The Wide World of Dirt

Ahh, nothing better than beating your most hated rival on primetime.

On top of that, we went into our bye week., so I get to relish in the fact that we beat the Cowboys for an extra week.

I apologize to my dear readers of my hiatus last week, I thought I should be on a bye myself, but now I am back and refreshed!

Let’s dive into it, and before I begin how about I start off with this.

HOW ‘BOUT DEM COWBOYS

A test that Hurts (and Sirianni) passed:

As you know by now, I am all aboard the Jalen Hurts train.

I think his progression is nothing sort of remarkable, and I have full confidence in him if/when the Eagles decide to give him the keys to the franchise.

Now, while there is still quite a bit of season left, and there are still more things Hurts needs to prove, this was a very important step.

Beating your biggest rival is a very important criteria for franchise quarterbacks to meet. I mean, you’re only going to face them twice a year for the rest of your career.

Entering last Sunday Jalen Hurts was 0-2 against the Cowboys. His rookie year he put up nice numbers, but the Eagles were ready for the dreadful 2020 season to be over, and they fell to the Cowboys in Dallas.

Last year on Monday Night, Hurts and the Eagles looked overmatched against the Cowboys once again in Dallas and fell.

Hurts didn’t play against the Cowboys in the finale of the 2021 season as the Eagles already clinched the final playoff spot.

The numbers won’t wow you, but if you watched the game, this was a poised Jalen Hurts who was in control. 15/25 and 155 yards for 2 TDs with 9 carries for 27 yards.

He also had a HUGE drive in the 4th quarter to steal the momentum right back from the Cowboys. It was a very good drive in regards to play-calling and execution. That is what franchise quarterbacks do.

On the other hand, this was also a huge game for Nick Sirianni.

He too was 0-2 against the Cowboys as Eagles head coach. You won’t be in town long as HC of the Eagles if you can’t beat the Cowboys.

It is a bit hard to determine how much of a good job Nick does since he doesn’t call plays, but you can tell he is on top of everything.

He has the players ready to go each and every game; he has gotten better with clock management. He communicates with his coaches better, and most importantly…he’s winning.

I think Nick Sirianni is a good coach, and he’s only getting better. The players love playing for him, and I like watching the team he’s coaching up right now. 

Second Quarter Birds:

Pretty sure the second quarter Eagles are the best team in history.

Per NFL research on Twitter: “The Eagles have scored 112 points in the 2nd quarter in 2022, the most points by any team in any quarter in the first six games of a season in NFL history. It’s more than 11 teams (including the Rams, Packers, and Cowboys) have total points in 2022.”

That is insane. 

Yinz vs. Youse:

An old fashioned “Battle of PA”.

These never get old, regardless of sport. While I definitely dislike the Penguins the most out of any Pittsburgh team (Pitt doesn’t count), the Steelers are definitely a team I don’t like rooting for.

The biggest thing I am looking for is how the Eagles look after their bye.

They should be rested and ready to go, but perhaps they look a bit sluggish? I also wonder how their defense looks against rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.

He’s had some interception woes and faced some tough teams, but I think he has looked promising. The offense at least looks like an offense with him under center.

It’s hard to outright say the Steelers are going to get killed; they still have Mike Tomlin. At the very least he will have this team prepared.

I think this may be an “ugly win” type of situation.

I don’t think it’ll be pretty, but I do expect the Birds to come through. At the very least they have this nice little stat on their side:

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won in Philadelphia against the Eagles since 1965.

Let’s keep that going this Sunday, eh? Go Birds (and Phillies).