The Eagles are coming off a much-needed BYE week as they took on the Cleveland Browns. The only thought on the mind of the Eagles and their fans is whether this team can rebound after their slow start. With the late season collapse of last season constantly haunting them, the Birds need a huge bounce back.
Eagles beat the Browns in week 6
The Eagles received the ball to start the game, but the offense couldn’t find a way to convert a first down. They started with a run to Saquon Barkley for five yards but followed that with two incomplete passes to both A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert. Defensively, they started on the right foot. Forcing the Browns’ offense off of the field on an early three-and-out.
The offense continued to struggle after a terrible snap by Cam Jurgens that was saved by Jalen Hurts and thrown out of bounds. Philly followed with a QB draw that went for 9 yards, which was followed by a failed run by Saquon Barkley and redeemed by the tush push.
The Birds would eventually go three and out after another failed conversion. It seemed as if Philadelphia’s offense had yet to find their footing even after the time off. To start the 1st quarter, Hurts was 0-5, while Saquon Barkley had only three carries.
While the offense continued to try and find their footing, the defense looked to be making strides in the right direction. After a couple of good runs by the Browns, Vic Fangio sent Cooper DeJean on a blitz that resulted in the rookie’s first career sack. Shortly after, the pressure arrived again and forced Watson out of the pocket, who then threw the ball out of bounds.
Although the offense picked up their play towards the end of the first quarter, they will still carry the cold streak of scoring zero first-quarter points for the season. After a slow start to the game, the offense was finding their groove with multiple short passes to DeVonta Smith and good runs by Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts.
Barkley finished the first quarter with seven carries for 21 yards. Philadelphia would finally get on the board with a field goal by Jake Elliott after a 14-play drive. The offense showed some signs of life but ultimately failed to put their stamp on the game early on.
The offense was finally able to put together a scoring drive after a 10-play drive that was highlighted by a 34-yard reception by Grant Calcaterra and a big touchdown catch by A.J. Brown’s presence, whose presence was greatly missed. With a 10-0 lead late in the second quarter, the Eagles defense needed a big stop on 3rd and 11. Vic Fangio brought the pressure again as Jalen Carter came up with a big sack on Deshaun Watson. The Browns stuck with the field goal attempt to bring the score to 10-3.
After gaining a significant amount of momentum to start the second quarter, the Eagles didn’t finish the way they started. Philadelphia failed to score on the last drive to end the quarter as the offense stalled out after a sack on 3rd-and-1. This led to a field goal attempt that was blocked by the Browns and returned for a touchdown by Rodney McLeod which left both teams even at 10 to end the first half.
To start the second half, the Eagles’ offense continued to struggle while the defense continued to own the Brown on 3rd down. Philadelphia’s defense did everything they could and more to help put the offense in a better field position. It was unfairly rewarded with only a three points after the field goal by Jake Elliott. It seems as if the offense has hit a brick wall which has become the world’s greatest mystery.
The third quarter continued to be a bit of a head-scratcher for the Eagles. The team is at full health minus Dallas Goedert who left the game earlier due to a hamstring injury. The offensive line couldn’t create holes for the run game while the pass game, which was doing well in shorter areas, continued to heavily rely on deep passes.
With the fourth quarter underway, the Eagles’ defense started by struggling to get off of the field. The Browns found ways to convert on third down with the run game and heavily relied on that going forward. The Eagles ‘defense was finally able to get off the field after a big stop on 3rd down. Unfortunately, Cleveland would tie the game with a 49-yard field goal to make it 13-13 after a 12-play, 8-minute drive by the Browns.
Just as things started to look dark for the offense, Hurts was able to throw find DeVonta Smith across the middle for a 45-yard touchdown pass to help give the Eagles the lead again. Once again, when the Eagles got the ball out of Hurts’ hands quickly the offense ended up with good results. With 7:54 left in the game, it was time for the defense to rally behind a resurrected offense.
The offensive celebration was short-lived after a big 35-yard pass from Deshaun Watson to Jerry Jeudy. Watson would find Pierre Strong on a quick short pass that would bring the Browns closer to the Red Zone, but an offensive face-mask penalty called against Amari Cooper would bring them back to the Eagles’ 36-yard line. Unfortunately, the Eagles would let the Browns back into the red zone as Watson focused on attacking Kelee Ringo.
After multiple attempts to score, the Browns were plagued by two false starts on fourth down, which took them to 4th and 13. Cleveland settled for the field, which made the game 20-16 with 3:54 left on the clock. It would now be on the Eagles’ offense to put their foot on the throat of the Browns and seal the game. Philadelphia relied on the run game between both Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. Combined, the run game produced over 100 yards in this game.
With two minutes left in the game, the Eagles offense called on A.J. Brown to make the big play. Hurts threw a 40-yard pass to A.J. Brown to set the Eagles up for a red zone score. The offense would just kneel out the clock to improve to 3-2 on the season.
