It got a little dicey for the Eagles early on Tuesday night, falling down 10 points in the first quarter to Washington. But from that point forward, Philly dominated on both sides of he ball, out gaining Washington by a whopping 282 yards.
With the 27-17 victory, Philadelphia remains in the playoff hunt and just a half game out of the final wildcard spot in the NFC, which is currently occupied by the Minnesota Vikings.
There are a ton of things to discuss following this win, so let’s jump right into it.
Jalen Hurts has a bounce back performance
The 10-0 hole the Eagles dug themselves into wasn’t entirely on Jalen Hurts, but he certainly didn’t help the situation. The flukey interception off Dallas Goedert‘s ankle aside, his sack fumble gave Washington great field position and allowed them to increase their lead to two scores.
Nick Sirianni gave him an ear full when he came to the sideline, and Hurts responded in a big way. He finished the night going 20-for-26 through the air for 296 yards and a touchdown. He added an additional two rushing touchdowns to his stat line on quarterback sneaks.
I haven’t been a Hurts supporter this season, but if there’s one thing you can’t knock the guy for, it’s his resiliency. He had a handful of nice throws from the second quarter on, including an absolute dime to Greg Ward in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed the victory.
There’s no doubt this offense can function at a high level, regardless of who’s under center. Hurts will continue to be that guy moving forward, and based on what we’ve seen, there’s no reason to think this offensive attack will slow down with him leading the charge.
Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert are offensive focal points, finally
Every Eagles fan has dreamed of the day where Goedert and Miles Sanders are the clear focal points of the Eagles offensive attack. On Tuesday, we finally got to see that come to fruition.
Sanders is becoming the lead back we all know he was capable of being, as he finished the night with 131 yards on the ground on 18 carries (7.1 YPC average). Goedert has become a dominant force at the tight end position in recent weeks. He followed up his 100-yard performance against the Jets with another 100-yard outing, hauling in seven catches for 135 yards.
It’s abundantly clear that these two guys are the best offensive weapons at Sirianni’s disposal right now. No disrespect to DeVonta Smith, who’s obviously a very solid player, but he’s not quite on the level of Sanders or Goedert just yet.
If the Eagles are going to make a real push at the postseason, Sanders and Goedert need to continue dominating.
Nick Sirianni has proven to be a great hire
Remember the days of Eagles fans clamoring for Nick Sirianni to get fired just 8-9 games into his tenure? It feels like light years ago now — and it speaks to the complete 180 he’s done as a play caller over the past month and a half.
Sirianni had another gem on Tuesday, utilizing a balanced attack while continuing to lean on his rushing attack. Even when his team got down by 10, he didn’t deviate from his offensive strength. Every week we see coaches try to get cute and start passing the ball all over the yard when they get down early, even if it’s not their strong suit. Since the Detroit game in Week 9, Sirianni hasn’t slipped up once in that regard.
The way he got on Hurts after his fumble was great, too. He’s not afraid to coach his players hard and his players are clearly responding to it. He challenges his guys every week and it’s been a joy to see the maturation process of this team.
The Eagles have a legit coach on their hands. Howie and Lurie made the right decision on this one, there’s no doubt about it.
How about that Jalen Reagor guy?
I know most Eagles fans can’t stand Jalen Reagor right now. They booed him every single time he went back to return punts. But he had a nice showing on Tuesday and showcased some of his big play ability. He finished the night with three catches on three targets for 57 yards, which included a 34-yard screen play that setup the game sealing touchdown.
The question with Reagor has never been about his actual physical ability. It’s always been about the mental side of the game for him. Is he always engaged? Can you rely on him to make plays in crunch time? He squashed both of those notions Tuesday night. On the Hurts sack fumble, Reagor sprinted up behind the Washington defender who recovered and forced a fumble. The Eagles didn’t end up getting the ball back, but that’s all effort right there from Reagor. Then, on a critical third down in the fourth quarter, Reagor caught a screen pass and scampered for 34 yards.
It’s nice to finally see Reagor have a positive impact on the outcome of a game, and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come for the young man.
This offensive line is remarkable
Down to two third strong guards, the Eagles rushing attack didn’t miss a step. It’s almost unbelievable at this point.
The racked up 238 yards on the ground. That’s seven straight games in which the team rushed for over 175 yards, the first to do so since the 1985 Bears.
I know we all saw Jason Kelce’s blocking on Sanders’ 38-yard run already, but let’s just give it another look, shall we:
It gets better every time you watch it.
At this point, there isn’t a defense in the NFL that’s capable of stopping the Eagles rushing attack. And until someone proves they can slow it down, there’s no reason to think anyone will.