Birds of a Feather
The Eagles are headed for a Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in three years and this time the Birds should finish the deal.
One reason the Eagles are in the position they are is that they haven’t been making mistakes.
In the playoffs, the Eagles have not committed a turnover. They have forced 10 turnovers in the playoffs and have yet to commit one in three games.
In Sunday’s 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders, the Eagles forced four turnovers. The Eagles scored touchdowns off all four of the turnovers.
It’s a pretty simple game when a team is mistake-free.
The toughest part of playing the Eagles is that they have an offense that is dangerous running and passing the ball.
They have run the ball more due to the brilliance of Saquon Barkley, but if teams are taking away the run (which nobody has been able to do) then the Eagles can torch teams with the passing game.
Against the Commanders, the Eagles did a good job of taking away the big play. That is why Washington had to nickel and dime its way down the field.
Washington needed 18 play on the first drive of the game to kick a field goal.
We keep hearing that all these quarterbacks in the NFL who are better than Jalen Hurts, but he has been mistake-free this year and especially in the postseason.
Plus, for a guy who hurt his knee the week before, Hurts surely moved well against Washington. His mobility adds another dimension to the Eagles offense.
A classic example of how dangerous Hurts is, came when he scored the first touchdown of the game in the Eagles 28-22 NFC semifinal win over the Los Angeles Rams. Hurts darted for a 44-yard touchdown.
With the excellence of Barkley, Hurts hasn’t had to run as much, but he is still highly effective.
Of course the guy they will play in the Super Bowl isn’t too bad running or throwing the ball either.
On the other side of the ball, against Washington and throughout the playoffs, linebacker Zack Baun and defensive tackle Jalen Carter have been dominant players, the same way they were during the regular season.
Even a player like defensive end Nolan Smith, who doesn’t receive a ton of publicity, has taken it up a notch in the playoffs with four sacks in three games.
No matter what happens, this has been a great season, but there is no reason to think the winning has stopped. Yes, we know the Chiefs are attempting to become the first three-peat Super Bowl winner, but their roster isn’t as strong as the Eagles, which objectively has the most talented roster in the NFL.
The Eagles are a team of great depth. When there have been injuries, the backups have played at a high level.
An example is at linebacker with Nakobe Dean out for the season due to injury. Oren Burks has replaced him and he’s been an impactful player.
Kansas City beat the Eagles, 38-35, two years ago in a classic Super Bowl. This should be another great Super Bowl, only there should be a different winner this time around.
Photo: Courtesy Philadelphia Eagles/X
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Author: Marc Narducci
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