Eagles Keep It Close In Loss To Tampa Bay
This game was similar to the Carolina game in the sense that I'd say almost every single fan gave up on the game halfway through, but the Eagles made a late comeback to make it interesting. This time, the Eagles lost 28-22 to the Buccaneers and now fall to 2-4 on the season.
The Buccaneers are a really good team. They didn't play a great game, but I still feel like we have to take a game like this with a grain of salt. The Eagles really did not play well for basically 3/4ths of this game, but again they are playing the defending super bowl champs with the greatest QB of all time on the other side of the field. I think the topic of a lot of discussions tonight is about that taunting call against Genard Avery on the last drive. I agree with everyone that the rule is horrible and has been utilized so poorly this season, but the reality is that the Eagles did not deserve to win this game. They put up a good fight, and it would have been nice to see them get the ball back at the end. Just wanted to mention that before I probably make a lot of negative comments about the Eagles performance.
Jalen Hurts, just has to be better. That was the thought that I had when I think about Hurts tonight. I'm going to get into the whole run-to-pass ratio shortly, but Hurts missed a lot of throws tonight. A 3rd down to Ertz and a 3rd down to Reagor come to mind first. His final stat line was 12/26, 115 P. Yards, 44 R. Yards, 1 TD, 1 R. TD and 1 INT. Like last week, Hurts again showed how he'll always be able to fight and give your team a chance, but I want to see that all game. By the way, that interception was no doubt Quez Watkins' fault. For those who didnt see, I'll attach a clip here, but Quez basically misjudged a deep ball from Hurts and it was picked by Jamel Dean.
The Miles Sanders thing makes absolutely zero sense. I am going to make sure I give this it's own paragraph in every single game recap I do until Nick Sirianni starts using the football knowledge I know he has. The kid had one carry in the first half. ONE? According to the FOX Broadcast, that was the only time this season a teams running backs have had one total carry at halftime. I'm not shocked. Then in the second half, after spending another quarter with minimal carries, Sanders broke free for two 10+ gains on back to back carries on that last touchdown drive. Like, come on. So, you give Sanders two carries, and he breaks free for a big gain on both. It's not rocket science. Again, Jalen Hurts did not play well tonight, but it's so hard for him to succeed when he is only getting at most 10 running plays per game. The whole reason you give the ball to Miles Sanders is because he has that ability to break big plays, even if that means a couple 0-2 yard gains when he gets the ball. Nick Sirianni's play calling in general has just been hurting Hurts and the whole offense. I'm not sure he would give up play calling duty this season, but at this point it is looking like he should. Needs to improve. Get the ball to your playmakers.
I'm not gonna comment on the whole Ertz pregame/postgame thing. A reporter who I do not believe to be reliable said the Eagles have been fielding calls for Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert and he would not be surprised if they were traded soon. Ertz was also seen a bit emotional postgame in the tunnel. I think this was always a possibility and the "report" pregame was not in any way breaking news. So, there's that.
I'll have to watch them again on film, but felt like the offensive line was really bad today. And again, when you are going against Vita Vea/Shaq Barrett/JPP/Joe Tryon, you are gonna get pushed around. But considering how much the Eagles put into their O Line, they should be performing better. It felt like Jalen Hurts was running for his life all night. Landon Dickerson especially had some plays where he was just straight slipping or falling. Not getting beat, but making self-inflicted mistakes. I'll update this once I get to watch the game over again, but not a great look in my opinion.
The defense definitely didn't live up to the performance last week. They got some big stops late, excluding the final drive, but early in the game they couldn't stop anything. To me, it's just a lack of awareness and in-game adjustments from Jonathan Gannon. This is not Sam Darnold... its Tom Brady. Chances are high that he will be able to learn the ins and outs of your scheme within the first drive. So when you see how open the middle of the field is, you adjust and maybe send an extra man if you don't want to change the way your secondary is playing. These things must be easier said then done, because they just seem like common sense to me. A few guys got banged up(Javon Hargrave, Anthony Harris), but both re-entered the game. Harris got an interception off a punt from Brady and Marcus Epps should have had one.
Not really much else to say from this game. This was the result that most expected, and respect to the Birds for never staying out of this. The Eagles will get a extended period of rest before their next game against the Raiders in Vegas. Can I say a game is a must win this early? Hmm.
The Eagles are in a rebuilding year. We've known that since the day the Eagles made the trade to the Colts. As long as we get some development for some young guys as well as keep it close in some games, that is a success for me. Hurts has been bang average through 6 games, so we'll just have to keep watching to see what he is. I promised myself I'd give Hurts the whole season to see if he is the franchise guy or not, and that is what I am doing now. I hope you guys will do the same.