WE got whupped.
EAGLES 7 – Bears 27
EAGLES STATS:
Passing: QB Jalen Hurts (16/25– 64.0% – 153 – 0 – 1)
Rushing: RB Saquon Barkley (15 – 82 – 5.4 – 0 – 0)
Receiving: WR DeVonta Smith (8 – 6 – 65 – 10.8 – 0)
Drive Killer: N/A
Sack Leader: N/A
Special Teams Ace: N/A
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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: BEARS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Power Via Doubles: Nearly all of Barkley’s success came from running off-Tackle, instead of inside. This is mostly because our interior linemen cannot be trusted to keep themselves between the ball carrier and the defenders. I said last week “We can bury the narrative that Philadelphia has one of the best O-Lines in the NFL”. Tonight we got the headstone dropped on our foot.
LG Cam Jurgens
While C Drew Kendall is solid, the Guard-play on either side of him, is sinking this team. Both players are liabilities! Watching LG Cam Jurgens get pushed around like a shopping cart yet again, had me wanting to see him benched. As far as RG Tyler Steen, I haven’t been a fan since we drafted him, as you can see here. (NOT DONE)
2) Get Hollywood In the Slot: Not possible, as WR Hollywood Brown was listed among the Inactives for this game. The Inactive list. Great place to keep a one year, 5M$ rental, who has speed to burn. (NOT DONE)
3) Win the ‘A’ Gaps Faster: We got our asses kicked here. The Bears essentially started a 38 year old statue at QB, but we couldn’t touch him. Largely because he was able to get the ball out quickly, to wide open receivers, all game long. We were decent against the run, allowing just 128 yards on 35 totes (3.7 ypc); but there was simply no time to mount a pass rush. (NOT DONE)
4) Sub In Some Size: While DT Ty Robinson (2 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) did get snaps in this one, he mostly rotated with DT Jordan Davis (3 – 0.0 – 0 – 0), and logged no snaps at LDE. (NOT DONE)
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This week’s Four Things score was 0 of 4. Which is the sort of score that will absolutely result in a blowout kind of loss. Luckily, it’s a short week. So Sunday we’re back home to host the 1 – 2 Los Angeles Rams. That is not a typo. What can I say? It’s been a weird season so far. The Raiders are 3 – 0, baby!! Yeah… Weird.
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Game Hero: The game’s 61st minute.
Game goat: QB Andy Dalton (0/1 – 0% – 0 – 0 – 1) – Jalen Hurts had to visit the blue tent to be checked for a concussion. That gave back-up QB Dalton, the chance to babysit the team for just three downs. THREE DOWNS! Two were hand-offs and the third was his lackadaisical toss for an interception, from the three yard line.
If like me, you were in the “Why is this fuck-nugget still taking up a roster spot on my team!??” group; Dalton just threw you a little validation tonight. If like me, you wanted QB Tanner McKee (Inactive tonight) to be our back-up, get on the call-in shows and make your “I told you so!” heard loud and clear.
Dalton’s interception was just one of our three turnovers, but his was the one that felt like the arrow in the ankle. It even drove Hurts to display anger on the sideline.
On The Whole: Sometimes an early season loss has value because of the lessons that come out of it. Or because it can serve as a wake-up call to a team just going through the motions. This is not one of those losses. This was just a bad loss. Mostly because we may not have the player(s) or coaching, to fix the Offensive Line.
Hey, someone explain to me why we couldn’t cover any of their receivers. Small receivers running constant crossing routes across the middle, has a time honored solution. One guy on a stretcher would have totally changed the way that the Bears called plays. And given the out of bounds hit on Jalen Hurts, I don’t mind saying that.
Sadly enough, no adjustment was made there. Speaking of no adjustment, I’m still feeling major Patullo vibes with these poorly designed Screens, inability to run the ball inside, bunch formations, and over-reliance on the Shotgun formation. Yes, Jalen is throwing over the middle more, but seriously. We just fired a guy over this kind of offense, didn’t we? Is he back on the payroll?
Fortunately, all this was also a night where nothing was going our way. From a few ticky-tack calls, to the way the ball bounced into the Bears hands on two fumbles, there was no luck to be had for the Eagles.
I said fortunately, because every season has one or two of these. Why have a bad luck game when we’re actually playing better? Just get the bad ju-ju out of the way, during a shitty performance. Fans who aren’t superstitious will dismiss that. The rest of us, would never. (Because it’s bad luck to say Luck doesn’t matter.)
Well at least the season is properly underway now. Because it’s not really football season, until you have to talk an Eagles fan off a ledge.