Thoughts From Eagles-Packers

Eagles Solid In Another Road Win

A shorthanded Packers team gave a pretty good effort on Sunday, but the Eagles were able to come away with a solid victory to improve to 5-5 on the season.

The Eagles not only didn’t have to face Aaron Rodgers today, but they didn’t have to see much of his top backup Seneca Wallace. Wallace left the game after the first Green Bay drive with an injured groin and was replaced by Scott Tolzien.

Tolzien did a pretty good job for Green Bay, throwing for 280 yards and driving his team into scoring position throughout the game. However, the Eagles managed to only give up 13 points despite giving the Packers four redzone opportunities.

Facing a third-string quarterback on a team that had already had more than there share of injuries, this was a game that the Eagles needed to win handily and give them credit for coming out and taking care of business.

Although the Packers kept things close through the first half, the Eagles made a lot of big plays in big moments in this game, and got themselves back to .500.

Another Good Start For Foles

Nick Foles had another good showing today.

Foles threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdown passes went for 32, 45, and 55 yards.

Foles has established a good rapport with Riley Cooper. Cooper had another huge game, with three catches for 103 yards and two more touchdowns.

Foles looks like a very confident player right now. He’s had so much success with his deep passes, that he’s practically salivating at any opportunity to air out the football.

Foles also picked up 38 yards on eight carries. For a guy who doesn’t have great speed, that’s a solid amount of rushing yards to tack on to your passing total.

Now, there was a bit of a downside to Foles’ effort today. The quarterback got a little lucky on a couple of throws that could have been intercepted.

On the first touchdown pass, Foles was actually a little late on the throw to DeSean Jackson. The pass could have been intercepted, but the defenders ended up tipping the pass to Jackson.

Before the half, Foles made a mistake by throwing a ball up for grabs. He threw across his body, and left a ball out there that floated for a couple of seconds but fortunately no Green Bay defender was close enough to make the play.

Foles also lost a fumble in the second half that gave the Packers a short field to work with.

Overall it was a solid showing for Foles. It was another game where he made some big throws, and led the team to a road victory. He continues to state his case to be team’s starting quarterback.

Bend But Don’t Break Defense Succeeds Again

It was a bit of a mixed showing for the Eagles’ defense today, but overall I thought they did a good job.

On one hand, they allowed third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien to move the ball on them throughout the game. They gave up 280 passing yards to the backup quarterback, and were on the field for over 34 minutes.

But on the other hand, they didn’t allow the Packers to score on any of their four redzone opportunities. They came up with a 76-yard interception return from Brandon Boykin on one drive, and stopped the Packers on fourth down again with more than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

They were able to play pretty well despite missing three of their starters (Bradley Fletcher, Mychal Kendricks, Earl Wolff), and they held powerful running back Eddie Lacy to just 73 yards on 24 carries.

DeMeco Ryans was the guy who stood out most once again. Ryans played a strong, physical game, making plays throughout the day. He finished with 13 tackles, was involved on several big stops on Lacy, and made a great diving interception on a tipped ball.

Even though it was against a third-string quarterback, the results that the defense put out today were consistent with the improvement that we’ve seen over the last month. What Billy Davis is doing right now is working, and he should be given credit.

Quick Thoughts

Offense

• Jason Peters left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. He returned to the game late in the quarter, but was quickly left again with a leg injury.
• Allan Barbre was called for a holding penalty that nullified a big run from Bryce Brown.
• First and goal with over a minute remaining, and not one carry for LeSean McCoy before the half? Kelly put the ball in the hands of Nick Foles three times, and the offense stalled. I know Foles has been great in the redzone this year, but Kelly hasn’t done a good enough job involving McCoy in the redzone.
• Speaking of McCoy, the running back picked up 155 rushing yards on 25 carries. He gained 41 yards on the final drive, helping to run 9:32 off of the clock to end the game.
• Jason Avant only had two receptions, but one of them was a key catch for 23 yards that helped extend a drive.
• The tight ends went back to being a non-factor this week. Zach Ertz was held without a catch, and Brent Celek and James Casey combined for just two catches for 15 yards.

Defense

• Bradley Fletcher was inactive for today’s game with a pectoral injury. Roc Carmichael saw an increase in reps as a result.
• Mychal Kendricks went down on the team’s first series after teammate Earl Wolff collided with his knee. Najee Goode took over for Kendricks.
• Goode dropped what should have been an interception on a pass from Tolzien to Andrew Quarless in the second quarter.
• Nate Allen made a nice open field tackle on a screen to Lacy in the first quarter.
• Patrick Chung took over for Earl Wolff. Chung broke up a pass in the flat to Quarless on third and inches.
• Brandon Boykin picked off Tolzien in the redzone and returned it 76-yards. Boykin had a nice hit on Jordy Nelson before the half.
• Damian Square made a nice play chasing down Lacy in the third quarter for a short gain.
• Another week, another sack for Vinny Curry. Curry has four sacks on the season, and has gotten sacks in three of the last four games.
• Connor Barwin batted down a pass on 3rd and 4 in the fourth quarter in the redzone.
• Cary Williams had seven tackles and broke up several passes.

Special Teams

• Alex Henery missed a 39-yard field goal after the Boykin interception return. He did come back to hit his next two attempts.
• Silly play by Colt Anderson who pursued a punt deep in Eagle territory that nearly turned into a Green Bay touchdown. The officials ruled that it was an illegal touch by the Packers. Anderson’s got to just get away from a ball like that and not take any chances.

Final Thoughts

In my pregame thoughts article, one of my final points was that the Eagles have been one of the most difficult teams to figure out. They’ve gone through hot and cold stretches this year. When it seems like they’re turning the corner, they take a step back. when it seems like the wheels are beginning to fall off, they get themselves back on track.

Right now, it looks as though things are beginning to come together for this team.

Nick Foles is stepping up and securing the quarterback job more and more every week, providing much needed stability at the position. The defense has gone from liability to strength. The Eagles are in the thick of the division race, and should be in the picture until the end of the year.

The next challenge for Chip Kelly and Nick Foles?

Win a home game.

Denny Basens is the editor of GCobb.com. Email him at dbasens@ycp.edu