Eagles Move to 3-2: The Good and the Bad From a 25 Point Win
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 06: Hassan Ridgeway #98 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after sacking Luke Falk #8 of the New York Jets in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on October 6, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Jets 31-6. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The Eagles took care of business on Sunday defeating the New York Jets 31-6. It was a win that was expected considering just how bad the New York Jets are. You can only play on your schedule and the Eagles have a history of dropping games like this *cough Joe Webb cough* But the Eagles went out, got the win and stayed healthy all in the process. The team now improves to 3-2 and will head out to Minnesota for a rematch of the 2018 NFC Championship Game. But before next Sunday’s game lets break down the good and the bad from week 5.
THE GOOD
- The Defensive Line: You read that correctly. The defensive line FEASTED on the Jets (bad) offensive line to the tune of 10 sacks. Somewhere Winston Justice is hiding under a table watching the highlights of it. Normally I would go “it’s a bad offensive line! What do you expect?” and if that is your opinon then I totally get it. But this is an offensive line that struggled in week 1 against a left side that featured Donald Penn and Ereck Flowers. Everyone got into the act. Josh Sweat (1) Vinny Curry (1) Daeshon Hall (1) Hassan Ridgeway (1) Derek Barnett (1) Orlando Scandrick (2) Brandon Graham (3!). It wasn’t like this came against a top level offensive line but it was a much needed sign of life from a defensive line that had been as exciting as having Luke Falk be your starting quarterback.
- Carson Wentz: If you just look at the stats then this will surprise you. Carson Wentz did a nice job managing the game and moving the ball. The Eagles have converted 18 straight 3rd and 4 or less and a lot of that has to do with Wentz. His football IQ was on display when a bad Jason Kelce snap sent that ball about 25 yards behind Wentz. In a risky move he did not fall on it but instead picked it up and barely got a pass off which went from about a 2nd and 30 to a 2nd and 6. That’s something that wont shine on the stat sheet but it was a heads up play. Wentz didn’t necessarily play “ELITE” but he also knew he didn’t have to.
- Jim Schwartz/the defense: Ive been critical of Jim Schwartz for some time now but he made life a living hell for Luke Falk. Some might say that’s easy to do, but you still have to put your players in a situation to execute and they did. The defense had not one, but two defensive touch downs, which was the first time since week 17 in 2008 against the Cowboys (ill remind everyone that was the game where the Eagles were a ‘win and theyre in’ scenario and went down to Dallas and put 40+ on the board). They did let up a late touch down thanks to incredible field position, but Schwartz stopped a bad team. Lets see if he can keep it rolling against a Vikings team that is loaded with offensive talent.
- Jake Elliot: I no longer expect jim to miss it when youre lining up for kicks because hes been incredibly consistent. Now that I have said that I have surely jinxed him and meat heads will blame me for his impending 8 missed field goals next week.
THE BAD
- The Offensive Line: The O-Line stepped up against The Packers, and mailed it in against the Jets. The Jets defensive line is one of their only strengths, but the offensive line was in trouble all game long. They did open some holes for the running backs, but in pass protection the pocket was closing quickly. Carson was hit 5 times, sacked once, and it would’ve been twice had it not been for Carson Wentz ducking under a defender and finding Zack Ertz for a first down. The Eagles were lucky that they had a mobile QB who can get out of the pocket and evade defenders or else we could’ve seen close to 15 sacks between both teams. They failed to get a push and dictate the pace of the game. Hopefully it was simply a situation where they overlooked their opponent….much like I did.
- The Flags: Im pretty sure referee Adrian Hill practices throwing flags. Hes a first year referee and he is like a rookie cop who will pull you over doing 41 in a 40. It seemed like the only call they let go was a blatant pass interference call on Nelson Agholor that would’ve been a touch down had the wide receiver not been interfered with. Amazingly the refs had a chance to rectify that mistake after Doug Pederson challenged and they elected to have the call stand. I have a theory on this so stick with me; The NFL has a lot of new referees and they arent fully comfortable yet with their standing in the league. So a guy like Hill doesn’t want to be called into the office for missing a few calls, so you might as well call EVERYTHING. Of course this results in a HORRIBLE game, no flow what so ever and an overall tough product to watch. But Adrian Hill has bills to pay so hes not out here to “let em play”….yet. The pass interference call wasn’t overturned because, in my opinion, they made the call and any reason to uphold it they will. Overturning it would be admitting they made a mistake. A Veteran crew who is more comfortable with their place in the league might, but they don’t want to admit mistakes in their first year. You can take your tin foil hats off for that conspiracy theory of mine.
- Corey Clement: What the hell were you doing? For everyone (and we got a call while in “The Green Zone”) who gets annoyed because Darren Sproles never returns the ball, WELP…..THATS WHAT YOU GET. It was shades of Greg Lewis being a kick returner against Green Bay which resulted in the Birds bringing back Reno Mahe. Corey, either catch it, or wave at someone in the crowd. His gaf cost the team a shut out.
- The Phillies: “Why does Dallas have this easy schedule but we have to play three straight road games?!” is a common complaint we get. The answer; the Phillies. The NFL put the Eagles on the road because we all figured (congrats to the guy right now reading this at his cubicle mumbling “I didn’t figure! I said they weren’t good enough. Pat yourself on the back) the Phillies would be in the playoffs this time of year. They arent. So Citizens Bank Park remains dormant and the Eagles have to head on the road because the baseball team didn’t do its part.
Pat is Philly through and through, having grown up in the Oxford Circle of Northeast Philadelphia. He attended Cardinal Dougherty High School, and it was at CD that a teacher suggested he should pursue a career in sports radio. He worked his way up the ranks and joined the morning show in June of 2020. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic he writes about Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers. Follow Pat on Twitter @Pat_Egan
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