Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily Postgame Lockerroom Pod: Takeaways, Insights From Eagles win over Commanders
Transcript
- 0:10Speaker 1: Hey, what's up, everybody? Welcome into another edition of the
- 0:12Speaker 1: Czech o'dei. It's Andrew de Checko. Eagles beat reporter for
- 0:15Speaker 1: insidethebirds dot Com, and for the first time in just
- 0:20Speaker 1: over two decades, the NFC East has a repeat champion,
- 0:24Speaker 1: as the Philadelphia Eagles improved the ten and five and
- 0:27Speaker 1: they topped the lowly Washington Commanders by a score of
- 0:30Speaker 1: twenty nine to eighteen in a game that was anything
- 0:33Speaker 1: but esthetically pleasing. Still, the Eagles would eventually settle in
- 0:36Speaker 1: and bowie a team that were clearly overmatched, But the
- 0:40Speaker 1: Eagles did separate in the second half, and they built
- 0:42Speaker 1: en up of a lead to have the luxury of
- 0:45Speaker 1: pulling the starters late in the game. Quarterback Jaywen Hurts,
- 0:49Speaker 1: whose third quarter touchdown strike to tight end Dallas Goddard
- 0:52Speaker 1: gave him twenty four on the season, a career high,
- 0:56Speaker 1: completed twenty two of thirty pass attempts for one to
- 0:58Speaker 1: eighty five and two touchdowns. Hertz added another forty on
- 1:03Speaker 1: the ground. Running Back Sakwon Barkley rushed for one hundred
- 1:06Speaker 1: and thirty two yards and a touchdown on twenty one attempts,
- 1:09Speaker 1: and wide receiver aj Brown led the team through the air,
- 1:13Speaker 1: rowing in nine of twelve pass targets for ninety five yards. Defensively,
- 1:19Speaker 1: the Eagles blanked the Commanders in the second half until
- 1:22Speaker 1: a garbage time touchdown. With Mariota leaving the game early
- 1:26Speaker 1: with an injury, the Eagles turned to veteran Josh Johnson,
- 1:29Speaker 1: who was unable to generate much of anything outside of
- 1:32Speaker 1: a twenty yard catch and run to wide receiver Debo Samuel.
- 1:35Speaker 1: Johnson's third quarter interception to defensive back Cooper dejen his
- 1:39Speaker 1: second of the season, felt at the time like it
- 1:42Speaker 1: was effectively ending the game, and the results that transpire
- 1:46Speaker 1: shortly thereafter supported that. Before we get into the observations.
- 1:51Speaker 1: Inactive for the Eagles were outside linebacker Josh Oushe, quarterback
- 1:55Speaker 1: Sam Howell, cornerback Mac McWilliams, running back AJ Dillon, tight
- 1:59Speaker 1: end Full Blatt, tackle Lane Johnson, and defensive tackle Jalen
- 2:04Speaker 1: Carter Latsu, who had the stinger. He came into the
- 2:07Speaker 1: game listed as questionable. Elevated from the practice squad this week.
- 2:11Speaker 1: We're tight on EJ. Jenkins and defensive back Brandon Johnson.
- 2:15Speaker 1: For Jenkins, Saturday's game was his second elevation of the season,
- 2:18Speaker 1: he served as lots of insurance from a blocking perspective
- 2:22Speaker 1: as well as on special teams. Johnson, who's an undrafted
- 2:26Speaker 1: rookie from Oregon, made his NFL debut. The twenty three
- 2:30Speaker 1: year old logged his first NFL defensive snaps with roughly
- 2:33Speaker 1: three minutes remaining in the contest, and he aligned at safety.
