It’s Officially Time to Stop Doubting The Philadelphia Eagles
Coming into the week the Eagles were 7-2, on a 5-game winning streak, and were playing top-5 Football on both sides of the ball. But the quality of their opponents kept many, both within the city and outside it, from buying in. All 5 teams they beat had losing records. And even if you go by the eye test, only the Bengals are a tough team despite the record.
But the Commanders are not an easy opponent. 7-3, and led by one of the most exciting young players in the NFL. Going into the game everyone agreed this was a step up in competition, and a chance to really prove themselves. Well now that the Eagles beat them fairly easily, it was a 16-point game before a garbage time TD, those still doubting them are going to have a hard time making that argument.
The game was ugly at times. The offense sputtered its way through 3 quarters. But then closed the game out with 3 straight TD drives, 2 coming on long runs by Saquon Barkley. Hurts struggled in the 1st half, but settled down to lead his team to the win. They scored 26 points, and that was with Jake Elliott missing 2 easy FGs and an Extra point.
By the end of the game, they outscored the Commanders 434 to 264.
Eagles Defense Proves It Is The Real Deal
But the offense was not the story of the game. The Commanders’ defense is vulnerable, despite their record. What fans should really be excited about is this defense. Jayden Daniels was 4th in QBR coming into the game. He couldn’t do anything against this Eagles defense. Terry McLaurin was playing like a top 5 WR. Quinyon Mitchell shut him down. McLaurin finished with just 1 catch for 10 yards. That catch did not come against Mitchell.
This defense has been one of the best in the league since the bye week. You might not be impressed by them shutting down the Jags, Giants, Browns, and Cowboys. But you should be impressed by what they did do Washington and the Bengals, 2 of the better offenses in the league.
This young defense is the real deal. You can pair them with one of the most talented offenses in the league. An offense that had only 3 points at half, left 7 points on the board, and still scored 26 points and racked up 435 yards. That should have been a complete rout if Elliott didn’t have the yips.
There is nothing to hide behind now for the doubters. No holes to poke in this team. They are the real deal. They went up against one of the better teams in the NFC and won convincingly. This defense man handled one of the better offenses in the league.
They are 8-2, have a 1.5-game lead in the NFC, and are 3-0 in the division. They are the only team top 10 in both team offense and team defense. They have two wins over potential playoff teams. The Eagles are a very good team, and fans should get used to no longer being underdogs.
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