Crossing Broad
Oof. That was a rough one. It felt like the Eagles were well on their way to their easiest win of the season, but too much dicking around resulted in a 22-point lead becoming a six-point lead, requiring a 3rd and 22 miracle touchdown grab from DeVonta Smith and an end zone interception from Nakobe Dean to put the Jags away.
Pick your cliche of choice. They didn’t step on the opponent’s throat. They took their foot off the gas. The Eagles LET ‘EM OFF THE HOOK, as the late Denny Green once said. It felt like they didn’t think Doug Pederson’s guys had any life in them, none at all, so they got a little casual and let Jacksonville turn a potential blowout into a ridiculous nailbiter.
It’s annoying because you allow the narratives from early in the year to return. They win, but look sloppy doing it. Nick Sirianni once again twists himself into a pretzel of goofy decision making. It’s a classic “glass half empty” type of Eagles game, where people are probably gonna do Negadelphia after a win because they made it way more difficult than it needed to be.
To the observations, which are a rollercoaster:
1) Tiki Barber and Jason McCourty talked about the failed first tush push, saying the Eagles put that wrinkle on tape for other teams to study. That was already on tape because the Eagles have done it several times over the last two years. In fact, they did it in the third quarter and moved the sticks.
2) What do we think Austin Trammell was doing on the fumbled first punt? Did he not see Sydney Brown barreling down at him, going a hundred miles an hour?
3) If I told you last year that Ben VanSumeren would catch a pass, your response would have been ______ ?
4) The Eagles scored in the first quarter. Our long national nightmare is over. Hooray!
5) Evan Engram with a bad drop to end the Jag-wires 2nd drive. Really bad. Thank you, Evan Engram.
6) Ronald Darby plays for the Jags? Had no clue he was still in the league.
7) Saquon Barkley with the backwards hurdle is one of the most insane things you’ll ever see. Holy shit:
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/UtCENDw6no— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
8) Jacksonville wanted pass interference on the 4th and 1 where Cooper DeJean stopped Engram. It wasn’t DPI because the contact took place behind the line the scrimmage. Plus, it was an ugly play to begin with, so their complaints are voided. You can’t dial up something that bad and then ask for a flag.
9) 4th and 3 right before halftime. Let’s check the flow chart:
(A.J. Brown was actually open, Hurts didn’t make the best throw)
10) Cooper DeJean is a fan favorite already. COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! You can hear it really loud on television....