- 2:37Speaker 1: And that's something that talking to Brandon throughout the season. Yes,
- 2:41Speaker 1: he played a lot of nickel in the summer and
- 2:44Speaker 1: he has the frame that would support that, but he's
- 2:47Speaker 1: also been moonlighting a little bit at safety in practice,
- 2:50Speaker 1: is what he was telling me even back to September
- 2:53Speaker 1: when we were having those conversations, and so when he
- 2:55Speaker 1: was elevated, he kind of gives them that Andre sam
- 2:58Speaker 1: type of depth where you can help on special teams
- 3:01Speaker 1: if need be, but also provide some depth there at
- 3:05Speaker 1: the safety and defensive back position in general. Let's get
- 3:11Speaker 1: to the observations. Rough start for the Eagles as the
- 3:15Speaker 1: Commander's cornerback Mike Samers still popped the ball loose from
- 3:18Speaker 1: running back wheel Shipley on the opening kickoff, returning possession
- 3:21Speaker 1: to the Commanders at the Eagles twenty six but the
- 3:24Speaker 1: Vic vangel led defense, fresh off a shutout of the
- 3:28Speaker 1: Las Vegas Raiders, forced a three and out and Washington
- 3:31Speaker 1: opted for a twenty yard Jake Moody field goal. Curious
- 3:34Speaker 1: decision for a four and two four and ten team
- 3:38Speaker 1: at the time to not go for broke there on
- 3:41Speaker 1: fourth and goal from the three yard line and try
- 3:43Speaker 1: to punch it in, But the Eagles survive the turnover
- 3:46Speaker 1: without much damage. Still, the one thing you can't do
- 3:51Speaker 1: against an inferior opponent is turn the football over. The
- 3:55Speaker 1: Eagles did that. The Commanders kick a field goal get
- 3:58Speaker 1: off to an early three to nothing lead. I really
- 4:01Speaker 1: liked how the Eagles approached the second offensive possession, which
- 4:04Speaker 1: covered sixty three net yards on seven plays. Jalen Hurts
- 4:08Speaker 1: was decisive in the passing game, getting the ball into
- 4:10Speaker 1: the hands of wide receivers aj Brown and DeVante Smith.
- 4:14Speaker 1: Even threw a perfectly placed pass to DeVante Smith in
- 4:19Speaker 1: the left corner of the end zone, but Smith was
- 4:22Speaker 1: unable to hold on and he would redeem himself plays later.
- 4:27Speaker 1: He reeled in a five yard pass from Jayalen Hurts
- 4:30Speaker 1: as he drifted towards the right corner of the end zone.
- 4:32Speaker 1: To give the Eagles the early lead. Herts in the
- 4:35Speaker 1: running game has also been a popular topic of late,
- 4:37Speaker 1: especially after coming up lame shortly before exiting the Raiders game.
- 4:42Speaker 1: But he looked spry on a fourteen yard pickup on
- 4:44Speaker 1: that drive, which was notable, and his running ability unlocks
- 4:49Speaker 1: another facet of the offense, which is something that I've
- 4:51Speaker 1: been saying an awful lot over the past few weeks.
- 4:55Speaker 1: What a revelation Brandon Graham has been. The thirty seven
- 4:58Speaker 1: year old picked up a late first half sat Marcus Mariota,
- 5:02Speaker 1: giving him seventy nine and a half for his career.
- 5:05Speaker 1: It was Graham's third sack of the season, tying outside
- 5:08Speaker 1: linebacker Nolan Smith Junior. Graham showcased plenty of Jews playing
- 5:12Speaker 1: from the interior, perhaps most notably on a late second
- 5:14Speaker 1: quarter Jacory krossky Merritt who goes as Bill goes by
- 5:19Speaker 1: Bill run on the second and four that lost the yard.
- 5:21Speaker 1: Graham's penetration force a misdirection and linebacker Jahid Campbell was
- 5:25Speaker 1: there to pounce. Momentum is a real thing. I do
- 5:30Speaker 1: believe that, and that was perhaps best illustrated on the
- 5:34Speaker 1: Hurtz miss to a wide open brown along the left
- 5:37Speaker 1: sideline on a third and eleven, which brought on kicker
- 5:41Speaker 1: Jake Elliott to attempt a forty three yard field goal
- 5:44Speaker 1: that hooked wide left and gave the Commander's possession at
- 5:47Speaker 1: their own thirty three. Then Marcus Mariota, who ended up
- 5:50Speaker 1: leaving the game injured after it looked like his hand
- 5:53Speaker 1: got stepped on by Nolan Smith, then connected with wide
- 5:56Speaker 1: receiver Terry McLaurin, who gained a step on cornerback of
- 5:59Speaker 1: Dori Jackson for forty yards down the left sideline to
- 6:01Speaker 1: jump start the drive. Dorri Jackson would also be beat
- 6:05Speaker 1: for twenty four yards by Treylon Burks in the I
- 6:09Speaker 1: think it was the first drive coming out of the break.
