Eagles vs. Packers: 12 winners, 4 losers, 4 IDKs

The Philadelphia Eagles are 1-0 after beating the Green Bay Packers in Brazil! The only NFL team to ever win in South America. Time to hand out some winners, losers, and IDKs.

WINNERS

SAQUON BARKLEY

Between non-contact training camp practices not being the best setting to fully evaluate running backs and Barkley being kept on ice (along with most of the offensive starters) in the preseason, this was our first real look at Saquon since he signed with the team back in March.

And boy did he look really good!

Barkley’s 24 carries went for 109 yards (4.5 average) and two touchdowns. He caught both of his two targets for 23 receiving yards and the Eagles’ first touchdown of the season.

Saquon checked all the boxes; he left nothing to be desired. There were times when ran downhill and powered through contact with bruising physicality. There were times when he used his quickness to make cuts and find holes to run through. He showed his big play ability with the 34-yard run that he broke off. He showed ability to contribute in the passing game with his leaping catch along the left sideline for a touchdown. He showed greatness awareness to jump on the botched Brotherly Shove snap on the Eagles’ final drive. He showed the durability to handle a major workload with 26 total touches.

I’d like to stress that last point since it just hasn’t been common for the Eagles to rely so heavily upon their top running back in recent years:

Barkley is obviously better than the likes of Miles Sanders and D’Andre Swift. Still, I wasn’t ready to full trust that they’d use him so heavily because that’s just not how the Eagles have ever really handled the running back position in the modern era. Eagles franchise leading rusher LeSean McCoy averaged just under 23 touches per game (19.6 carries plus 3.3 receptions) in his highest usage season back in 2013. He finished that year with 366.

Obviously, it’s just one game, so on-pace stats are pretty silly at this point … but at this rate Barkley is on track for 442 touches this season. He very likely won’t end up being close to that number since only seven players in NFL history have ever gone over that amount.

Still, the point here is that the Eagles clearly aren’t shy about leaning on Barkley. The idea that they’re replicating the San Francisco 49ers’ blueprint with Christian McCaffrey isn’t far-fetched.

KELLEN MOORE

Pre-snap motion! Scheming players open! Answers against the blitz!

Dare I say the Eagles are now running a modern NFL offense?!

Really encouraging debut from the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator.

Despite three giveaways and only going 4/14 on third down, the offense still managed to put up 34 points and 410 yards. And they were a botched snap on the last Brotherly Shove attempt away from gaining one more yard to have 38 points. That total would’ve tied the Eagles’ season-high in points scored from last year.

It’s quite possible the Packers’ defense isn’t very good under their new and unproven coordinator. Still, kudos to Moore for taking advantage and inspiring confidence as a play-caller.

NICK SIRIANNI

Now that his offensive role has diminished, it’s especially important that Sirianni gets the game management aspect right. He was way too conservative last year and he must do a better job of giving the Eagles an edge moving forward.

So far, so good on that front. Props to the head coach for not just being content with running the ball, playing to settle for a field goal, and giving the ball back to the Packers with over a minute left. The Eagles were instead aggressive by throwing the ball to pick up first downs late in the game, which forced the Packers to burn their timeouts. That approach obviously comes with the risk of the Eagles stopping the clock with an incompletion. But focusing on what could go wrong in that situation instead of trusting his offense to effectively end the game on their terms would be loser shit.

(I’ve seen some push-back on Sirianni getting credit for the end of game sequence since Moore calls the plays. I find it pretty hard to believe the head coach isn’t dictating the approach/strategy in that situation and he’s merely watching Moore do whatever he wants.)

DEVONTA SMITH

The box score shows DeVonta catching seven of his eight targets for 84 yards. The numbers don’t nearly tell the whole story there, though.

Lining up in the slot more often than ever, Smith did a good job of getting open and generating yards after the catch. Smith actually ranks 11th out of 61 wide receivers (minimum four targets) in YAC per reception from Week 1.

On the Eagles’ final drive, Smith had two big catches to move the chains. The first picked up 16 yards on 2nd-and-13 while the second gained 11 yards on 2nd-and-8 to move to the 6-yard line and allow the clock to run down to the two-minute warning with Green Bay having just one timeout left.

Clutch.

Oh, and DeVonta even had a good tackle on Hurts’ second interception where he put in a good (albeit unsuccessful) effort to try to strip Jaire Alexander from behind.

A.J. BROWN

Ho-hum: five receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown. Straightforward elite player. Alexander trying to start BS with him clearly wasn’t smart; no need to give A.J. extra motivation.

ZACK BAUN

Baun led the Eagles in total tackles with 15, including 11 solo, two sacks (the Eagles’ only two sacks, one of which was the game-clinching take-down on Malik Willis), and one TFL. No other Eagles defender had more than eight total tackles and four solo tackles.

