MISSED opportunities.

EAGLES 17 – Commanders 24

 

EAGLES STATS:

Passing: QB Tanner McKee (21/40 – 52.5% – 241 – 1 – 1)

Rushing: RB Tank Bigsby (16 – 75 – 4.6 – 1 – 0)

Receiving: WR DeVonta Smith (4 – 3 – 52 – 17.3 – 0)

Drive Killer: OLB Jalyx Hunt (TD: 0/Int:1 / FR: 1/ 4^th down stops: 0/ FF: 0)

Sack Leader: NA (Sacks: / FF: / Tackles: )

Special Teams Ace: K Jake Elliott 1/1 FG, 2/2 XP

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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: COMMANDERS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Start Tanner McKee: That is precisely what happened, and there is good news and bad news, as a result.

First, the bad news. Had McKee won the game and looked like the phenom that he did last year, we could have used him as trade bait for QB hungry teams. Instead he lost, while displaying little mobility, or improvisational talent, while looking more like a typical back-up.

The good news. If he’s still here when his contract expires, there’s now a decent chance that we can re-sign him ourselves. Make no mistake, this game cost McKee an easy opportunity and likely millions of dollars. Without another chance to prove himself in 2026, he won’t have a body of work that teams can project into being a starter.

I said that we should let QB Sam Howell take the fourth quarter, so we could get a look at our future back-up. However, as I mentioned when discussing McKee, due to the missed opportunity, I’m pretty sure that we did get a look at our back-up. (DONE)

2) Chase the Yards: I wanted the Eagles to play WR DeVonta Smith, so that he could get the 44 yards that he needed, to reach 1,000 receiving yards on the season. He played and he got 52.

I also wanted to see RB Tank Bigsby get a start and maybe get 100 rushing yards. Well, he rushed for 75 with a touchdown, and added a 31 yard catch and run. So he had 106 total yards on the day. I mentioned that a sighting of RB A.J. Dillon (1 – 1 – 3 – 3.0 – 0) would be welcomed, and he caught the only ball thrown to him. (DONE)

3) Get A Long Look: There were certain players that I had my eye on in this game.

On Defense, DT Ty Robinson (3 tackles) got washed around a lot early, but then seemed to find his legs later on. CB Jakorian Bennett (1 tackle) gave up two pass interference penalties. Both were in the endzone, setting the Commanders up at the 1 yard line, and eventually becoming touchdowns. MLB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (12 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) was all over the place. A run stuff, a tackle for loss, a QB knockdown. He’s excellent depth to have

On Offense, WR Darius Cooper (5 – 3 – 33 – 11.0 – 0) got the five targets I’d hoped he get, and he proved reliable as a blocker. He also got flagged on a bullshit taunting call early in the game. TE Cam Latu (no stats) still has yet to see an NFL target in his career. He did help clear space for Bigsby’s touchdown run, though. (DONE)

4) Don’t Shy Away From Kicking: We didn’t, and everything that left K Jake Elliott’s toe, ended up between the uprights. (DONE)

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This week’s Four Things score was 4 of 4, mostly because I already was sure that back-ups would play, so I wrote this accordingly. That wraps the season at 11 – 5, as division winners, and the #3 seed in the playoffs. Now we go to start preparing to host the 49ers next week.

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Game Hero: OLB Jalyx Hunt – Intercepted a ball and recovered a bad snap, to earn two turnovers in this game. He ends the season with 6.5 sacks (team leader) and 3 interceptions (team leader). The thing is, though he’s listed at OLB, he’s actually more of a DE, which makes those interceptions all the more impressive.

Game goat: Our CB’s – The Eagles were flagged for 4 pass interference penalties. Three of which set-up first and goals at the one yard line. And don’t get me started on Kelee Ringo (5 – 0 – 0 – 0) running away from the Commanders QB, and he ran into the end zone

On The Whole: Our back-ups went toe-to-toe with starters, and we were in the game until the final incompletion. The only group that I saw out there that worries me, is our CB’s. Or more to the point, our reserve CB’s. Whether they were setting up first and goal situations for the Commanders, or running away from a touchdown scoring ball-carrier, they looked like they didn’t belong on an NFL roster.

Regarding QB Tanner McKee, some of the balls he threw were high, and some were behind the receivers. In all truth, he just seemed like he was doing to much as the game wore on. Given all the career opportunities that were riding on his performance in this game, it’s easy to understand why he might have been pressing. I could have put the

I don’t want to hand-wring about the play-calling this week, for a myriad of different reasons. Suffice it to say, a passing attack that features more than one concept at a time, might apply more stress to the coverages we’ll see, starting next week.