Eagles Defense Makes A Statement In New Orleans

If you lost faith in the Eagles' defense after the first 2 games, you could be forgiven. They may not have given up many points, but they were getting gashed all night long in both games. There was no pass rush to speak of, they were the worst run defense in the league, and there were far too many big plays. It came to a head when they let the Falcons easily go down the field for a game-winning TD at the end of the Monday Night game.

So with the hottest offense in the league on the docket in week 3, very few people expected them to figure things out. It turns out we all should have expected exactly that.

The Saints came in averaging over 400 yards per game, and over 40 points per game. Today, they scored just 12 and gained just 219 yards.

Jalen Carter had his best game of the season. He did not get credited with a sack, but he was in Derek Carr's face all game long, got 2 pass deflections, and had multiple tackles at the line or for a loss.

The linebackers were making plays all over the field. Jordan Davis got a sack and was dominant in the run game. The secondary shut down the Saints' explosive passing attack, and as a team, they held Alvin Kamara to just 3.3 yards per carry.

They gave up 54 yards in the first drive and allowed a FG. From that point forward they gave up just 175 yards and a single TD. With that lone TD coming on a short field after a missed FG. Even after giving up that TD, they managed to stop the 2-point conversion to ensure the following Eagles TD won the game.

Reed Blankenship closed out the game with a big interception. Darius Slay had a key pass breakup. Quinyon Mitchell continued to look like a star at cornerback and almost came up with a pick 6.

A lot of these guys, Carter and Davis in particular, took a lot of heat all week. But they showed up today. That is the Jalen Carter people think can win DPOY one day. It is the guy who many thought should have been the 1st overall pick. If they keep getting him, and Jordan Davis looks this good next to him, this Defense can continue to make statements like they did today.

The win came with its downsides though. Lane Johnson and DeVonta Smith left with concussions. Mekhi Becton and Britain Covey were also knocked out of the game. Fred Johnson and Tyler Steen filled in admirably along the line, but that is 3 big pieces of the offense they may be missing now in week 4, with AJ Brown already questionable for the Bucs game.

On defense, they lost Darius Slay. Saints Tackle Trevor Penning made a blatantly dirty play after the whistle, pushing Slay into the sideline. We don't know if any of these injuries will carry into week 4, but they may actually end up being grateful for the early bye week with how beat up they already are.

Another guy who took a lot of heat this week was Dallas Goedert. He hardly had an impact in week 2 with AJ Brown out. Well, he heard what you said, and he took it personally.

10 Catches for 170 yards, a new career-high mark in both categories. That includes his 61-yard catch and run that got the Eagles down to the 4-yard line in that final drive, and set up the game-winning Saquon Barkley TD.

Speaking of Barkley, he added 2 more TDs to his Eagles resume, along with 147 yards on 17 carries. It puts him at 351 rushing yards on the season, 53 receiving yards, and 5 total TDs.

The Eagles offense moved the ball all game long. Some questionable decisions by Nick Sirianni, and a couple of bad turnovers by Jalen Hurts, kept them off the board for most of it. But they did get a big TD at the end of the game. Hurts, when he wasn't turning it over, looked good.

They are still figuring this offense out, and are dealing with some key injuries. But the pieces, as long as they are healthy, are there, and we are seeing signs of a dangerous squad.

Week 2 was a bit of a mess for the Eagles. It should have ended in a win. The Falcons should have never even gotten the ball back. If Saquon catches that pass, the Eagles take a couple of knees and go into week 3 2-0. There would be issues, but they would have a win.

None of that happened. Saquon dropped it, the clock stopped, the Eagles kicked a FG, and they kicked it back to the Falcons with 1:39 left to go and a 6-point lead. Even that should have ended with a win. Just keep them out of the end zone. Instead, Kirk Cousins easily picked them apart, drove down the field, and scored the go-ahead TD with lots of time to spare. The clock stopping was barely a factor they scored so quickly.

Now instead of talking about an ugly win, it is an ugly loss dominating the conversation in Philly. And behind that loss, there are even bigger issues. Why was Kirk Cousins so comfortable in the pocket all game? Why did the Flacons gash the Eagles on the ground with such ease? Why did some of the key players on offense fail to step up with AJ Brown out?

There is a lot of blame to go around. But before we do get to the negatives that will dominate this list, Let's give a few people some credit. DeVonta Smith did his thing. He was fantastic as the lone WR1. Despite drawing the toughest test from the Falcons defense, he had a great game, barring one drop that should have been a TD.

Speaking of one mistake, Saquon was still great outside of that 1 drop. He should not be let off the hook for it, because it is an easy catch that would have sealed the game. But he is at least doing his part for the offense.