Simply put, Baun was flying around out there. He looked more than capable in coverage, he was clearly able to provide pass-rushing juice, and he was strong against the run. There was a sequence where Baun made back-to-back tackles for no gain to set up a 3rd-and-10 that the Packers couldn’t convert, which led to their missed 43-yard field goal.

It’s pretty wild to think back to how Zack “Thomas” Baun got to this point. When the Eagles signed him on the first day of free agency, there was no realistic expectation that he’d play a major role this season. During his introductory press conference in Philly, Baun talked about how he was looking forward to playing less off-ball linebacker and focusing more on rushing the passer. But then Baun was surprisingly the first name brought up by Vic Fangio when the Eagles defensive coordinator was first asked about the team’s inside linebacker output. Baun then spent most offseason practices repping at first-team linebacker next to Devin White. If Nakobe Dean was set to overtake either projected starter, it seemed like it would be Baun. But that clearly wasn’t the case! Baun emerged the team’s top linebacker, playing 100% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in Week 1.

It’ll be fascinating to see if Baun can keep it up. It seems like Vic Fangio has found his new Andrew Van Ginkel (which is funny because actual AVG was available to be signed this offseason), a versatile defender that he’ll look to get creative with.

NAKOBE DEAN

Once again, Dean looked good playing downhill. He smacked the crap out of Emanuel Wilson here:

There are still questions about him dropping into coverage. And Dean did miss a really big opportunity by not catching what likely would’ve been a pick-six. With the Packers scoring a touchdown two plays later, that’s a crucial 14-point swing.

Still, more reason to be encouraged than not.

REED BLANKENSHIP

Blankenship is a playmaker. His diving interception on a Jordan Love pass up the seam came at a crucial time to allow the Eagles offense to take a 31 to 25 lead that was never surrendered.

Blankenship entered this season with his fair share of doubters (as represented in the comments here) after some uneven performances last year. As someone who’s been wrong about plenty of other things but is higher than consensus on Blankenship, I’m going to take a moment to enjoy his success.

One would be mistaken to think he’s automatically going to the bench once Sydney Brown is healthy enough to play.

QUINYON MITCHELL

Q sure looks like he belongs, doesn’t he?

The rookie cornerback showed swagger early on when he trash talked Christian Watson after having good downfield coverage to help force an incompletion. Mitchell finished the game with two passes defensed, continuing his habit of getting his hands on the ball. He allowed a passer rating of just 88.2 when targeted, per Pro Football Focus.

Mitchell is going to get tested a lot due to his youth and teams likely not wanting to test Darius Slay as much. He certainly seems up for the challenge.

VIC FANGIO

At first glance, not ideal to give up 29 points and 414 yards of offense.

But Fangio’s defense kept the team in the game early on after two straight turnovers. The Packers were held to just six points despite starting their second drive 19 yards away from the end zone and their third drive 13 yards away from the end zone.

The defense also limited the Packers to a field goal after Hurts’ second interception for just nine total points allowed directly off of three turnovers. That’s huge.

There are clearly some issues to address. Allowing 163 rushing yards and one touchdown on 21 attempts (7.8 average) is troubling. The pass rush needs to get going (more on that later).

But the Eagles hired Fangio for — at the very least — some baseline level competency that they didn’t have last year, especially late in the season. There’s reason to believe Fangio can provide that much, if not more.

MEKHI BECTON

It’s not too surprising that Becton, a massive man, looked good as a run blocker. The bigger question was: can he hold up in pass protection? My good friend Jimmy Kempski put together a great film thread on Becton, here’s a sampling:

Just one game … but Becton can be a long-term fixture for the Eagles at right guard if he can build on this performance. One can wonder if Howie Roseman is already trying to get an extension done.

BRADEN MANN

In addition to handling kickoff duty, Mann quietly had two really good punts. The first one went 54 yards to help flip the field. The second one went 47 yards to be fair caught at the 13-yard line.

Mann had the third-best punter EPA from Week 1:

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LOSERS

JOHN MARA

I suspect the New York Giants co-owner isn’t getting much sleep these days.

It’s not like the Giants wouldn’t still stink if they merely re-signed Barkley. But, man, it’s gotta sting to see him off to a strong start in Philly. You hate to see it.

AVONTE MADDOX

With Isaiah Rodgers ruled out, Maddox was the Eagles’ nickel cornerback with Mitchell remaining on the outside. It’ll be interesting to see if they continue with that configuration or if they’ll have Rodgers play on the outside with Mitchell shifting inside to the slot, as originally expected. Cooper DeJean could eventually emerge as the top nickel option but probably not as soon as Week 2.