- 6:11Speaker 1: Krossky Merritt capped the drive with a one yard touchdown
- 6:15Speaker 1: plunge to give the Commanders a ten to seven lead
- 6:17Speaker 1: to recapture momentum. Fit on the ensuing Eagles drive. On
- 6:21Speaker 1: a second and three, with thirty five seconds remaining until
- 6:23Speaker 1: the break, Jaywen Hurts was dropped by Jacob Martin for
- 6:26Speaker 1: a nine yard loss. Now Hurts recovered his own fumble,
- 6:29Speaker 1: but the offense was definitely ruining at that time. Some
- 6:33Speaker 1: questionable end of the half decision making a side. Jake
- 6:36Speaker 1: Elliott missed a pair of opportunities to even the score
- 6:39Speaker 1: going into halftime, challenging game from a special team's perspective.
- 6:44Speaker 1: Shipley fumbled and lost the opening kickoff, and he also
- 6:47Speaker 1: hesitated on a second quarter return that was kicked a
- 6:51Speaker 1: yard deep before deciding to bring it out, though only
- 6:53Speaker 1: returning it to the twenty. Elliott missed the forty three
- 6:56Speaker 1: yard field goal in the second quarter, which gave the
- 6:58Speaker 1: Commander's possession at their own third and fueled the aforementioned
- 7:01Speaker 1: scoring drive. But Elliot had also later missed a fifty
- 7:04Speaker 1: seven yard field goal attempt wide left, though it was
- 7:07Speaker 1: erased due to a Commander's offside penalty. Elliott had another chance,
- 7:12Speaker 1: this time from fifty two yards, but the attempt also
- 7:15Speaker 1: hooked wide left. In terms of coverage, however, I thought
- 7:20Speaker 1: safety Sidney Brown had a particularly strong showing on the
- 7:25Speaker 1: first punt. I believe he drilled the returner Jalen Lane,
- 7:31Speaker 1: who I really like. He's a first year player out
- 7:32Speaker 1: of Virginia Tech. Lane didn't return to that game. And
- 7:35Speaker 1: then Sidney Brown comes back later and has a pretty
- 7:38Speaker 1: big pop on the kickoff, so good stuff there from
- 7:41Speaker 1: Sidney Brown, who got some reps there late in the
- 7:43Speaker 1: game at safety when the game was well at hand.
- 7:47Speaker 1: It didn't end up hindering the Eagles from reaching the
- 7:50Speaker 1: end zone, but there were a couple of critical penalties
- 7:52Speaker 1: called against right tackle Fred Johnson, who was called for
- 7:55Speaker 1: a first first half false start from the one yard
- 7:58Speaker 1: line and then again later on a third quarter third
- 8:01Speaker 1: and five from the five when he was tagged for
- 8:04Speaker 1: a holding penalty, which he raised a Johann Dotson touchdown.
- 8:08Speaker 1: Fred Johnson has performed admirably in place of an injured
- 8:12Speaker 1: Lane Johnson, but lapses like that can give any listless
- 8:15Speaker 1: team life, and it can certainly burn you in the postseason.
