Eagles vs. Browns: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The Eagles and Cleveland Browns could not have collided at a better time on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Both teams needed a panacea. The Eagles were looking to remedy their horrid performance in their previous game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Cleveland Browns were looking for anything to salvage a listing season that may now be lost.

The Eagles are 3-2 after a 20-16 victory over the 1-5 Cleveland Browns, who suffered their fourth-straight defeat.

For those looking for an Eagles’ “style-points” win, they did not get it. Picking through the breadcrumbs, the Eagles did not turn the ball over for the first time in 10 games; and Jalen Hurts looked sharp, completing 16 of 25 for 264 yards and two touchdowns—and, for the second-straight game, did not throw an interception.

And hey, Bryce “just call him Reggie White” Huff had a season-high two tackles, and on more serious notes, tight end Grant Calcaterra had a season-high four catches for 67 yards after Dallas Goedert was lost in the first quarter due to an injury, while rookie safety Cooper DeJean showed flashes he can be very good, making six tackles.

The truth is, Nick Sirianni’s Eagles may not be much better than the Cleveland Browns, who were on their third center this season and were tied with the Eagles, 13-13, with 9:49 left to play.

The Browns entered the game averaging an NFL-low 239.4 yards a game and gained 244 against the Birds. Deshaun Watson, who looks like a shot fighter, completed his first two third-down conversions of the season—after going 0-for-25. Cleveland’s makeshift offensive line entered the game giving up an NFL-high 26 sacks, which the Eagles helped reach 31 after a five-sack performance.

Cleveland botched a possible game-tying score when the Browns committed two false start penalties with 3:54 to play inside the Eagles’ 10.

That slim line is often the difference in the NFL between a winning team and a losing team hemorrhaging minor mistakes.

The Eagles won, though will that siphon off the “Fire Nick” chants that broke out at halftime as the Eagles left the field after a blocked field goal resulted in a 50-yard tying touchdown?

Probably not.

This is still Sirianni’s offense. It’s just Kellen Moore’s interpretation of it. Hurts is only under center for the “tush push” play. There is hardly any motion, and more a reliability on A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to make plays, rather than schemes in which to get them open (with the exception of that shallow crossing route Smith ran for the winning score, which opposing defensive coordinators will decipher in time).

On the surface, it may appear Sirianni is a “CEO coach.” Behind the curtains, what is blatantly on the field is another story. Sirianni is still very much, it appears, the puppet master of this clunky, inconsistent offense.

The Eagles somehow forgot about Saquon Barkley, who with 9:30 to play had only three touches in the second half.

We’ll add this: For the first time in the 91-year history of the Philadelphia Eagles, they have failed to score a point in the first quarter of their first five games. They remain the only NFL team to be shutout in the first quarter this season. Even the 1972 Eagles (of the nightmare white helmet era), arguably the worst team in franchise history (2-11-1), scored at least six points in their first five games.

There was a healthy dose of good, a sprinkling of bad, and some laughable ugliness in a 20-16 victory over the dubious Cleveland Browns.

The Good

A.J. Brown’s 40-yard over-the-shoulder catch against Greg Newsome II on a second-and-11 to the Browns’ 12 with 1:49 to play. The new set of downs forced the Browns to call their final timeout, with the completion sealing the Eagles’ third victory. Brown finished with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Free safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson coming up to deflect a Watson pass intended for David Njoku on a third-and-goal at the Eagles’ eight with 4:00 to play. CJGJ did not get burned in this game, although earlier, he actually got more in the way of teammate Quinyon Mitchell making an interception than he did doing anything to stop the Browns.

DeVonta Smith, taking advantage of a shallow crossing route, going 45 yards for the game-winning 20-13 touchdown with 7:54 to play. It was a natural pick play, much like Dallas Goedert’s shallow cross against New Orleans in the fourth quarter of that game that rolled for 61 yards. Cleveland’s Greg Newsome II could not keep up with Smith across the field, and then ran into teammate D’Anthony Bell trying to cover Jack Stoll crossing in the opposite direction.