Maddox ended up playing 90% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in Week 1. That’s partially due to how the Packers deploy their receivers. Still, that’s just too much for Maddox, who was clearly picked on as a weak point at times. It seems like Maddox, who’s dealt with a lot of injuries, just isn’t the same player he used to be. He’s more ideally suited to be a backup/role player than a regular fixture.

Maddox allowed a 116.7 passer rating when Jordan Love threw his way.

THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

From an August 13 article via Sportico:

The average NFL team is worth $5.93 billion—and the collective fair-market value of the league’s 32 franchises is $190 billion.

Hm, seems like a lot of money to me. Maybe use some of it to, I don’t know, make sure the playing surfaces aren’t total slip and slides?!

BRANDON LEE GOWTON

I’ve been skeptical of Saquon’s impact. I also picked the Eagles to lose to the Packers in Week 1.

Fool!

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I DON’T KNOWS

JALEN HURTS

The box score numbers: 20/34 (58.8% completion), 278 yards (8.2 average), 2 TD, 2 INT, 80.3 passer rating … 13 runs, 33 yards (2.5 average).

Weird game for Hurts. I felt so encouraged about his outlook after watching him keep the ball out of harm’s way and look faster than ever in training camp. Somehow, neither of those things translated to game action.

Hurts’ first interception was obviously bad but it’s one I feel like is easier to live with in the context that it’s early on and he’s trying to make a play down the field. By contrast, the second one was pretty unforgivable. Really, that whole sequence was troubling with the Eagles up five points earlyish in the fourth quarter:

• 1st-and-10 at the Packers’ 11-yard line: Hurts seemingly makes the wrong read and takes a 3-yard loss.
• 2nd-and-13 at the Packers’ 14-yard line: Hurts forces a pass to Jahan Dotson and it’s a dropped pick.
• 3rd-and-13 at the Packers’ 14-yard line: Hurts holds onto the ball, rolls right, and throws against his body back into traffic to get picked off by Jaire Alexander.

How is Hurts forcing that throw in that situation?! You’re fortunate enough to get away with a dropped pick and you instantly put the ball in harm’s way again? When you can instead settle for a chip-shot field goal that puts you up eight points? Just a terrible decision made worse by a total lack of situational awareness.

Hurts also got away with another dropped interception that A.J. Brown had to break up. He could’ve been credited with a second lost fumble (in fairness, the first appeared to be Cam Jurgens’ fault for snapping it too early) and fourth overall giveaway with a less favorable bounce towards the end.

Of course, it wasn’t all bad. Hurts made some really good and important throws. The touchdown pass to Saquon along the left sideline was nice. Hurts put the ball right on A.J.’s to allow him to run to the end zone on his 67-yard touchdown. Hurts’ first down completions to DeVonta on the final drive were huge, as was his run through contact to pick up a first down.

Hurts had success against the blitz, which was very important to see.

Then again, he wasn’t truly tested like he was late last season:

Another point in Hurts’ favor is that it’s not like quarterbacks were lighting it up left and right in Week 1. SB Nation’s Joseph Acosta wrote an article that details how passing is way down to start this season.

Perhaps Hurts will settle in. I tend to think he will. He can put these Week 1 struggles behind him with a much stronger showing against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.

THE BROTHERLY SHOVE

So … the Eagles might not be able to rely on this as much as last year?

Too early to say for sure but only a 2/4 success rate so far. Consider that they went 37/40 last season.

Scrapping it entirely seems extreme but they should probably be leaning on Saquon in short yardage and not just the Brotherly Shove.

THE EAGLES’ EDGE RUSH

I don’t think it’s fair to say anything definitive about the Eagles’ pass rush (or lack thereof) after just one game that took place on a slippery field where the edge defenders were regularly sliding during their rushes (Super Bowl loss flashbacks).

It’s not like the Packers’ pass rush was lighting it up out there; their two sacks and five quarterback hits were identical to what the Eagles’ defense generated.

That said, the Eagles’ edge rushers specifically had zero sacks, one TFL, and one quarterback hit. That’s not very inspiring.

Neither is seeing Bryce Huff — the guy the Eagles signed to a three-year, $51.1 million contract — generate zero pressures while playing fewer snaps than Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Nolan Smith.

It’s entirely possible that the edge rush will turn out to be a problem. That unit should and will absolutely be monitored closely moving forward. But not ready to say they’ve got no juice just yet.

JAHAN DOTSON

Dotson did play the most snaps as the Eagles’ WR3 but he only saw one target. It’s obviously early and he’s only had five practices to take reps in. It’s quite possible his role will expand as the season goes on. Heck, it better. But it could take some time. Not only for him to learn the offense (perhaps a positive spin to the early Week 5 bye?) but also to earn Hurts’ trust, which is crucial.