FIVE turnovers Hurts Eagles.
EAGLES 16 – Chargers 19 OT
EAGLES STATS:
Passing: QB Jalen Hurts (21/40 – 52.5% – 240 – 0 – 4)
Rushing: RB Saquon Barkley (20 – 122 – 6.1 – 1 – 0)
Receiving: WR A.J. Brown (13 – 6 – 100 – 16.7 – 0)
Drive Killer: DT Byron Young (TD: 0/Int: 0/ FR: 1/ 4th down stops: 0/ FF: 0)
Sack Leader: OLB Jalyx Hunt (Sacks: 2.5 / FF: 1/ Tackles: 8)
Special Teams Ace: WR Britain Covey (PR: 3 – 54 – 18.0 – 0)
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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: CHARGERS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Get Saquon 90 Rushing Yards: Saquon surpassed the 90 yard mark, finishing with 122 rushing yards. He had 69 on 13 carries (5.3ypc) in the first half. In the second half he had a sporadic 7 carries for 53 yards, including a 52 yard touchdown run. I don’t know why this coaching staff insists on abandoning the run when it’s working. (DONE)
2) Beat On Their QB: The Defense went out and collected 7 sacks, while hitting the opposing QB 11 times. He stayed under duress. (DONE)
3) Overwhelm Their Offensive Line: Our Defense gave up 169 rushing yards, but 66 were from QB who spent the night scrambling for his life. The other 103 came on 28 carries (3.6ypc). We beat on their QB, and kept his completion percentage to 46.1. We also bottled up their RB’s. The Defense did everything they were asked to do. (DONE)
4) Throw the Uppercut: We absolutely got a few of these from TE Dallas Goedert (10 – 8 – 78 – 9.7 – 0), and a couple of them were gotta have it first downs. (DONE)
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This week’s Four Things score was 4 of 4. So how do we go a perfect 4 of 4 and still lose? Simple by turning the ball over five times. Better results are expected next week vs Las Vegas.
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Game Hero: OLB Jalyx Hunt – He had 2.5 of our 7 sacks, made 8 stops, forced a fumble (Chargers recovered), wand was generally a menace all game long. THIS is the Hunt that we were expecting right out of the gate this season, and he’s making his presence felt more and more as the season wears on.
Game goat: QB Jalen Hurts – He’s the one who threw three interceptions, had another come off of A.J. Brown’s hands, and fumbled once. That credits him for five turnovers. While I’ve never been his biggest fan, and I do believe he holds some culpability for those turnovers, it’s unfair to lay all the blame at his doorstep.
On The Whole: Lots of Eagles fans are laying this loss entirely with Hurts, and letting Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo off the hook for this. NOT SO FAST. On each one of these interceptions, you’ll see a defender sitting on the ball as the receiver curls toward the QB.
That level of predictability is terrifying. Especially against an opponent we only see once every four years or so. Imagine how familiar Washington will be with us! This needs fixing, and blaming Hurts alone, or execution, or anything else besides the root of the problem, won’t get the problem solved.
While it’s true that we shit the bed in this game, we also did some good things. So let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We got the run game going, and our defense produced SEVEN sacks of QB who is mobile. Hurts used the middle of the field, and we did get a couple of isolated looks on deep balls. This is all stuff we can build on. So long as we can weed out the predictability.
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