Sirianni finally allowing Jake Elliott to kick field goals. Elliott booted a 49- and 44-yard field goals for a 13-10 Eagles’ lead when the Browns’ defense began clamping down on Sirianni’s offense.

Kenneth Gainwell’s 19-yard run on second-and-12 at the Cleveland 42 on the third play of the Eagles’ second drive in the second half.

Milton Williams’ four-yard sack (the Eagles’ fourth of the game) on Watson at the Browns’ 3 on Cleveland’s second possession of the second half.

Safety Cooper DeJean showed flashes he can be very good, making six tackles and how he may fit into Vic Fangio’s defense, blitzing the shaky Watson and forcing him into rushing his progressions.

Old man Brandon Graham, the only Eagle to play in 200 games, with consecutive plays on the Browns’ opening drive of the second half. On a second-and-four at the Eagles’ 32, Graham came up to take down D’Onta Foreman, then followed that by taking down Cedric Tillman for a five-yard loss on a third-and-one at the Eagles’ 34.

Hurts was solid in the first half. He completed 9 of 16 for 137 yards and a touchdown. He rolled out and threw with accuracy, had a decent Browns’ defense scrambling trying to take him down and moved the offense after a slow start to 200 yards of total offense. He finished completing 16 of 25 for 264 yards and two touchdowns—and, for the second-straight game, did not throw an interception.

Jalen Carter’s four-yard sack on third-and-11 at the Eagles’ 25 with 2:50 left in the first half.

The Eagles’ defense through the first half held an anemic Browns’ offense to anemic numbers: With 7:24 left in the first half, the Eagles had outgained the Browns, 141-31. For the half, Cleveland had just 71 yards of total offense for an average of 3.0 yards a play. The Browns had six first downs in the half—one by penalty. They only allowed Cleveland a field goal. Watson was 5 of 11 for 46 yards and sacked three times.

A.J. Brown’s leaping 22-yard second quarter touchdown over the Browns’ Martin Emerson Jr. on a third-and-seven with 7:17 left in the half. It gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead.

Tight end Grant Calcaterra’s 34-yard reception on the first play of the Eagles’ fourth drive, taking the ball from the Eagles’ 16 to midfield. It jump started the series that resulted in the Brown TD.

The Eagles’ third drive. They scored. Sirianni decided—finally—to allow Jake Elliott to kick a field goal, instead of opting to go for it. Elliott did not fail, booting a 49-yard field goal with 13:02 left in the half. It capped a 14-play, 58-yard drive in which the Eagles ate 6:48 off the clock. Prior to that, the Eagles-Browns game was turning into the “Punt Bowl.”

Barkley’s tough eight-yard run on the first play of the Eagles’ third drive to the Eagles’ 19.

Defensive end Moro Ojomo’s 15-yard sack on the Browns’ second-and-nine at the Eagles’ 49 on Cleveland’s second drive. It was a nice boost to a defense that was showing signs of bending.

A Nolan Smith sighting. The linebacker sacking Watson for no gain on the Browns’ first play of their second drive at the Browns’ 16. Another rare positive in what was another dismal first quarter for the Eagles.

The tush push first down at the Eagles’ 40 on their second possession. Hurts’ three-yard gain was the first good thing that happened to the Eagles, other than Amari Cooper’s drop on third down on the Browns’ opening series.

The Bad

Left tackle Jordan Mailata going down with 9:25 left to play, replaced by Fred Johnson. Once in, in fairness to Johnson, he actually did a decent with Browns’ all-world defensive end Myles Garrett.

Two false starts in three plays on the Eagles’ second drive of the second half. The second false start, against Mailata, pushed the Eagles back to the 26 and forced them into a third-and-13 at the Browns’ 26 with 3:02 left in the third quarter. Fortunately, Elliott bailed them out with a 44-yard field goal with 2:50 left in the quarter and a 13-10 Eagles’ lead.

