While the Eagles have found different ways to win this season to go a league-best 6-0, it’s fair, to be honest, and say that they are still far from being a finished product. And that thought alone should strike fear into the hearts of their foes for the rest of the season.
While Jalen Hurts has been great he has yet to put his haters to rest. Although Gannon’s defense leads the league in takeaways, they have yet to put a complete game together. While the Eagles’ offense has been great, they have yet to find ways to consistently score in the second half.
You can put together a whole new phase for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the number of things you can nitpick the Eagles for but one way or another, it should terrify the league that this team has yet to truly hit its stride.
Eagles can be better
The offense is finding ways to win late in games after putting themselves in a hole by coming out flat in the second. Is the game plan too scripted to be adjusted? Shane Steichen has put the offense in some situations that leave you scratching your head.
While the injuries to the offensive line give him a way out, there’s no reason why you’re not placing the ball into the hands of A.J. Brown when you need that big play. There should be no reason as to why Quez Watkins shows up every four games or why the offense tends to play scared when defenses start to blitz.
The Eagles have an incredible amount of talent on offense which should allow Steichen’s creativity to shine naturally. Instead, the offense seems to hit a wall that takes them some time to get out of. Nick Sirianni was asked about this and he responded:
“You come out and you are in a lull. This happens in training camp. You’ll hear me say this in training camp sometimes like, ‘We are in a lull’. And this is going to happen in a season. All it takes is somebody to make a play to get us out of this lull. I have had this conversation with these guys in training camp before. You lean on your best guys in those situations, and [WR] A.J. [Brown] made a big play on a short route and he broke the tackle for a big play that set us up for the score.”
Sunday night was one of the few times this season where we saw the Eagles’ offense open it up a bit by trusting in A.J. Brown in the second half. On 2nd and 9, the Eagles drew up a play to get the ball into the hands of their most skilled playmaker. Hurts threw a short pass to Brown which turned into a 22-yard play after three missed tackles.
That play alone helped to seal a statement win as the Eagles used 13 plays to drive down 75 yards while eating 7:37 off the clock in the fourth quarter. It’s moments like that, that make you question why isn’t this offense doing things like that in the third quarter.
As for the defense, this may have been their most complete effort in quite some time. They consistently delivered pressure except on the drives where Dallas scored, oddly enough. The Eagles looked as if they played a prevent defense during those drives as opposed to keeping the pressure going.
If Gannon needs any more proof as to what happens when you pressure a QB then please look no further than the 3 interceptions in the game. The defense forced Rush to, well…rush his throws which led to some big turnovers.
The Eagles will now head into the bye with an undefeated record and a long season ahead of them. It’s the perfect time for the coaching staff to reflect on their 2nd half woes and find a way to deliver a consistent effort all game long. But once the day comes when the Eagles deliver a complete game, the NFL may be a few steps behind in trying to figure this team out.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
