This game was a snooze fest for majority of the matchup, yet somehow some way the Eagles managed to come out with the victory. Let’s get into the recap.
The Good
• Carson Wentz. Wentz was pretty bad most of the game. Wentz threw a horrible interception early and missed some touchdown opportunities. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the porous offensive line play. BUT he came through in the clutch and threw an absolute dime to Boston Scott into the endzone to win the game. Another gutsy performance from Wentz.
• Travis Fulgham? Travis had a few bad drops. The one early in the game that looked very awkward and then the touchdown that went right through his hands which led to a missed field goal. BUT, I thought he showed some good things as well. That 40 yard catch he made was very impressive. The body control to twist mid air to make the catch, and then the explosives to turn up the field to gain yards after the catch. The catch on the corner route earlier in the game. He continues to flash NFL ability. Just needs to clean up the drops.
• John Hightower. Hightower has been an All-22 darling all year long for me. Consistently getting open, flashing a nice release and also flashing his deep threat ability in recent weeks. Unfortunately a lack of targets, and a few drops have derailed the fanbases opinion of him. But this is two weeks in a row with a 50 yard catch. I told people not to give up on him, and to stick with him. Since that drop last week he’s certainly rewarded the eagles.
• Jim Schwartz. I thought Schwartz called a pretty good game. The offense stunk it up all night long and the defense kept them in the game. Sent some well timed blitzes that got to Daniel Jones. Good job from Jimbo.
• Turnovers! The Eagles finally got some turnovers today. Jalen Mills had a beautiful diving interception. I mean that was one of the most impressive interceptions I’ve seen an Eagle make in a long time. The other turnover was the forced fumble from Josh Sweat before half. Sweat snuck a hand in there to get that ball out. This defense badly needed a performance like this.
The Bad
• The offensive line was a disaster. Jordan Mailata played his worst game of the season, Opeta at LG was a train wreck, and Lane Johnson was playing on 1 leg. They were getting Wentz killed all night long and generated few holes in the run game.
• Special teams. What the heck is up with Jake Elliot and Cameron Johnston? They’ve been struggling lately, with seemingly short punts and tons of missed field goals. Missing a chip shot 29 yard field goal before half? Unacceptable. I don’t know what’s gotten into jake, but he needs to fix it now.
• Doug Pederson. Doug has had a lot of questionable play calls this game but none more than the fade to Hakeem Butler on 4th and 2 with the game on the line. Look, I understand that he was interfered with, but if a fade to your 4th string tight end is your best option then there’s a serious issue.
• Injuries. Once again the injuries hit the Eagles. Lane Johnson hurt his knee in the middle of the game, Hassan Ridgeway got hurt, and it appears that DeSean Jackson suffered a serious leg injury on a punt return late in the game. The eagles just can’t catch a break with the injury bug.
Final Thoughts
Honestly this was a pretty hollow victory. It felt like the Eagles were handed the win by the Giants. A huge drop from Evan Engram, followed by 2 big penalties on the last drive. The Giants incompetence saved the Eagles from a 1-5-1 start. Next up is the Dallas Cowboys, let’s see if they can create momentum from this late game surge.
The Philly Blitz 