Eagles observations: A pitiful loss to Saints, false hope in Minshew, and more
It was a disaster.
And now the Eagles have been cornered, blowing two of their three chances to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff bracket. there.
Here are 10 instant observations from the Eagles’ pathetic 20-10 loss to the Saints in the Lynx.
1. The thing that worried me the most was not the loss so much as the fact that the Saints were the more prepared team, the harder team, the more physical team right from the start of the game. Not a better team, but it didn’t matter, they played like they were chasing the No. 1 seed and the Eagles played like his 6-9 team desperate for a playoff spot. . This was away with the Saints going 2-5. Late in the second quarter, the Saints defeated the Eagles, 252-21, to take a 13-0 lead. Andy Dalton didn’t throw an incomplete pass and the Eagles didn’t record a first down. what the heck is that? You can’t talk like a Super Bowl contender and then have a team of 6-9 people come into the building and jump like that. Yeah hurt, ok. But we’re talking effort here, and the Eagles didn’t have it in the first half. unforgiveable. Indeed, they woke up in the second half, started some plays and closed it for a while. who cares. This is a 60 minute game for him and you can’t win a lot of games if you don’t bring it up in half of his 60 minutes. This team is very lucky and has another chance to secure the number one seed. Clearly, Jalen Hurts is another team behind center. But I don’t care who the quarterback is. If they played like this again, they wouldn’t be beaten by anyone.
2. I said this week that I have a lot of faith in Gardner Minshew and consider him one of the two or three best backups in the NFL. I was wrong. I was really wrong. he was terrible He didn’t handle the pressure well, he held the ball too much, he didn’t check down when they were there, he didn’t see his receivers wide open, and he had dramatic rallies. He didn’t get a few inches at 4-1 when he had a chance to pull off the 2018 NBA Finals, and the Eagles came back and gave him a chance to win with a ridiculous pick 6 he threw to Marshon Lattimore. I was. He’s here for just one reason. to win this game. To keep it down until Jalen Hurts is healthy. this? This was terrible. This was like Mike McMahon. I thought Minshew was decent. I was completely wrong.
3. Next week’s game means nothing for the Giants, as they defeated the Colts Sunday at the Meadowlands to secure the No. 6 seed. It will be interesting to see what Brian Daboll does. Given a surprise bye, he would want to rest the starter, but given his 48-22 victory over the Eagles last month, he’s determined to seek revenge on his 26-year run. Do you want your team to be ready for the postseason by? Probably the former. If you’re the Eagles, you’ll love the chance to beat the Giants’ backup and secure the No. 1 seed. You can’t ask for an easier road to a first-round bye. It looks kind of cheap. But if you’re the Eagles, take it at this point and run away.
Four. Jalen Hurts should be ready to play next week, but this isn’t an ideal situation. It’s not just a matter of getting a series or two now, so after a two-week layoff, he’s not rusty. If he doesn’t, the Eagles will blow away what not so long ago he had a 98% chance of winning the No. 1 seed in the NFC. There’s no doubt in my mind, but it’s a little scary because this is a kid with a pretty serious injury and the last thing you want is to put him in too much danger out there. But I’ll tell you what If you told me that all the Eagles needed to secure the No. 1 seed in August was probably to beat the Giants backing up he team, you would have signed up for it. That’s not a big consolation right now.
Five. It didn’t hold Landon Dickerson. It’s called a pancake block. it’s legal. That ridiculous call that wiped out Kenny Gainwell’s 28-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was a disgrace so he could have cut the Saints’ lead to 13-7. prize. There was nothing on that block that even resembled a hold. how do you make that call?
6. One thing I really appreciate about this team is the passing pressure they consistently generate. Dalton is rarely fired. He had been sacked 18 times in his 12 games going into this game, but the Eagles had him 6 and Tatham had 7 at Hill. Last week, Dak Prescott was sacked only 12 times in nine games, but he was sacked six times. The Eagles have had 68 sacks this year, the fourth-most in NFL history and the most since the Vikings had his 71 in 1989. Additionally, he has five sacks, breaking his NFL record of 72 set by the Bears in 1984. No matter what else is going on with this team, this front creates intense pressure to keep them in the game. The Eagles will obviously be out while Josh Sweat is out, but they’re very deep, very versatile and very productive. They’ve been particularly effective lately, with him recording 32 sacks in his last five games. That’s three more games for him than his 17 last year. Last week, they became the first team in NFL history where he recorded six sacks in his four-game streak. This is a series of 5. incredible group.
7. It’s hard to believe that neither Darius Slay nor James Bradbury have intercepted in the last eight games. The first eight of him, each he was three. Slay’s last INT was in his 6th week of his Cooper Rush. Bradberry’s last INT was in Week 8 in Houston. The Eagles caught 4 passes in his final seven games after picking up 13 passes in his first nine games. Josiah Scott has 2 passes, Reed Blankenship and Sweat each have 1 pass. With the pressure this front creates, the opportunity is there, but when they got the chance recently, they couldn’t capitalize on it. Bradbury gave up his 58-yarder on Sunday. With injuries in the secondary, the Eagles need both Slay and Bradbury to be more consistent and productive.
8. No one was celebrating, but it was nice to see Brandon Graham finally hit double-digit sacks in his 13th season. He recorded two sacks on Sunday and scored 11 with one game remaining. With this sack, the Eagles became the first team whose sacks were an official statistic since 1982 when four of his players recorded his double-digit sacks. With Josh Sweat’s condition unknown after a horrific neck injury, the Eagles need BG more than ever and the way he plays will do his job. Everyone thought it was going to be a farewell season for Marvel, but if Howie Roseman can make the numbers work, there’s no reason not to bring him back for a 14th season. , is having his best season yet at age 34. Unbelievable.
9. Perhaps this isn’t a big deal on the big plan, but on the first possession, the Saints were 2nd and 6th at the Eagles’ 13-yard line. Andy Dalton threw an incomplete and the Saints were called for an illegal man downfield. In that situation, his 3rd and his 6th would be better than 2nd and his 11th. .
Ten. In the first half of the season, it was hard to imagine a better play than the cornerbacks the Eagles acquired from Darius Slay and James Bradbury. In eight games, it was the only corner in the league to have a passer rating below 50 when targeting an opposing quarterback.Slay was 37.2 and Bradbury was 35.9. and made a total of 18 pass knockdowns. Last 8 games, no interceptions, 10 knockdowns. Slay didn’t look the same for a while. The QB has had his rating of 134.2 passers targeting him since Week 9 entered Sunday, and Bradbury has dropped to his 69.7. And on Sunday, once again they made no impact, Dalton doing it his way – 18-for-22? . The Eagles are set to face some elite QBs in the playoffs, and Slay and Bradbury need to be better.