Roob’s Observations: Eagles blow out Bengals in Cincinnati originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Three straight wins, two straight blowouts, a 5-2 record and the Eagles are looking like a real football team again.
The offense looked huge. The defense looked fantastic. And maybe this will be a fun season after all.
The Eagles went to Cincinnati on Sunday and picked up an impressive 37-17 victory over a dangerous Bengals team. It was impressive all around.
Here are our 10 immediate observations as the Eagles ride a three-game winning streak for the first time in nearly a year.
1. This is a win the Eagles have needed for a long time. On the road against an elite quarterback and a quality team where all phases operate at a high level. We didn’t learn much from the Browns and Giants, except that the Eagles could beat terrible teams with bad quarterbacks. This was Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Trey Hendrickson and a scary game that the Eagles absolutely dominated. And despite forfeiting the home opener to the Falcons and despite being embarrassed by the Bucs, the Eagles are 5-2 with a three-game winning streak, and the talk of Nick Sirianni might soon could be about a contract extension instead of when he is fired. You’ve got to love how the Eagles have bounced back from some early setbacks to take their place among the NFL’s best. And say what you will about Sirianni: he is excellent at preparing his team, instilling self-confidence and shaking off any setbacks. By making them believe in themselves. And a season that seemed in disarray just a few weeks ago now has so much promise. The Eagles are legit. How about that?
2. Very encouraging stuff from the Eagles defense. After the Bengals opened the game with a 17-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, they really seemed unstoppable. Joe Burrow went 11-for-12 on the 60-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase. But one hallmark of Vic Fangio’s defense is that they figured things out along the way, tightening up coverage, improving pressure and holding Cincinnati to 10 points and just 210 yards. The Bengals went 6-for-6 on third down in the first drive and then 4-for-7 the rest of the way. Adjustments. The Eagles even got two defenses in the fourth quarter for the first time in two years — since a win over the Steelers when Chauncey Gardner-Johnson picked off Kenny Pickett and Javon Hargrave forced a Pickett fumble. Over the past three weeks, this defense has held the Browns, Giants and Bengals to 29 points – the first time since early 2016 that they have allowed fewer than 30 points in a three-week span. Burrow targeted Chase 11 times and he had 54 yards. That’s huge. Great coverage, great pressing, great tackling. In the second half, Burrow didn’t even complete a pass of more than 13 yards. This Bengals offense is dangerous, but their last eight drives have only produced 10 points. That’s elite defense. This is one of the youngest defenses in the league and they are only getting better.
3. This was the best Jalen Hurts has looked in a long, long time. Probably since the first game in Dallas last year. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards with a 45-yard TD to DeVonta Smith, three rushing TDs and no interceptions for the fourth straight game. He spread the ball around, he made great decisions, he got rid of the ball quickly, he just looked super engaged and it seemed like his mind was working fast. That’s three straight games without a turnover and four straight games without an interception. If a quarterback can drive the ball down the field and be aggressive while avoiding turnovers, you will win almost every time. Three games since the bye, Hurts is at 71 percent with four touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 3-0 record. He doesn’t force the ball anymore. He’s in no hurry. He looks as comfortable as he has since 2022 and Kellen Moore and Doug Nussmeier have a lot to do with that, but Hurts deserves a lot of credit for cleaning up the flaws in his game and getting back to doing the things he does best in is.
4. We need to talk about Cooper DeJean. That 4th-and-1 play he made on Ja’Marr Chase was just huge. This is a 21-year-old kid in his third career playing open-field defense against a guy who has made the Pro Bowl every year he has been in the league while averaging over 1,200 yards per season . DeJean diagnosed it perfectly, reaching Chase before he could get on the field and bringing him down with a hold on his leg so he couldn’t escape. DeJean has made such a huge difference since Fangio put him in place of Avonte Maddox. He’s physical, he’s strong, he’s fast and he’s a sure tackler. He is around the ball and should have had his first interception in the second quarter. This is a rookie who had eight career snaps on defense before the game against the Browns, and he’s bringing a new level to the Eagles very early in his career. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a personnel change make such an immediate impact. DeJean is one tough stallion.
5. I can’t give Isaiah Rodgers enough props for the fourth-quarter pass breakup that led to Chauncey Gardner-Johnson’s interception. The Eagles led 27-17 with 12.5 minutes left and the Bengals had a 1st and 10 at midfield when Burrow threw deep to Chase down the right sideline. Normally, Darius Slay would be defending Chase in that spot, but he had just left the game with a groin injury and Rodgers was there in his place. After being forced to sit out last year due to his gambling suspension, he had played just 41 snaps on defense all year. But he was ready for the moment and you have to love that he didn’t back down against one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Rodgers had great coverage and punched the ball in the air, where Gardner-Johnson waited and picked up the Eagles’ first interception since Week 3. It’s a great game no matter who makes it, but the fact that it was a guy who had just come in, played the game moments before and played 41 snaps since 2022 makes it even more special.
6. Some days Saquon Barkley is going to overwhelm the other team, and that’s great when he does that. And then there are games like this, where he just chips away, chips away, chips away, the yards don’t come that easily, and eventually he breaks through. You have to give it to Kellen Moore for continuing to feed Barkley on days when the yards don’t come as easily. He’s so incredibly talented that it will pay off just about every time. Through three quarters, Barkley had 15 carries for 51 yards for 3.4 yards per carry. Last drive in the fourth quarter? Seven carries for 57 yards. Barkley is so big, strong and powerful that he simply wears out defenders. It seems like he gets stronger and stronger as the game goes on and by the fourth quarter he’s just steamrolling people. Barkley finished with 108 rushing yards despite the slow start and now has 766 rushing yards in just seven games, which is insane. He’s a beast.
7. Grant Calcaterra is really developing into quite a weapon in the receiving game, and he’s not much of a blocker – although the effort is certainly there – but he is quick and has soft hands and clearly has the confidence of Hurts, with whom he spent a year spent a long time. with at Oklahoma in 2019. Calcaterra had catches of 19 and 28 yards on Sunday and with Dallas Goedert out very early in the Browns game, he has seven catches for 130 over the last three weeks, which is big production. This is from a guy who is averaging 5.2 yards per game for his career entering the Cleveland game. Calcaterra only has 11 receptions this year, but that includes catches of 15, 19, 20, 26 and 34 yards. You’ll always miss a guy like Goedert, an elite blocker and wide receiver. But Calcaterra has really made up for his absence with some big plays. I would like to see a role for him when Goedert returns.
More to come…
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