Related: Saquon Barkley Needs To Catch That Ball… Period

Even Jalen Hurts deserves credit. Yes, he threw a pick to end the game. But otherwise, he did more than enough for them to win, and looked like 2022 Hurts on the ground. The O-Line is still good, Becton struggled a bit in week 2 but was fantastic in week 1. And then of course there is Quinyon Mitchell who more than looks the part of a star cornerback.

But now that we have given some kudos, let's get to some guys they need more from. These players have to this point, been a disappointment. And if they do not give the Eagles more in week 3, we might be talking about a 1-2 Eagles team on Monday.

Jordan Davis is supposed to be the run stuffer. Last year for the first 9 games, he was one. The Eagles were among the best-run defenses in the league. But now for 11 straight games, they have allowed at least 100 yards on the ground. And they have been the worst run defense in the league through 2 games, giving up 6.4 yards per carry.

It begs the question, where is Davis? It is not only on him. The rest of The D-Line is letting the team down as well. But he is supposed to be great at it. He is getting single-teamed, and still having no impact on the game. Bryce Huff is rightfully getting a lot of heat, but Davis can't be let off the hook either. With Jalen Carter drawing double, and triple teams, Davis needs to step up. Especially this week with another tough matchup with the Saints and Alvin Kamara coming up.

The news broke during Monday Night's game that AJ Brown will miss multiple weeks. We know DeVonta Smith will step up in his place, he did so on Monday night and will continue stepping up for however long Brown is out. The question is everyone else.

Jahan Dotson was brought in to be that 3rd guy and to give them depth in case they lose Brown or Smith. Where was he Monday Night? 1 catch for 6 yards. That 1 catch was for a 1st down, but it was the only time we saw him all night. With no Brown, how does that happen? 5 players had more catches than him. They simply need more. They gave up a 3rd to get him. He has now had more than enough time to adjust, and even as a guy new to the system, his talent should at some point take over leading to more than 1 catch in 2 games.

Dotson is not alone in disappointing on Monday Night. Where was Goedert? If they have Smith and Brown out there, and he only gets 3 catches for 38 yards it is fine. You want more, but there is only 1 ball to go around to a talented group of players. But there was no Brown. Dotson was a nonfactor. So how did Goedert not get more involved? You can't blame the scheme anymore, we talked all offseason about how good Kellen Moore is for Tight Ends, but 2 games in, it is more of the same for Goedert. He is fine, but not special.

They need more from people not named Brown, Smith, or Barkley. From Goedert in particular. It is about time he turns his potential into production. If he doesn't, then maybe it is time they look for another Tight End.

0 sacks, 0 pressures, and o tackles. It seems Huff picked zero to match his stat sheet. The Eagles signed him to replace Reddick. We knew he was a work in progress against the run, and had never been a full-time player. If he was getting pressure, but struggling against the run, you could maybe be patient. But he is doing nothing. The Falcons put TEs on him, and they dominated him. He is getting no push at the line, none. They made him a top 20 paid Edge Rusher. Right now, he is not a top-100 edge rusher. He is the 4th best Edge Rusher on the team that has no good Edge Rushers.

This team needs to get pressure. You can give any pro-QB time, and they will rip you apart. Kirk Cousins is clearly not the guy he once was. He is older and injured. But when you put him under no pressure, he will still tear you apart.

There are a lot of guys the lack of pressure is on. Josh Sweat needs to do more. Nolan Smith gives you nothing. Jalen Carter needs to do more. Vic Fangio needs to do more to help these guys and maybe even blitz more. But the $51 million man needs to give them more than nothing too. The fact Britian Covey has more solo tackles this year than him is embarrassing.

Carter has not been as bad as the other guys on this list. In week 1 he was disruptive, he just didn't get much in terms of stats. In week 2 he was a bit more quiet. Part of that is offenses are focusing on him, double, and sometimes triple-teaming him. But he is also not the first star player to face that type of scrutiny. If he is as good as we keep hearing he is, and we have seen him be at times, he needs to dominate despite all of that.

It is asking him a lot to win when all of his linemates are losing. Maybe that is unfair. But someone on this line needs to step up. He is the best guy on the line. They need production out of him.

CJGJ was supposed to bring much-needed stability to the Eagles Safety room. But honestly, he might be their worst Safety through 2 weeks. He had the big stop on 4th down, so give him credit for that. He should have been penalized for removing his helmet, but he got away with it so lucky him. But outside of that 1 play, he has left a ton to be desired.

In week 1 we saw him miss multiple open-field tackles. Let's give him a pass for the awful field. What is the excuse in week 2 where it happened again? He hasn't been much better in pass coverage either. CJ was great for the Eagles in 2022. 2 weeks in, it seems they did not get the same guy back. I love his energy, I love the trash talk, but none of that means anything if you don't perform. Mr. Mamba Mentaltiy needs to take a page out of the Kobe playbook and actually play well. If you play poorly and act like that, you aren't the Black Mamba, you are Nick "Swaggy P" Young.