The Philadelphia Eagles go into the NFC Playoffs with a win against the New York Giants and some rested starters.
Photo by Webster Riddick
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
After the Philadelphia Eagles’ devastating 33-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week four, the City of Philadelphia was in serious panic mode.
Fans and media pundits blamed quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Eagles’ defense, and head coach Nick Sirianni.
There were more than a few people who believed that the Birds had not recovered from last year’s late-season collapse after a 10-1 start.
In my world of sports talk radio, fans were ready to fire Sirianni, Hurts, and the entire defense, including defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Even though it was way too early to throw in the towel, it didn’t stop Philly’s usual attitude of “Woe is us” from gripping the city.
But after the bye week, the Eagles (14-3) reeled off 10 straight wins before a road loss in Washington. They will come into their first-round playoff match-up against the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday (4:30 p.m. FOX-29) having won 11 of their last 12 games including Sunday’s 20-13 win over the New York Giants to cap off the regular season.
“We don’t listen to outside noise,” Sirianni said. “We just put our heads down and work. When we were 2-2, we were trying to get to 3-2, when were 3-2, we were trying to get to 4-2. We were able to run off a couple there …We’re focused on the task at hand and that will continue throughout the playoffs.”
Photo by Webster Riddick
The defining moment in this season was when, according to ESPN, Eagles offensive linemen Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, and Landon Dickerson convinced Sirianni to feature Barkley and the running game.
Committing to the ground game paid dividends for the Birds’ offense in a variety of ways. Barkley emerged as the most dominant running back in the NFL, gaining 2,005 yards rushing and coming within 101 yards of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards.
“I think it’s kind of a mentality shift when we’re running the ball like that you get to play physical football and when you play physical football on offense and defense, you’re a tough team to stop,” said Eagles center Cam Jurgens. “That was our identity throughout the year. Tough, physical and we’re going to bring it to them.”
Barkley had seven runs of 30 yards or more and he scored 13 touchdowns. More importantly, Barkley’s rushing prowess made things easier for Hurts in the passing game. Before the Eagles went on their 10-game winning streak after the bye week, Hurts had committed turnovers in nine straight games including the loss to Tampa Bay.
During the course of their 10-game winning streak, Hurts committed just two turnovers, a fumble, and an interception in a win over the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the emphasis on the running game, Hurts finished a season shortened by a concussion in the team’s Week 16 loss to the Washington Commanders with a 68% completion percentage, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.
There were times when the Eagles’ running game worked too well and led to some discontent among the team’s receivers. In a win over the Carolina Panthers, Hurts passed for just 108 yards and threw two touchdown passes to DeVonta Smith and Grant Calcaterra. During the game, Hurts had missed some open receivers.
After the game, Smith and A.J. Brown expressed concern about the lack of passes coming their way during the postgame press conference. In what would be Hurts’ last full game of the regular season before getting hurt against Washington, he passed for 290 yards and two touchdown passes to Smith and Brown.
Since surrendering 33 points to the Buccaneers on Sept. 29, the Eagles’ defense has become one of the best units in the NFL. They are No.1 in total defense, No. 1 against the pass, and No. 3 in scoring defense, allowing just 18 points per game.
“We knew that in Tampa Bay that wasn’t us. That wasn’t our standard,” said Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis. “Ever since that game, we just kept trying to increasing the standard. … Tampa Bay was definitely our wakeup call that we had to play at little bit harder.
“We have to do a little bit extra to do what we want to do,” Davis said. “We’re pretty good in statistics in terms of team defense and everything. That’s not what we want. We want the championship at the end of the day.”
The Eagles NFC Playoffs begin at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. You can catch the game on Fox-29.
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