Eagles Squeak Out Another Win

Nick Foles finished Sunday a touchdown pass away from tying the record for most touchdowns thrown to start a season without an interception.  Despite Foles not turning over the ball, the Eagles needed three turnovers of their own and still were barely able to hold off the late-surging Arizona Cardinals.

It looked like a solid, decisive win going into the 4th.  The Eagles were up three scores, and the defense had been playing well all day.  That is when the Eagles decided to go to sleep at the wheel.

You may ask how would the Eagles have trouble running out the clock with the number one rusher in the league?  Well, they didn’t run the ball that much.  During the post-game press conference, Chip Kelly explained its not as simple as just running it when their are four good defensive linemen on the other side of the ball.  One might argue that consistently snapping the ball with 20 seconds left on the play clock up three scores in the fourth quarter may not help to ensure a victory either, but that may besides the point.

One way or another, the Eagles D had managed to keep the lid on Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald all day but after numerous offensive stall-outs in the 4th quarter, they finally allowed a pair of touchdowns.  Thanks to some help from the officials on two very close holding calls, the Eagles finally kept the ball away from the Cardinals for longer than a few plays.  Before that, the offense sputtered to the tune of  two 3 and outs and two 6 and outs for the previous four possessions.

The Eagles will have to watch out for 4th quater dips during their next game against the Detroit Lions who can never be counted out of game, just ask the Cowboys.

At the end of the day, this was a win.  Despite some poor execution/game management in the 4th quarter, there were some solid positives to pull from this game, the first of which being the defensive effort.  Trent Cole came back to life the past few weeks, wracking up a handful of sacks, none bigger than the big strip-sack Carson Palmer which set the tone for the rest of the game.  And look quick! There has been a Brandon Graham siting!  These guys may not be long term fits/answers for the 3-4 outside linebacker spot, especially when it comes to dropping into pass coverage, but Graham and Cole could provide a much needed pass-rush threat for the remaining four games.

Another solid development was the involvement of Brent Celek and Zach Ertz.  Hats off to Chip Kelly for some smart game-planning.  Arizona’s undersized safeties served as little competition for the two Eagle big men who scored all three Eagles touchdowns.

The most unexpected positive for the Eagles is Nick Foles.  Despite being subject to constant suspicion Foles got the job done again this weekend throwing another 3 touchdowns.  Aside from that Dallas game, Nick Foles has been perfect for the Eagles, accounting for all but one of their wins.  Fans may continue to discount him as a franchise quarterback, but it’s clear Foles’ brand of football is why the Eagles are winning. For those of you still worrying about Nick Foles vs Dallas- try to look at it this way.  How did Nick Foles bounce back from a bad performance and concussion against Dallas?  He threw for 400+ yards and 7 TD to light up an even better defense.  Pretty resilient.

If Foles and the Eagles’ defense keep rolling like this,  there could be playoff bells ringing in Eagle-land.