The Wide World of Dirt

What’s that?

I bet you didn’t expect to see this series revived. You’re not alone. I wasn’t even sure I was going to bring this back!

If you’re new here, hi! I’m Sean Tanski, and I’m a diehard Philly sports fan.

For the entirety of the 2022 Eagles season, I did post-game recaps. It was an incredible journey that culminated in a heartbreaking Super Bowl LVII loss that I will never get over.

My itch for writing at that point was scratched and along with some major life changes I took a hiatus in 2023. What happened was the worst seven-week stretch of football by the Eagles that I ever saw and made me seriously contemplate if I loved the sport.

How does a team that starts 10-1 end the season at 11-6 and get blown out in the Wild Card?

Safe to say, I was disgusted. If I had to do recaps, it would make me even more grossed out; however, my excitement about this team returned after a very good offseason by Howie Roseman and company. It made me forgot all about the 2023 season.

I also came to this conclusion: the last time I did game recaps, the Eagles made the Super Bowl. The last time I didn’t recap the season, they collapsed.

Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between, I am ready to become the hero we need and recap all the Birds’ games (plus some extra stories here and there). Super Bowl LIX here we come! 

Saquon Barkley: YOU ARE A PHILADELPHIA EAGLE

I’m going to give you a list of Eagles who scored three touchdowns in their debut for the team – Terrell Owens & Saquon Barkley. That’s it.

Pretty good company for Saquon (please don’t get into a rift with your quarterback and head coach amid contract talks and follow it up by holding a press conference talking about negotiations while working out from the driveway of your home… is this me projecting?)

When the Saquon signing happened, I hadn’t been this pumped for an acquisition since Howie traded for AJ Brown.

It is so extremely rare to get a talent like Barkley without having to give up draft compensation while also weakening a division foe (more on that in a second.)

I was so excited that I picked up a midnight green Barkley jersey for my birthday back in July that I definitely will be breaking in this upcoming Monday Night game against the Atlanta Falcons.

I’ll admit, the first snap with Barkley that saw him slip and lose 3 yards gave me flashbacks to the DeMarco Murrary era in 2015 (damn you, Chip Kelly).

He followed that up by catching a TD pass on a wheel route, and I was in bliss. What a performance. I know it’s just one game, and there is a lot of football left to be played. But, we couldn’t have asked for a better start.

24 carries for 109 yards and 2 TDS while adding 2 catches for 23 yards and a score. I liked Miles Sanders and D’Andre Swift as the leading backs the past two seasons because they both had really good seasons here…but Barkley is just in another tier than those guys.

I really can’t wait to see what he does as the season goes. To rub dirt in the wound, Barkley has three TDs on the season so far; the New York Giants who paid QB Daniel Jones $40 million a year instead of paying Barkley have scored no TDs this year. Numbers don’t lie.

The Rest of the Offense

That was the most mixed bag game Jalen has had since the 2021 season.

Hurts started the game off with a pretty terrible interception and proceeded to fumble the snap away on the next drive. He then settled in and showed that poise and command he had in 2022 and first 11 weeks of the 2023 season.

He nearly tossed another pick on a bad throw right before throwing across his body into the hands of Jaire Alexander. Jalen took command the next drive, leading the Eagles down the field to chew clock and put the game away.

Oh, and on a tush push attempt, he fumbled but recovered. Yeah, what a roller coaster.

All-in-all, Hurts finished 20/24 for 278 yards 2 TDs & 2 INTS with 13 carries for 33 yards and a fumble. Hurts has to clean up the turnovers; it was what played a part in the Eagles not being the same team in 2023.

AJ Brown put up a great game against one of the league’s premier corners hauling in 5 catches for 119 yards and a TD, which was a 67-yard catch to open the second half. DeVonta Smith had 7 catches for 84 yards with some of those catches being big third-down conversions.

In Kellen Moore’s debut as offensive coordinator, the Eagles racked up 422 yards of offense against a tough Packers team in a neutral-game environment. He also used motion which was key in a few of those TDs and made life easier for Hurts.

It was a very encouraging start, and while they have to clean up some things, this was a good building block week for the offense that entered the season with a bunch of questions. 

Mixed Bag for the Defense

On one hand, the defense held the Packers to six points after the offense did them no favors in the first quarter then allowed just 10 points in the second half.

On the other, the secondary missed tackles and was out of position too often, and the pass rush only got to Love twice. Every time the Packers offense took the field, I was worried.

Jayden Reed is going to be really good. He was a game changer while also capitalizing on defenders being caught out of place. Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell made some big plays and made sure the Packers knew it. He looks like a dawg and injects some much-needed toughness in the secondary.

CJGJ and Avonte Maddox struggled in their returns to the Birds, but they own the proven track record to show they are better than that performance. It was a very peak-and-valley-type performance but you have to give Vic Fangio and his crew credit, the defense battled.

That was the biggest reason for the implosion last year: the defense (and the team, in general) didn’t fight back after the 49ers game. they just laid down and died.

The defense battled and kept the pressure on. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, the two Georgia Bulldogs that have to be the cogs that make this defense work was able to get pressure and stop the run when it mattered.That matters. Having toughness matters.

This is a young defense; they didn’t have two key pieces in limebacker Devin White and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers play. There will be growing pains as there is a lot of young talent here like there was in Brazil, but showing some backbone is really encouraging. 

Our Annual Week 2 MNF Match Against Kirk Cousins

Something I find really funny is that this will be the third straight season the Eagles will face Kirk Cousins in week 2 on ESPN’S Monday Night Football. What’s different is that Cousins is now on the Falcons, so not quite the same.

This should be a win for the Eagles. They will have extended rest and will be back home at the Linc. The Falcons are coming off a disappointing season opener in which they couldn’t outscore Pittsburgh’s kicker Chris Boswell in a 18-10 loss.

Cousins looked rusty coming off his Achilles injury, making the entire offense disjointed. The Falcons still should be contenders for the NFC South, but they have to get it figured out on offense fast, especially since their defense did enough to give them a chance against the Steelers. 

I’m very excited to be back writing these recaps; I think we’re going to be in for a fun season. Go Birds Forever.