The Eagles went into Chicago last night and left with a much needed 24-20 victory. This moves the Eagles to 6-4, and keeps them 1 game behind the first place Cowboys in the NFC East.
The Eagles were down 20-17 heading into the 4th quarter, but were able to mount a game winning drive with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game, capped off by a 10 yard McCoy touchdown run. McCoy finished the day with 20 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Donovan McNabb was sharp and finished 23-32 for 244 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Even Michael Vick got into the action busting a 34 yard run in the 1st quarter on a scoring drive. DeSean Jackson led the receivers with 8 catches for 107 yards, and a TD. The offense played well for the most part, besides the 3 turnovers, which included a McNabb INT, and lost fumbles from LeSean McCoy, and DeSean Jackson. The McNabb fumble was not a bad pass, DeSean Jackson just got out muscled on a slant route.
The defense played pretty well, especially considering the 3 Eagles turnovers. The 1 touchdown from the Bears was a touchdown pass to the tight end, which the Eagles definitely struggle covering. Chris Gocong was the victim on that play, but you can basically pick out any linebacker besides Will Witherspoon who can't cover tight ends. The defense did a good job holding the Bears out of the end zone in the first half, as the Bears could have gotten a lot more points than they put up. They only allowed Cutler to throw for 171 yards, and if you take away a 72 yard run from Bell, the Bears only ran for 54 yards, which included shutting down Bears RB Matt Forte.
I personally still do not think that the Eagles ran the ball enough in this game. The Eagles threw 33 passes (1 from Vick), and called 27 rushing plays, which includes 1 rush from McNabb that was a called sneak. These numbers aren't bad, but they aren't great. Keep in mind the Eagles ran the ball the final 7 plays of the game just to get to that number. Throughout the game, they still were not rushing the ball enough, especially against a team that does not stop the run well. They have many drives where they did not even run the ball at all. The numbers don't seem so bad because McNabb was effective, so they were moving the ball consistently through the air also. Going forward, I still would like to see the Eagles run the ball more.
The offensive line is still an area of concern for me, and I don't feel they played too well. Jason Peters got called for a tripping penalty, which negated a long pass to Jeremy Maclin, and Stacy Andrews was a scratch. These were 2 big offseason acquisitions, and neither has panned out as of yet.
Either way, the Eagles get the victory, 24-20, and welcome in the Washington Redskins next weekend, which will basically be another one the Eagles have to get.
2 comments:
Glad the Birds got the W, but the lion's share of credit really goes to that complete disaster of a QB Cutler. Reid should have awarded the game ball to JC -- would've gone nicely with that extended hug McNabb gave him after the game (and what was up with that anyway?). The fact is, that was clearly a game Cutler lost, rather than a game the Eagles won. Hell, I think even Chris Sims could have made those passes to wide open receivers. I know, I know...every team takes advantage of that kind of game once in a while -- but it doesn't do much to inspire confidence in the Birds for the remainder of their schedule.
...ohh and I meant to mention that Sav Rocca officially sucks.
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