- 8:19Speaker 1: It's also worth noting that left guard Landon Dickerson was
- 8:21Speaker 1: called for a false start on the push play on
- 8:24Speaker 1: a second and one from the one yard line during
- 8:28Speaker 1: the game. In the second half, the Eagles didn't utilize
- 8:32Speaker 1: Dallas Goddard as frequently as they have the past two weeks,
- 8:36Speaker 1: but the veteran pass catcher reeled in a beauty of
- 8:39Speaker 1: a throw from Hertz in the third quarter for his
- 8:42Speaker 1: tenth touchdown of the season, tying Pete retzlav for a
- 8:45Speaker 1: team record for most touchdowns in a season by a
- 8:48Speaker 1: tight end. Nice job by Hurts navigating the pocket, stepping
- 8:52Speaker 1: up and delivering a big time throw to god her
- 8:54Speaker 1: It there. The touchdown was number twenty four in the
- 8:56Speaker 1: year for Hurts and that gives him the most he's
- 8:58Speaker 1: thrown in a single season. More notes for the Eagles.
- 9:02Speaker 1: The third quarter interception by the gene was his second
- 9:05Speaker 1: of the season. Of the fourth quarter drive on the
- 9:08Speaker 1: fourth quarter drive cap by a determined Barkley touchdown, Barkley
- 9:13Speaker 1: cleared the one thousand yard rushing barrier for the second
- 9:16Speaker 1: consecutive game or second consecutive season, and Tank Bigsby rushes
- 9:23Speaker 1: for his first career first touchdown as an Eagle. It
- 9:26Speaker 1: was twenty two yards out. He's been playing really well
- 9:29Speaker 1: in spot duty and it was nice to see him
- 9:32Speaker 1: get some opportunities and make the most of it. Just
- 9:35Speaker 1: pure acceleration decisiveness. I posted a quote on my ex
- 9:38Speaker 1: account from having spoke to Tank I guess three weeks ago,
- 9:42Speaker 1: asking him about where that decisiveness comes from and where
- 9:46Speaker 1: and if he could pinpoint it. Gave a really good
- 9:47Speaker 1: quote there. You'll have to go back and look for it,
- 9:49Speaker 1: but it's there.
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- 13:35Speaker 1: On the running game, it was more of a grinded
- 13:38Speaker 1: out game for Barkley aside from a forty eight yard
- 13:41Speaker 1: highlight reel run late, but many of his yards were
- 13:45Speaker 1: hard earned. Sure you'd like to see a vintage Barkley performance,
- 13:50Speaker 1: especially against the team and the Commanders that came into
- 13:53Speaker 1: the game with the NFL's twenty eighth ranked rush defense,
- 13:56Speaker 1: but there were certainly bright moments. Barkley, by the way,
- 13:59Speaker 1: finished with a hundred thirty two yards and a touchdown
- 14:01Speaker 1: on twenty one carries. As I mentioned at the top here,
- 14:05Speaker 1: divisional games tend to be a chippy and Eagles right
- 14:08Speaker 1: guard Tyler Stein was disqualified with a tick over four
- 14:12Speaker 1: minutes remaining after effectively fending off about five or six
- 14:16Speaker 1: Commanders when the dust settled, Steen and the commanders Kwan
- 14:19Speaker 1: Martin and Javon Kinlaw were tossed. It appeared as though
- 14:23Speaker 1: Saint Rustoll had a heavy hand and instigating the dust up.
- 14:27Speaker 1: The Eagles committed five penalties for sixty one yards in
- 14:30Speaker 1: this one, giving them eight over the past two games
- 14:34Speaker 1: from a third down effect. In this standpoint, the Eagles
- 14:37Speaker 1: offense converted four of nine attempts, and the Eagles officially
- 14:40Speaker 1: held the ball for thirty four minutes and seven seconds. Look,
- 14:46Speaker 1: it was a huge win for the Eagles because it
- 14:48Speaker 1: started out ugly. Then when Marcus Mariota got hurt in
- 14:52Speaker 1: that game and did not return and they turned it
- 14:54Speaker 1: back over to they turned it over to Josh Johnson,
- 14:57Speaker 1: it was evident that they weren't going to have another
- 15:00Speaker 1: to work their way back back in this game, and
- 15:03Speaker 1: that interception by Cooper Degen more or less ended the game.
- 15:06Speaker 1: It sucked all of the air that energy from their sideline.
- 15:09Speaker 1: At least that's the way that it appeared to me.
