Taking Flight
After the Eagles scored a less than inspiring 20-16 win over the Cleveland Browns, there were many questions as to whether they are quality team. Granted, the performance was substandard, especially coming off a bye, but the Eagles found a way to get a W and that is the key this year in the NFL and especially in the NFC, where there are few great teams.
Most of the top teams in the NFC reside in the North Division and Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago will be spending the season beating each other up in their two meetings apiece.
It also must be noted that the Eagles already own a win over Green Bay.
Conversely, look at the Eagles’ competition in the NFC East - an admittedly vastly improved Washington Commanders and then the sinking Dallas Cowboys and sinking even lower New York Giants.
The Eagles could have played until November and the Giants wouldn’t have scored a touchdown in Sunday’ loss to the Eagles. As it is, the Eagles came away with a 28-3 win over a Giants team with a decent defense, but a prehistoric offense.
The Eagles could have played until November and the Giants wouldn’t have scored a touchdown in Sunday’ loss to the Eagles. As it is, the Eagles came away with a 28-3 win over a Giants team with a decent defense, but a prehistoric offense.
The point here is that the Eagles may not be playing great now, but this is all about playing well in December leading to the playoffs.
What those fans worrying about the Eagles postseason fate don’t realize is how difficult it will be for the Eagles not to make the playoffs.
The Eagles (4-2) have 11 remaining games and only four of them are against teams with winning records. That includes two games with Washington, and one against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Obviously, things can change, but some of the expected contenders such as San Francisco (3-4), Atlanta (4-3) and Dallas (3-3) have been less than advertised.
Plus, the Eagles were a playoff team last year which suffered a late-season meltdown. It appears that this year’s Eagles team is better.
The Eagles have had to overcome previous injuries this season to receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and tackle Lane Johnson. All three have returned but there are other injuries to key players such as tight end Dallas Goedert and tackle Jordan Mailata.
All teams in the NFL have to endure injuries, so the Eagles or any team can’t use that as an excuse.
One reason this seems to be a more talented team is the addition of running back Saquon Barkley.
How must his former New York Giants team feel after Barkley torched them in his first return to Met Life Stadium? He rushed for 176 yards on 17 carries (10.6 avg.) and a touchdown in Sunday’s 28-3 victory.
This season Barkley has rushed for 658 yards and five touchdowns on 108 carries. That is a healthy 6.1 yards per carry. He also has 16 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown.
He is averaging 20.6 touches per game.
One other note is that Jalen Hurts has shown recent improvement, not trying to do too much and taking what defenses give him. His passer rating was 126.1 against Cleveland and 119.3 against the Giants, his two best of the season.
So the team is coming on, but has plenty of room for improvement. Last year the Eagles peaked too soon. At this time last year, people were mentioning them as the best team in the NFL.
Nobody is saying that yet, nor should they. The Eagles are far from a finished product, but they have plenty of time and in a less than loaded NFC East field.
Photo: Saquon Barkley / Courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles
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Author: Marc Narducci
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