The Eagles’ three-and-out on their first drive of the second half.

Barkley running into left guard Landon Dickerson on first-and-10 at the Eagles’ 43, just after getting a first down on the previous play. Barkley may have taken it for more than four yards, but Dickerson was in the way, doing a better job taking down Barkley than the Browns did.

Hurts throwing behind A.J. Brown on the second play of the game on a second-and-five at the Eagles’ 31. It was not even in the vicinity of Brown. Hurts obviously recovered to a have very productive game.

The Ugly

Jerry Jeudy’s 35-yard reception in response to DeVonta Smith’s fourth-quarter score on a first-and-10 at the Browns’ 30. The play put the ball at the Eagles’ 35 with 7:23 to play. What makes it ugly is that in a crucial moment of the game, Jeudy was completely wide open with no one around him.

The Eagles allowing Watson to complete his first third-down completion this season, after previously going 0-for-25, when Watson lobbed a short pass to Pierre Strong for a 21-yard gain to the Eagles’ 49 on a third-and-10 with 1:04 left in third quarter. It was the Browns’ first third-down conversion, after Cleveland went 0-for-7. Later, inside of five minutes to play, Watson completed his second third-down completion to Amari Cooper for 13 yards to the Eagles’ eight.

The Eagles allowing Myles Garrett to leap through the middle of the line and block an Elliott 50-yard field goal attempt with 14 seconds left in the first half, which was returned by former Eagle Rodney McLeod for a 50-yard touchdown and a 10-10 halftime tie. It looked like Garrett leaped through the center-guard gap.

Gardner-Johnson has not only been allowing opposing teams long completions and touchdowns, he is now deterring the Eagles from getting interceptions. Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell continues to impress. He was all lined up in the second quarter for his first career interception when CJGJ thwarted that by running into him on a first-and-10 at the Eagles’ four with 6:06 left in the half. Watson was looking at Jerry Jeudy deep left. Mitchell honed in on the ball, when CJGJ ran into him, knocking the ball loose for an incompletion. CJGJ does not seem to know where he is on the field. Mitchell was clearly angry. A few plays later, Watson found David Njoku on a fourth-and-four at the Eagles’ 34. Who was covering Njoku? You guessed it, CJGJ. He picked up Njoku, then bounced off, leaving Mitchell and Reed Blankenship to take him down.

Linebacker Zack Baun’s roughing the passer call on the Browns’ second-and-seven from the Cleveland 45. It gave a no-hope offense some room to breathe on the Browns’ fourth possession. They gained a total of 31 yards of offense on their first three drives. Baun helped Cleveland gain nearly half of that on the roughing call with 6:12 left in the half.

The 2024 Eagles failure to score in the first quarter. They remain the only team in the NFL not score a point in the first quarter. It marks the first time in Eagles’ history that they have not scored a point in the opening quarter in their first five games. They have been outscored 23-0 in the first quarter this season, and outgained, 369 yards to 224, with the gaping first-quarter discrepancy coming in the Eagles’ 33-16 debacle against Tampa Bay, where the Eagles were outgained 191 to minus-5 yards by the Bucs in the first quarter.

Center Cam Jurgens high snap on the first play of the Eagles’ second series at the Eagles’ 31. Fortunately, Hurts was able to salvage something from it and throw the ball away.

The Eagles’ opening drive. Again, the Eagles continue not to generate anything on their opening drives. Over their first five games, this is what the Eagles opening drives have amounted to:

Packers: 3 plays, minus-5 yards — INT

Falcons: 4 plays, 31 yards — Punt (crossed midfield)

Saints: 3 plays, minus-9 yards — Punt

Bucs: 3 plays, 2 yards — Punt

Browns: 3 plays, 5 yards— Punt

Total: 16 plays, 24 yards, 4 Punts, 1 INT