- 15:12Speaker 1: And yeah, I mean the Eagles they took care of
- 15:15Speaker 1: business the way that they you would expect them to.
- 15:18Speaker 1: But against better teams, you know, the Buffalo Bills, they'll
- 15:21Speaker 1: see next week included, and certainly in the postseason. They
- 15:26Speaker 1: have to be a little bit crisper early on and
- 15:28Speaker 1: get out to a faster start because other teams will
- 15:32Speaker 1: pounce on that and take advantage and get out to
- 15:34Speaker 1: a larger leader. You don't want to dig yourself a
- 15:36Speaker 1: hole like that. But I thought the Eagles showed a
- 15:39Speaker 1: lot of signs promising signs of resiliency, being able to
- 15:43Speaker 1: play your best football and close things out, put your
- 15:46Speaker 1: foot on the gas so much so that you got
- 15:48Speaker 1: to see players, whether it was Keeley Ringo who got
- 15:51Speaker 1: called for a penalty late in the game, Sidney Brown,
- 15:54Speaker 1: Brandon Johnson, Ja Corey and Bennett got some cornerback reps
- 15:59Speaker 1: on the outside, and Jahid Campbell played a lot in
- 16:03Speaker 1: this game. And the snapshare when it comes out on
- 16:06Speaker 1: Sunday morning is going to reflect that. Now, the injury
- 16:09Speaker 1: in this game to keep an eye on will be
- 16:11Speaker 1: Nikobe Dean, because the Kobe Dean suffered a hamstring injury
- 16:16Speaker 1: and he exited the game early, did not return. He
- 16:20Speaker 1: was kind of promptly ruled out. Hamstring injuries can be fickle.
- 16:24Speaker 1: It was chilly out there and that's something that can
- 16:28Speaker 1: linger a little bit. We don't know the extent of it.
- 16:30Speaker 1: We'll have to wait and see. It's way too early
- 16:33Speaker 1: to make any determinations. But n Kobe Dean's been playing
- 16:37Speaker 1: so well right now, but now Jahad Campbell has a
- 16:40Speaker 1: chance to play a lot more than he has. So
- 16:44Speaker 1: while we wait to see what's going on with Nikobe Dean,
- 16:47Speaker 1: that is something to note. Lost in all this inevitably
- 16:50Speaker 1: will probably be the injury and it'll probably looked at
- 16:54Speaker 1: a little bit more tomorrow. But the Eagles did what
- 16:57Speaker 1: they had to do. They eliminate the Cowboys from playoff contention,
- 17:02Speaker 1: which is noteworthy, of course. And I think the Dallas
- 17:09Speaker 1: godd are getting his tenth touchdown of the season, Saquon
- 17:11Speaker 1: Barkley eclipsing one thousand yards, Jalen Hurts throwing for twenty
- 17:16Speaker 1: four touchdowns, the most he has in a season, all noteworthy,
- 17:20Speaker 1: Tank Bigsby first touchdown as an Eagle. These are all
- 17:24Speaker 1: things that I believe are something that should be brought
- 17:28Speaker 1: to the forefront. And it was a you know, look,
- 17:33Speaker 1: you survive and you move on. That's the playing surface
- 17:38Speaker 1: at Northwest Stadium is not It's far from ideal. So
- 17:43Speaker 1: everything is far from my deal from that stadium. The
- 17:46Speaker 1: Eagles win the game, they move on. They will now
- 17:48Speaker 1: face the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo next week, and I'm
- 17:52Speaker 1: curious to see what everything means for Lane Johnson and
- 17:58Speaker 1: his eventual return. Javen Carter how the Eagles choose to
- 18:03Speaker 1: allocate playing time to some of the players. A lot
- 18:06Speaker 1: of it has to do with things, you know, variables
- 18:08Speaker 1: that are outside their control, and it'll kind of work
- 18:10Speaker 1: itself out. But that's where I'm at with it right now.
- 18:13Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this edition of the
- 18:15Speaker 1: Czech O Daily. I'm Andrew to checko and I'll catch
- 18:17Speaker 1: you on the next one.