The Eagles vs Packers contest ended with a 40-33 win for the men in all black, marking the tenth Philadelphia victory this season. Putting aside a few boneheaded mistakes, the Eagles offense put on a clinic, scoring 40 points on the back of 500 total yards, 363 of them on the ground. Truthfully, despite the mere seven-point differential in the final score, Philadelphia dominated this game, looking like the better team from beginning to end.
And yet, the game was still far from perfect. The Eagles won, obviously that is something to cheer about, but for the fourth week in a row, it wasn’t in the fashion that you expect a team of the Eagles caliber to win in. With that, while morale is high, it’s a great time to look inward–what is this team’s biggest weakness moving forward?
The Eagles Kryptonite: Run Defense
Yes, the thing we’ve all heard so much about over the past month. The Eagles have struggled mightily against the run without rookie nose tackle Jordan Davis, and despite the additions of Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh, that still hasn’t changed. Game after game, teams bully the Eagles defense in the trenches, regardless of how good their backfield or o-line is.
We’ve seen the Texans find wild success on the ground. The Colts experienced similar success, at least in the first half. Now tonight, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined for over 100 yards and a touchdown. All of this begs the question: if the Eagles are still struggling to stop the run after their recent acquisitions, who is really at fault?
The Lackluster Linebackers
There are two main culprits: linebacker play and coaching. Truth be told, the defensive front actually does a nice job–the line of scrimmage is typically moved in the Eagles favor and although there are holes, the linebackers should be able to fill them. Here lies the first issue: TJ Edwards and Kyzir White have to step up in the run game.
Too often, safeties are making tackles on inside runs. That isn’t supposed to happen. Edwards and White started the season very well, but in this highly criticized down stretch, they have gone mysteriously quiet. This has gone mostly unnoticed for quite some time and needs to be addressed moving forward. Nakobe Dean, the Eagles 2022 third-round pick, continues to be used solely in a special teams role, but it may be time to get him more involved on the defensive side of the field. At this point, whether he’s ready or not, there isn’t much to lose.
Jonathan Gannon and the Prevent Defense
Okay, it’s not truly a “prevent defense”, but the point still stands: the soft coverage needs to stop. It’s been at the core of Gannon’s defensive gameplan since he arrived in Philadelphia, but it has been exposed over and over since. However, never has it been so detrimental to the run defense as it has this season.
Along with allowing quarterbacks to dink and dunk their way down the field at will, the shell coverage, intended to stop big plays on deep passes, leaves the Eagles with weak boxes. You want to know why the safeties are constantly having to make tackles? Perhaps it has to do with opposing offenses always being able to send a lineman to the second level, eliminating one of the two box linebackers from the play. When there are only six, sometimes even five, guys in the box, teams are going to exploit it.
Gannon’s biggest issue during his Eagles tenure has been his lack of adjustment, and now, it’s more apparent than ever. While the defensive front has been an easy scapegoat for fans, it’s blatantly apparent now that they aren’t the culprit. No, if anyone is to blame, it is Jonathan Gannon. It doesn’t matter who Howie Roseman and co. bring in, as long as there is no adjustment, the Eagles’ defense will continue to struggle.
However, Eagles vs Packers Pointed Out Something Even Greater
The Eagles vs Packers game was a lot closer than it should have been, and yes, the defense, especially against the run, was largely to blame. However, despite what most might think, this is not the Eagles biggest problem. Philadelphia’s biggest problem actually is… themselves.
What’s been harder to watch than anything another team has done to the Eagles over these past four weeks is what the Eagles have done to themselves. Untimely turnovers, unforced errors, special teams blunders–these have been the difference between the Eagles weeks one to three and the Eagles now. While it may seem like a cop-out answer, it is the indisputable truth: the Eagles will only go as far as they allow themselves to go.
Against the Packers tonight, the team gave up three first half touchdowns on drives totaling 109 yards. 109 yards! That’s just over 36 yards per drive, meaning the Eagles gave up 20 points in about the easiest way they could. But how did it happen? First, there was a huge return which set the Packers up around the 50. Then, two botched QB sneaks gave Green Bay the ball on Philadelphia’s half of the field. Finally, an AJ Brown fumble was scooped up and taken to the Eagles’ 13-yard line, allowing for a three-play touchdown drive. These mistakes have been the norm in past weeks and are the primary reason for the Eagles’ regression.
The Biggest Issue is the One in the Mirror
The Eagles control their own destiny. It’s as simple as that. At this point, the Eagles have all but locked up a playoff spot and are favorites to finish as the NFC’s top seed. Perhaps the current team is good enough to get to the dance, maybe even with a first-round bye. However, it’s going to take better performances than the one featured in Eagles vs Packers.
The Eagles have been able to win off of talent alone. That’s not a bad thing. The Eagles have one of the most loaded rosters in the league and are undeniably a Super Bowl-caliber roster. However, papers don’t win championships, teams do–the guys listed on the roster aren’t going to win it all without execution, something we haven’t seen enough of in quite some time. The offense putting up 40 points is awesome, but it won’t be the norm. Neither will the defense holding opponents to 16 (we saw that tonight). At some point, the Eagles are going to have to start consistently executing again, and that starts by fixing the most controllable part of the game: self-inflicted wounds.
For More Great Football Content
Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
