Wow, so the Philadelphia Eagles actually won today, beating the then NFC East-leading Washington Redskins by the score of 20-13 to improve to 2-4 going into their bye week.
Overall, the Eagles played pretty well. I'd call it their most "complete" game of the season. Even in their only other win to this point, against St. Louis in the first week, the Eagles struggled with their rush defense and passing game, largely due to a lack of pass protection on Michael Vick. The club has been accident-prone the previous four games, committing a host of penalties and not being bashful about turning the ball over. The Eagles committed two turnovers today, one which was in the red zone and another which gave Washington excellent field position. They also had a few yellow flags thrown at their expense, but given their recent efforts, there's not a whole lot to complain about on those fronts if you're an Eagles fan.
Otherwise, the team was pretty sound. The run defense played their best game of the season thus far. Philly picked off Redskins' quarterback Rex Grossman four times, including three by Kurt Coleman. He may have found himself a starting position over Jarrod Page. The offense was dominant in the first half and balanced overall, as LeSean McCoy got an above-average number of touches in the backfield and as usual, was very productive. Vick added another 50+ yards on the ground and now has over 5,000 for his career. He spread the ball around pretty nicely and got tight end Brent Celek more involved in the offense. He did have a costly interception in the red zone on another deflected ball and was hit a few times in the backfield. One hit was so harsh, Vick had to be taken out of the game for a single play. Back-up quarterback Vince Young came into the game for that single play and threw an awful pass, which was intercepted. He is 0-1 on the year with a completion to the opposing team.
I like how Philly was more determined to establish a ground game, which both gave their defense rest and protected Michael Vick from getting hit more than the team would like. They also played far better defense than they had been and while they let Washington back into the game in the 4th quarter, it wasn't the total collapse we've seen in recent weeks.
On the flip side, the Eagles have to protect Vick better. The guy is getting hit way too much. We're only through 6 games and his body has to feel like we're heading into the final game of the regular season. Also, while they weren't as sloppy as they have been, the Eagles need to limit their turnovers and penalties. They were able to luck out a bit today with regard to the penalties and turnovers, but won't get so lucky in future weeks if they keep that up.
As strange as it feels to say, Philly isn't out of the race in the NFC East. They're 2-4, with Dallas at 2-2 (down 13-10 to New England at this point), Washington 3-2 and the Giants leading the way at 4-2. After their bye week, Philly will play Dallas. If Dallas goes on to lose to the Patriots and Philly can defeat the Cowboys, Philly will be 3-4 and Dallas, at best, 3-4 as well. That would vault the Eagles to 2-1 in conference with another game to play against all three division opponents. They'll need to start winning much more regularly than they have been, but in the seemingly average NFC East, anything is possible.
Overall, the Eagles played pretty well. I'd call it their most "complete" game of the season. Even in their only other win to this point, against St. Louis in the first week, the Eagles struggled with their rush defense and passing game, largely due to a lack of pass protection on Michael Vick. The club has been accident-prone the previous four games, committing a host of penalties and not being bashful about turning the ball over. The Eagles committed two turnovers today, one which was in the red zone and another which gave Washington excellent field position. They also had a few yellow flags thrown at their expense, but given their recent efforts, there's not a whole lot to complain about on those fronts if you're an Eagles fan.
Otherwise, the team was pretty sound. The run defense played their best game of the season thus far. Philly picked off Redskins' quarterback Rex Grossman four times, including three by Kurt Coleman. He may have found himself a starting position over Jarrod Page. The offense was dominant in the first half and balanced overall, as LeSean McCoy got an above-average number of touches in the backfield and as usual, was very productive. Vick added another 50+ yards on the ground and now has over 5,000 for his career. He spread the ball around pretty nicely and got tight end Brent Celek more involved in the offense. He did have a costly interception in the red zone on another deflected ball and was hit a few times in the backfield. One hit was so harsh, Vick had to be taken out of the game for a single play. Back-up quarterback Vince Young came into the game for that single play and threw an awful pass, which was intercepted. He is 0-1 on the year with a completion to the opposing team.
I like how Philly was more determined to establish a ground game, which both gave their defense rest and protected Michael Vick from getting hit more than the team would like. They also played far better defense than they had been and while they let Washington back into the game in the 4th quarter, it wasn't the total collapse we've seen in recent weeks.
On the flip side, the Eagles have to protect Vick better. The guy is getting hit way too much. We're only through 6 games and his body has to feel like we're heading into the final game of the regular season. Also, while they weren't as sloppy as they have been, the Eagles need to limit their turnovers and penalties. They were able to luck out a bit today with regard to the penalties and turnovers, but won't get so lucky in future weeks if they keep that up.
As strange as it feels to say, Philly isn't out of the race in the NFC East. They're 2-4, with Dallas at 2-2 (down 13-10 to New England at this point), Washington 3-2 and the Giants leading the way at 4-2. After their bye week, Philly will play Dallas. If Dallas goes on to lose to the Patriots and Philly can defeat the Cowboys, Philly will be 3-4 and Dallas, at best, 3-4 as well. That would vault the Eagles to 2-1 in conference with another game to play against all three division opponents. They'll need to start winning much more regularly than they have been, but in the seemingly average NFC East, anything is possible.
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