The Wide World of Dirt

Let me be the first to say: I can’t believe they won that game.

Two straight weeks where it has felt eerily similar to 2023. Even though the Eagles won, I can’t say that I feel overly positive about it.

You will never see me complain about a win; you will see me concerned with how they got to this point, ergo this article in which you are reading (and I thank you that you are reading.)

If you ever wanted to know what it’s like watching an Eagles game, it’s this right here. (Side note: don’t allow fans of other teams like Chiefs fans to use this like I saw on Twitter; they are in the midst of a dynasty. They aren’t allowed to complain.)

Second straight game in which I am absolutely baffled by Nick Sirianni’s coaching.

If he is a coach with an offensive background that doesn’t call or design plays, then his only job requirements are to make his players reach a level they can’t without coaching, managing the clock, and knowing when to go for it or take the points.

He hasn’t been able to live up to any of those attributes for a 20 games now.

After not running the ball to seal the game against Atlanta last week, he elects to do a fake tush push and hand the ball to Barkley in the second quarter against New Orleans instead of taking the field goal that would tie up the game.

The Saints hold Barkley short of the sticks, turning the ball over on downs. Jalen Hurts recorded two turnovers, an interception and a fumble that comes out to six turnovers in three games.

Notice how all of those things I mentioned he needs to do well to justify having a job, he just miraculously doesn’t do it an elite level?

He has been handed some great teams, but he hasn’t gotten the most out of them.

I fear that when the Eagles realize this, it will be too late. They had the chance this offseason and chose to stay the course

They’re 2-1 so far, but they should be 3-0. If they were without Saquon Barkley, they would be 0-3. Sirianni won’t get any credit from the fan base for winning the game.

In fact, the Eagles will get credit for winning in spite of Sirianni. Not a great position to be in for a team looking to make a deep run.

The Eagles are undefeated when I wear my Saquon Barkley midnight green jersey. Do what you will with that information.

Seriously though, I really can’t believe he’s actually an Eagle, and I thank god every day that the Giants are such a disaster of an organization to let him leave.

17 carries for 147 yards and 2TDs…a 8.7 average, including a 65-yarder that energized the Eagles offense and finally allowed them to string together drives.

There’s a lot of season left, but Barkley is this team’s MVP until proven otherwise. It will be incredibly hard for a running back in today’s NFL to win the league MVP since Adrian Peterson carried it home in 2012.

But, the fact you can start having this conversation about Barkley already shows the impact he makes on an offense now that he finally has a chance to flourish after escaping the Giants.

The rest of the offense looked good for the most part, even though they only ended up with 15 points.

Jalen Hurts finished the day 29/38 for 311 yards with an INT while adding 8 carries for 25 yards and a fumble on the ground.

The turnovers continue to be an issue; however, the receiver wouldn’t have been boxed out by the Honey Badger on that interception if it was AJ Brown running that route. So I won’t completely fault Hurts for that.

The fumble was bad, though. Hurts made winning plays and constantly kept the Eagles’ offense afloat in this game. He wasn’t the sole reason they struggled scoring till the fourth quarter.

Have a day, Dallas Goedert! Goedert set career-highs in receptions and yards with a 10-reception, 117-yard performance. Maybe Sirianni should remember to throw Goedert’s way more often?

More good stuff from Kellen Moore’s offense. Also, shout out to Jahan Dotson. His savvy route running was the reason Goedert was wide open in the fourth on the Eagles’ game-winning drive. 

Have a day, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis! This was easily the best game the two have had together at the NFL level.

The Dawg Duo completely controlled the line of scrimmage. Alvin Kamara entered the game averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Outside of a few nice runs, Kamara didn’t come anywhere close to that against those two.

They were disruptive and caused Carr problems for all 60 minutes. If they play like this consistently, my issues with the defense will significantly decrease as both Davis and Carter prove they were worth the first-round-pick investments in them.

Bryce Huff though? He really needs to get going, or that contract he was given will sour in a hurry.

Important to note that Quinyon Mitchell is learning how to play really good football at this level really fast. Vic Fangio…sorry for doubting you last week. Here’s to hoping you can keep up the good work.

The Eagles return to Tampa Bay, the place where this coaching staff and team have had two of their last three seasons end in the wild-card round.

Raymond James Stadium hasn’t been too kind to the Birds in recent years, although they did pick up a regular season win there last year.

To be completely frank, this would be the most obvious loss to see coming had the Eagles lost to the Saints.

Once I listened to the team talk about their Saints win, the players feel confident about how they pulled out that victory.

The Bucs are coming off a pretty uncompetitive loss to the Broncos. If the defense we saw against New Orleans comes to play, I see us pulling it out and heading into the bye with a 3-1 record with an opportunity to get healthy.

If this week’s offense and bad coaching decisions show up? Might be a different story. All I know is that I’m already getting ready to be an anxious mess for three hours next Sunday afternoon!

Cheers and Go Birds.

(Top Photo Credit: Getty Images)