense was just 4-15 on third downs. That has to improve. Fran Duffy pointed out after the game that some of that is due to the Eagles running on those downs to set up fourth and short when they knew they would go for it. The Eagles were 3 of 5 on fourth downs.

Doug Pederson got a warm welcome from Eagles fans, as he should have. After the game, there were a lot of hugs and smiles with his former players and staff. You can tell he still is close to a lot of people in the organization.

That’s actually pretty touching, to see the way they all feel about each other. It didn’t end well, but that doesn’t erase the Super Bowl, good memories or good friendships. Really cool to see that.

The only downside to the day was the injuries. We’ll have to wait and see what’s up with Slay (forearm), Mailata (shoulder) and Seumalo (ankle). Hopefully nothing serious for any of them.

http://igglesblitz.com/2022/10/eagles-swim-past/