Takeaways following Philadelphia Eagles first loss of the 2022 NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles almost survived quite a few long drives by the Washington Commanders’ offense. They nearly pulled off the come-from-behind victory despite a less-than-stellar showing by their defense, missed and blown calls by the officials, and quite possibly, the Washington Commnaders’ best performance of the 2022-2023 regular season.

In the end, Philadelphia still had opportunities to win. That’s all that you can hope for. This time, things didn’t go their way. That’s okay. Week 11 presents another opportunity. This team will bounce back.

There’s much to work on. That too is okay, but rest easy. We trust the coaches and this team’s leadership. It’s beginning to look like, if the Eagles don’t beat themselves, the rest of the NFL is going to have a hard time getting the job done.

Let’s break this one down and discuss a few lessons learned.

Here are ten takeaways following the Philadelphia Eagles’ first loss of the season.

Culture is tested following losses. We repeat. This team is going to bounce back. We could list 20 takeaways following Week 10, but for now, we’ll keep it at ten.

Britain Covey has got to go.

Hopefully, those of you that thought Britain Covey would light up the NFL as a punt returner simply because he lit up the Pac-12 in the same role have caught up with the rest of us. At this point, we aren’t certain who his replacement should be – maybe Quez Watkins- but with each passing week, it’s hard to figure out why he is still on this roster.

The Philadelphia Eagles clearly miss Jordan Davis. That’s a big surprise huh?

The reality is this. The Eagles have a lot of bodies at the defensive tackle position, but the only great run defender they have is Jordan Davis. Unfortunately, he’s on the injured reserve, and it’s obvious that his team misses him. Javon Hargrave, Milton Williams, Fletcher Cox, and Marlon Tuipulotu just aren’t stout enough to get the job done consistently.

Philadelphia must maintain an even balance of run/pass plays on offense.

The Eagles ran the ball four times in the first half. As a result, they trailed at the beginning of the second for the first time this season. You can’t win that way consistently.

A more balanced attack helped Philly get back in the game. Let’s hope that Shane Steichen keeps that in the back of his mind as we approach next week’s game.

Josiah Scott and Avonte Maddox are both better than people give them credit for being.

Avonte Maddox is a baller. He isn’t perfect, but he’s one of the NFL’s better slot cornerbacks in the game. Josiah Scott filled in admirably in his absence.

We know Maddox is out for about a month, but it’s good to see that the quality of play didn’t slip too much.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson must be extended… like now.

We can’t think of too many more ways to tell you that C.J. Gardner-Johnson must be on this team in 2022. We’ve been beating this drum for a while now, so how about we let someone else tell you?

Well said Eliot! Well said!

Another interception gives him six on the season. The Birds still need depth at safety, but they seem to have found a good one.

Jordan Mailata may still be dealing with that shoulder injury.

Jordan Mailata had a rough go of it in Week 9 versus the Houston Texans. He was better in Week 10 versus the Commanders, but it looks like that shoulder injury he sustained versus the Jacksonville Jaguars is still bothering him to some degree.

He’s gutting it out. Let’s hope that his health gets better quickly though as we continue to move forward.

Spamming passes to Dallas Goedert versus zone coverage always wins.

Yeah, the referees missed a blatant facemask call. Still, as great as Dallas Goedert is, ball security can improve. Don’t give up on him though. This is a top-five tight end, and versus zone coverage, he’s damn near unstoppable.

The moral of the story is this. Keep feeding Number 88 on offense.

Robert Quinn got old quickly.

No one should give up on Robert Quinn just yet. At some point, he will make plays, but we should probably also give up on believing he’ll morph back into the Pro Bowl player that he was last season.

This team has some resolve, don’t they?

Washington ran 81 plays. The Eagles only ran 47. The Eagles turned the ball over four times, committed seven penalties for 75 yards, and somehow still had a few chances to win this game at the end.

This team has some resolve. They didn’t get the desired result, but losing to Washington won’t result in a downward spiral.

The Eagles are human, and that isn’t the end of the world.

There were thoughts that this team could go 17-0. That won’t happen now, but this is still the NFC’s best team. This reset will serve them well.

If you’re feeling the need to worry about someone, be fearful for the Indianapolis Colts. They’re going to get the Philadelphia Eagles’ best shot in Week 11. That’s a promise.