Philadelphia Eagles Solve Their Woes Before Bye
Oct 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) runs off the field after a win over the against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Giants, 27-0. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Eagles fans spent a lot of time worrying about their team following a game against the St. Louis Rams in which the Eagles nearly blew a 34-7 lead.
And it was all much ado about nothing.
The Philadelphia Eagles played nearly perfect football in their 27-0 win over the New York Giants on Sunday night. If you want to pick at something, here are three items:
1) Nick Foles threw two careless interceptions. That can’t happen.
2) I do not understand the reverse play to Josh Huff. That made no sense and disrupted a drive that would have put the game completely out of reach.
3) Darren Sproles is injured. Thankfully, the injury is not as serious as first feared and he’ll be back in a few weeks.
But yeah, that’s it. All the foolish talk about Chip Kelly’s offense having been completely figured out, that LeSean McCoy had suddenly become a has been, that the Eagles’ defense was beyond repair, well, that all went by the wayside on Sunday night.
Some of us (and I’m pointing at myself here) called it. The New York Giants were a soft 3-2, with their most impressive win coming over a Houston Texans team that doesn’t quite know how to win yet. While many out there thought the Giants would expose the Philadelphia Eagles, the outcome exposed the opposite.
(I’ll tell you something else, too. Everybody is on the Dallas Cowboys’ bandwagon right now, but this is a 5-1 team that got housed at home by the best team they’ve faced, the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle is struggling right now, just not the same team that won the Super Bowl last year. I’m saying it right now – Dallas is a soft 5-1).
We’re now into the bye week, which means it’s a long time without football. But as we enter the abyss, chew on these facts:
1) Nick Foles was effective with the deep ball for really the first time this year, which helped open things up in the running game. The Birds only went 20-plus on six occasions, but Foles hit on three of those balls for 76 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants had to respect those plays and that helped McCoy.
2) And how about Shady? He hit 149 yards on the ground and looked every bit the player who led the NFL in rushing last season. What happened? The offensive line. With Lane Johnson back at tackle and guys like David Molk and Matt Tobin becoming more comfortable out there, the holes that didn’t exist in Weeks 1-4 (and the first half of Week 5) reappeared. Just think: In a few weeks, Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis come back. The Eagles will have some crazy depth.
3) The secondary can be serviceable after all. Great pass rush forced Manning to throw before he was ready on many occasions and when he did get the ball away the secondary was often in the right places at the right times. I didn’t think Bradley Fletcher had his best game, repeatedly getting beaten on comeback routes, but Cary Williams was invisible, and that’s a good thing.
4) I’m fairly certain NFL rules allow teams to wear alternate jerseys twice a season. How does Sunday, Dec. 17 at Lincoln Financial Field against Dallas sound?
5) And just because it was so much fun to watch over, and over, and over on Sunday night, here’s one more photo of Eli Manning looking confused. Have a nice bye week, everybody.
Oct 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) walks off the field after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Giants 27-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports