Did You See What I Saw?
The Eagles survived the wild-card round of the playoffs with a 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers. Bravo to that. I have always subscribed to the theory that there are no ugly victories, especially in the playoffs.
But this game – let’s be honest – was a dog.
My morning ritual after Eagles games is to read all of the stories and see if they coincide with my own perspective. Rarely are they more different than they were after this game.
First, though, I think we can all agree that the defense won the game for the Birds. Vic Fangio’s pit bulls neutralized the Green Bay rushing attack (for the most part) and exposed young and overrated Packers QB Jordan Love to the tune of four turnovers, including three interceptions.
Love looked confused for most of the game, throwing into coverage, running for his life, missing open receivers and resembling not at all the quarterback who destroyed the Dallas Cowboys, 48-32, in the wild-card round last season.
The Packers scored seven touchdowns last year in Dallas.
They scored one against the Eagles yesterday.
Any questions so far?
Yeah, the Eagles defense won the game. We can all agree on that. Otherwise, however, I saw a lot of things that are not getting any attention during the post-mortems today.
For example:
- The refs blew two calls on the opening play.
That’s right, two calls. The overhead shot clearly showed that
kick returner Keisan Nixon recovered his own fumble and was down before Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wrestled it away under the pile of bodies. It wasn’t even close. If that isn’t irrefutable evidence to overturn a call, please tell me what is.
But the more egregious mistake on that tone-setting play was the obvious helmet-to-helmet hit by ex-Packer Oren Burks that preceded the fumble. Not only did all of the officials miss the call, so did overpaid and underwhelming Fox analyst Tom Brady. No one acknowledged the illegality of the hit on the network broadcast, including ref expert Gene Steratore.
Maybe they need an 82-inch TV screen like mine?
You did see it, too, didn’t you? I’m not hallucinating here.
- The Eagles beat the Packers. I mean, beat
It would not surprise me if a couple of more Green Bay players
sustained injuries on the way back to the locker room after the game. There was a sequence in the fourth quarter when Packers were writhing on the ground after every play. They ended up with at least seven significant injuries during the game.
A vivid case in point was the Dallas Goedert touchdown in the third quarter, when he powered his way into the end zone with three stiff-arms that fended off furious attempts to tackle him. The Eagles were by far the stronger team, physically and mentally.
Another measure of the Eagles’ brawn advantage was the play of Green Bay’s battering-ram running back Josh Jacobs, who has run over most defenses during a brilliant season. Against the big boys on the Eagles defensive line, Jacobs had one memorable play, a 32-yard run to the goal line at the end of the third quarter. The rest of the time, he got mauled.
Am I the only one who, during the long breaks to attend to Green Bay injuries, harkened back to that infamous body-bag game against Washington in 1990?
It was almost that bad.
- Overall, the Packers played a terrible game.
Beyond the terrific performance by the Eagles defense, the Packers were a mess for the entire 60 minutes. In fact, right after halftime, coach Matt LaFleur said that was the worst 30 minutes of football Green Bay had played all season. They matched it with a dreadful second half as well.
I will spare Eagles fans most of the details. After all, who really cares about how the opponent shot itself in its own foot? Still, there were two plays that underscored just how badly the Packers played, and neither involved the smothering Eagles defense.
The first was a fourth-down pass to an uncovered wide receiver Malik Heath near the sideline with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was an easy first down, except that the pass from Love was high and Heath failed to keep both feet inbounds. Green Bay fans are screaming about that play this morning.
And don’t forget the insane mugging by DT Tedarrell Slaton of Saquon Barkley on the sideline, resulting in a personal foul that clinched the victory for the Birds.
No discipline. No discernible game plan. No clue.
The Eagles cannot expect another playoff opponent to beat themselves this way.
- Fans are overreacting to the so-so play of Jalen Hurts.
Yes, he’s still holding the ball way too long, and yes, he’s
missing some easy throws, but he still seems to get the job done. He performs best under the most pressure.
There were only two times in the second half when the Eagles’ lead shrunk to a touchdown or less. On both occasions, Hurts led the Eagles down the field for scores than made it a two-possession game. His drives of 68 and 58 yards were methodical and effective.
I accept the theory that Hurt was rusty after missing almost a month while in the concussion protocol, but he was there when the team needed him most.
Most of my postgame emails were attacks on Hurts, despite the win. Chill. Hurts rises to the occasion. He will be fine.
- Tom Brady needs to leave the broadcast booth.
The Packers-Eagles game was Brady’s first in the playoffs
ever. Something tells me it may also be one of his last.
Boy, does he stink.
As the greatest player in NFL history, he should have been brilliant at taking you inside the huddle at key moments of a tense playoff game. Instead, he spouted one cliché after another, at one point actually saying that Eagles defenders love interceptions. Duh.
His voice is high and scratchy, his insights lack insight and he looks ill-at-ease in a broadcast booth. Other than that, he’s the network rookie of the year.
There is already widespread speculation that he will use his part-ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders as an excuse to opt out of his $375-million contract after he ruins the Super Bowl this year.
Please leave, Tom.
And take Cris Collinsworth with you.
- The Eagles have the best roster in the NFL this year.
If the Birds don’t win the Super Bowl, there should be an
investigation. Seriously. If you watched all of the playoff games in the first round (Detroit and Kansas City had byes), you already know that GM Howie Roseman (who appeared briefly on the sideline at the end of the game) put together the most talented team in the league.
As I write this, we are all waiting to see whether the Birds face the Vikings or the Rams next Sunday at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.
Does it really matter?
The truth is, as far as I’m concerned, they have already dodged the biggest divisional-round bullet, Tampa Bay. Washington’s last-second win on Sunday night eliminated Todd Bowles, Baker Mayfield and the rest of the Buccaneers team that demolished the Eagles in the playoffs last year.
It would be a shock now if the Eagles weren’t in the NFC championship game later this month.
And it would be not at all surprising if the Birds had a parade to plan early next month.
Thank you, Howie Roseman.