Clearly, slightly little bit of a faster Philadelphia Eagles movie evaluation this week in order that I can get to previewing the San Francisco 49ers 49ers. I’ll watch this one again in additional element within the low season, specializing in a couple of different performances that I couldn’t get to this time. The Eagles rested most of their starters, performed a full slate of backups, and paid for it with a 24–17 loss that price them the No. 2 seed. Watching this again largely strengthened how a lot Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown cowl up on a weekly foundation. That was my greatest takeaway!
If the objective was to showcase Tanner McKee and probably increase his worth, the plan backfired. Sticking him behind a wholly backup offensive line that couldn’t deal with any second-level stress uncovered his greatest limitation instantly. McKee can not create exterior of construction. When the pocket collapsed or linebackers ran free, there was no escape. Jalen Hurts routinely bails this offense out of unhealthy conditions with mobility; McKee merely doesn’t have that in his bag. The Eagles didn’t put him in a superb place to succeed.
Nick Sirianni’s postgame feedback about retaining DeVonta Smith secure don’t actually line up with this rep! Smith took a clear hit early, however nonetheless seemed like a celebrity amongst backups. The separation, ball monitoring, and physique management all jumped off the display screen. It was really jarring how a lot better Smith seemed than everybody else on the sphere at receiver, which unintentionally highlighted how reliant this offense is on elite particular person expertise moderately than construction.
The empty appears to be like had been attention-grabbing. Given McKee’s lack of mobility, leaning into empty was shocking, however when he acquired the ball out on time, it labored nicely. This route towards split-safety protection was lovely, and it served as one other reminder of how misused Grant Calcaterra has been all season. That is what he’s good at! But the employees hardly ever offers him alternatives like this in significant video games.
The spacing points on show right here had been brutal. As the sport wore on, McKee’s incapacity to outlive as soon as the play broke down grew to become extra apparent. This wasn’t only a quarterback subject; the route distribution and timing didn’t give him margin for error. Hurts’ capacity to show damaged performs into optimistic ones has masked how fragile the offensive design usually is. This shouldn’t be a shock to anybody. If anybody magically anticipated the design of the offense to vary as soon as Jalen Hurts was eliminated, they might have been disenchanted.
The interception was ugly, nevertheless it additionally felt inevitable given McKee’s play fashion. He throws with anticipation, which is usually a superb trait, however right here the ball got here out far too early. He was clearly hoping the protection can be pulled out of the window by the vertical route, however he’s too early. Over an prolonged stretch, you’d anticipate a number of interceptions like this. I don’t say that as a serious criticism; I simply assume it’s a part of the way in which he performs.
Tank Bigsby was one of many few positives. He ran onerous, discovered yards the place there weren’t many, and completely deserves a bigger position going ahead. The Eagles pulled each the middle and left guard at occasions on this recreation, which is one thing we haven’t seen a lot of this yr. I simply assume that’s an attention-grabbing notice, condering the well being of Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens this yr. Brett Toth and Drew Kendall held up higher within the run recreation than anticipated. If Cam Jurgens actually isn’t wholesome, I’m slightly stunned that Toth hasn’t been given an opportunity to begin this yr.
The second half was tough. The offensive design did McKee no favors, and there was little or no in the way in which of simple completions. That mentioned, this was the most effective idea of the night time. McKee completely has to take the deep submit as soon as the protection bites. That is the stuff we’ve got seen extra of over the 2nd half of the season. Sarcastically, that is often the type of throw related to McKee, which most likely makes the miss damage much more. He’ll hate seeing this one again!
This rep explains why many people like what we see from McKee. That is high-level. He eliminates the frontside idea cleanly and works again to the bottom dig inside the timing of the play. That’s superior processing, and it’s one thing Hurts has struggled with all through his total profession. The ball placement isn’t excellent, however Dotson has to assist his quarterback right here. Make a play, man.
This fourth-down miss doubtless erased any likelihood the Eagles had of getting a excessive decide for McKee, not that I actually believed that was attainable anyway. I feel he’s an ideal backup QB for now. Britain Covey is broad open within the slot, however McKee forces it to Dotson and sails it out of bounds. As soon as once more, when construction breaks down, issues disintegrate shortly. That’s not fully on him. The coaches didn’t put him ready to succeed, and it immediately contributed to the loss.
This recreation highlighted the identical flaws as we’ve seen with the Eagles’ offense, even when the starters weren’t on the market. It confirmed simply how a lot Jalen Hurts’ mobility and A.J. Brown’s dominance prop this offense up week after week. Tanner McKee was underwhelming, however the teaching employees did him only a few favors, and the construction collapsed the second elite expertise was eliminated. Shedding the No. 2 seed hurts, however the greater takeaway is how skinny the margin actually is for this offense at occasions. When the celebrities aren’t there to bail them out, the issues grow to be unimaginable to disregard.
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