Eagles Film Analysis: Offense takeaways from the loss to the Falcons

Well, the defensive version of this article was very negative. I thought the offense was pretty good, though. Considering this is a new system, and there was no A.J. Brown, there are a lot of positives. Let’s go.

Offense

The running game was excellent throughout the game. I am really enjoying the combination of Mekhi Becton at right guard and Cam Jurgens at center. Becton, in particular, is just a moving lineman with ease in the run game, and it’s creating some huge lanes for Saquon Barkley, who is looking as explosive as ever. This is an excellent example of Kellen Moore using motion in the run game to create a lighter box.

Sometimes, the sequencing of plays can be really hard to spot. This is about as easy as it gets, though! In the play above, the Falcons follow the motion with a linebacker, which creates a light bo. The next play, the Falcons bring a safety down and leave the linebacker in the box so the Eagles throw it. Although this play had a positive outcome, I would have liked the call even if it hadn’t. Sometimes, you do something to set something else up later, which gives Kellen Moore the idea that he can use this motion to create single-high coverage later in the game. I’ve seen a lot of comments about this being Jahan Dotson’s only coverage, and while I agree it is a bit weird, I would assume he is still getting up to speed with the offense and earning Jalen Hurts’ trust. I hope he has a few more opportunities this week.

The Eagles ran some beautiful gap scheme runs in this game. This was one of my favorites, and I might break it down as my ‘Concept of the Week’ at the end of the week! It’s GH Counter, but they motion the H-back across the formation, which gives him a running start. I do think it’s interesting that they are using Grant Calcaterra to run this and not Dallas Goedert. Just watch how good the offensive line looks on this one. Becton creates a huge lane again by shoving the lineman out of the way. Then Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson combine for a pancake. The run game should be outstanding this year, and I expect them to add more elements as the year progresses.

This is a busted play because Saquon Barkley falls, which ruins the spacing. It’s a minor point, but I have always thought the Eagles do not do a good enough job creating explosive pass plays out-of-structure. You can coach this; I wish we worked on it a little more. When Hurts runs around, it feels like the receivers don’t really have a plan, and I would prefer a more structured, out-of-structure pass game at times (I know that sounds weird).

I haven’t discussed him, but I thought Jalen Hurts had a good game. He looked comfortable in the pocket all game, made good decisions, and was accurate. I understand it’s easy to assign some blame to him for the final interception that cost the Eagles the game, but I do not think Hurts was a factor in the Eagles losing this one. This is a beauty. I love how he navigates the pocket while keeping his eyes down the field, which he would not have been able to do as a rookie. This type of play highlights the progression Hurts has made as a quarterback.

Hurts also extended plays very effectively with his legs and had some massive runs. This on 4th and 3 was a big play in the game. There wasn’t an obvious target to throw to, but rather than bail out the pocket to his right-hand side, Hurts stepped up. There was a lot of talk about Hurts’ mobility last year, but he looks very good to me here. This is as fast as I’ve seen him in a while.

This is my favorite throw of his. Hurts has been rightly criticized for not throwing over the middle of the field, but he looked confident in doing so in this one. This is a tough throw, and he does a great job looking off the weakside safety just enough to squeeze this one on. It’s a tough throw and catch. It isn’t easy to throw touchdowns from this position in the red zone, and you need to be more decisive and accurate than in other areas of the field. When you look at this from the end zone view, I think Hurts throws this in the perfect location where only DeVonta Smith can go and get it. This is a dime.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t as accurate here as he was above. This should have been a touchdown. I was glad to see the Eagles have another answer for the blitz, and Hurts knows precisely where to go with the ball. The Eagles’ offense through two weeks has not struggled with the blitz at all. Sadly, Hurts slightly underthrows this, which gives the defensive back, Jessie Bates, a chance to make a play on the ball. DeVonta Smith should still catch this ball, but sometimes you have to give credit to the other side. This is a hell of a play by Jessie Bates.

If you have followed my stuff for a while, you know I love the run game. You will also know that QB Counter Bash is my favorite run play. If you didn’t have to worry about the quarterback getting hit, I would call QB Counter Bash about 10 times a game. I love it. It’s so tough to stop, and the Eagles always seem to run it well. Once again, Jalen Hurts looks extremely quick. I also love the motion from Kellen Moore to get the linebacker out of the box. This is beautiful.

Speaking of beauty, check out the offensive line in this play. This is so good. I can’t quite believe how dominant Becton has looked as a run defender after 2 weeks. He physically dominates opponents in the run game and has hardly put a foot wrong in pass protection. If he continues to look like this, I would try to extend his contract as soon as possible because his value will only rise. He has had a fantastic start to the season. It feels weird that I haven’t spoken about Saquon Barkley yet. I feel so sorry for him because everyone will remember the drop at the end of the game. But I thought he was the most explosive player on the field. He is playing at an unbelievably high level, and the upgrade from Deandre Swift to him looks massive right now. I was optimistic when I watched Barkley’s film that he would excel in this offense, but even I am a little surprised just how explosive he looks. I hope he can stay healthy and this explosive all season long.

This has been a lovely, positive article, but we must end with the interception. I have a lot of thoughts on this play. Firstly, I can’t criticize Hurts for throwing it too much, considering he cannot take a sack here. I don’t mind the concept, and I can see why Hurts thinks DeVonta Smith should come open on the corner route. A ‘smash’ concept vs. single-high coverage is perfect, so the Eagles must have been thrilled when they saw the Falcons rotate into cover-1 man. Unfortunately, DeVonta Smith gets pushed off his route and cannot get proper depth and break it to the outside. This is just personal preference, but I would rather run ‘smash’ with the receiver on the other side running a vertical route to distract the deep safety, especially when it is Jessie Bates. Due to the deep over route from the slot defender and DeVonta Smith getting pushed, they end up near each other. This means Jessie Bates can read Hurts’ eyes and drive on the football. You must give Bates credit again; this is a hell of a play. He made a big difference in this game. I don’t think this is a terrible play call or a terrible throw, and that isn’t the reason why the Eagles lost. The Eagles lost this game due to their inability to play defense and because Nick Sirianni made a ridiculous decision at the end of the game.

Overall, I thought this was a positive performance from the offense, with lots of promising signs for this team to build on. I love DeVonta Smith, but he isn’t AJ Brown, and the Eagles win this game with AJ Brown available. However, it’s good to know the Eagles can still run a good offense without AJ Brown.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.