Eagles beat Panthers 28-23 Good and Bad.

Eagles beat Panthers 28-23 Good and Bad.

“Statement Game”

The Philadelphia Eagles played their first prime time game of the season against a tough Carolina Panthers team. A lot of people were skeptical about Eagles due to their prior wins against the Giants, Chargers, Cardinals and others. Not only did the Eagles shock America by winning this game they also beat the refs on many questionable calls against them. So let's talk about the Good and Bad.

Bad:

1. Pass Protection: Coming into this game we knew losing Lane Johnson was going to be a huge factor and it showed during the game. Big V took Johnson's place as right tackle. Julius Peppers beat Big V on the Eagles first drive and caused a fumble. That first drive could’ve led to maybe a touchdown or field goal. Not only was the right side of the O-Line was struggling but the Panthers kept blitzing and hit Carson Wentz at least eight times. The running backs couldn’t stop the blitz and it only showed that the Eagles really missed Darren Sproles. The Eagles have to do a better job at picking up the blitz. You can’t have your franchise quarterback take many hits.
2. Running Back Rotation: Legarrette Blount had 14 carries for 67 yards. Corey Clement and Kenjon Barner weren’t a huge factor. The biggest issue was that the Eagles didn’t keep feeding Blount more. He was clearly doing the best out of the three running backs. I’ve said this before but it seems as though when something is working with Coach Doug Pederson he’ll go away with that. I’m not sure who’s doing the running back rotation but if Blount is outperforming the other three it's no question he should be getting more touches.
3. Clock Management: There were a couple of times where the Eagles could’ve ran the clock out and end the game. After Jalen Mills interception with around three minutes left in the game all the Eagles had to was the run ball and just ice out the clock. The first running play was good, second running play Ertz missed a key a block that cost them a few yards and the third play we threw the ball which ended poorly. Putting the pressure back on the defense.
4. Refs: It's no question that refs were terrible. The Eagles were called for 10 penalties for 126 yards and Panthers were called for one penalty for one yard. Two pass interference were called on Jalen Mills on crucial plays on third and long and an interception from Rodney Mcleod. Pete Morelli was head of the officiating crew. It seems as though him and his crew have it against the Eagles. I mean one penalty on the Home team is just ridiculous. Eagles fans definitely remember Morelli from the game against the Detroit Lions last year and he cost us a win.

Good:

1. Carson Wentz: Thursday night was Wentz biggest night so far in the season. Having a great game against the Cardinals and having a short week in a hostile environment against the Panthers whose defense is ranked third in the NFL had a pretty good performance. He threw for 222 yards out of 16-30 attempts. Now it wasn’t his best game but he still managed to win the game against a very tough defense and threw no interceptions.
2. Nelson Agholor: Nelson Agholor is having a great season. He had four receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown. Now the numbers don’t jump out to you but you just see the confidence in the kid and he’s having so much out there. Putting him in the slot and having these veteran players on offense believing in him help out.
3. Defense: The Eagles Defense was the MVP of this game. Fletcher Cox made his return from his injury and showed his dominance. Cox pushed the center back to Cam and managed to tip the ball which caused an interception. The front four kept pressuring Cam and his running backs. The longest run the Panthers had was 1 yard. The Eagles defense made Carolina’s offense one dimensional and it worked to their advantage. The Eagles defense racked up three interceptions and two sacks. The defense stepped up when the game was on the line when the Panthers had one last drive to win the game and the Eagles stopped that!!
4. Winning Without Key Players: Once again the Eagles are winning without their big time players. Lane Johnson was out and Jordan Hicks suffered an ankle injury during the game and didn’t return. Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks stepped up big time in this game.  All the players stepped up and that's what makes a good team. Next man up has always been the message when a player goes down and the Eagles never panic.

The Eagles next game is Monday Night Football against Washington on Oct. 23. So the Eagles get a long break. The Eagles are 5-1 and are currently the highest ranked team in the NFC right now. The Eagles are taking one game at a time and they know they are far from perfect and need to fix a couple of things. They continue to impress me and you just wonder what’s this team is going to look like when everyone is back. This was a huge statement win but the Eagles know there’s more work to be done.