NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles were not going undefeated this season. It doesn’t matter who they lost to, but losses were going to happen. Losing to the Atlanta Falcons is not the end of the world, however, it shed light on what needs to be fixed.
Fans are going rampant on the internet with all the finger-pointing. Saquon Barkley dropped an easy pass that would have sealed the game. Jalen Hurts threw an interception that proved he’s not a franchise QB. The pass rush didn’t get to Kirk Cousins, and Nick Sirianni needs to be fired.
While fans may believe all of this to be true, have they watched the NFL over the last two weeks? This seems to be a common theme. But it wasn’t supposed to happen to the Eagles, right? Guess again.
No AJ Brown. That right there spelled trouble. That means that DeVonta Smith would have a hard time breaking free. Jahan Dotson is still a newcomer as he arrived late in Camp after being traded from the Washington Commanders. Dotson was a non-factor.
For all the finger-pointing at Barkley and Hurts, those fake fans should turn in your fan cards ASAP. Without those two, it wouldn’t have been a game. Hurts looked like the MVP version of himself. Yes, some passes were off but he was constantly under pressure. As for Barkley, that’s a catch he has to make, but it had to happen. Now he will come back harder with a point to prove.
The defense that was displayed was awful. But it was a learning experience. The reason this is blowing up is because fans are waiting for the ceiling to fall in as it did on the tail end of the 2023 season. They need someone to blame and of course, Sirianni is catching the heat.
Last I checked, he doesn’t call the defense plays. From his account, he turned the offense over to Kellen Moore as well. And yet, it’s all his fault, right?
The Falcons are not a bad team. Their Week 1 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers was blown way out of proportion. Cousins was getting his footing right in the pocket after being out the season prior due to tearing his ACL. Their offense is stacked. And that defense is slept on. They have one of the best secondaries in the NFL but unless you watch them, you would not know. It’s going to be hard for teams to accumulate passing yards on them.
This is not a mirror image of what occurred last season, the Philadelphia Eagles are a team with a bunch of young players playing major minutes. Give them time. It’s a long season and if you let fans tell it, the only way for them to go is 17-0. That’s not how this league works.
Mistakes were made. Penalties killed drives. Passes were dropped and throws were missed. It will not be perfect on every drive. The Falcons are not the New York Giants. They are legit playoff contenders. Yes, the Eagles appear to have better players but this is what makes the NFL so appealing. The best team doesn’t win every week. Shit happens.
Should they have run the ball on that crucial 3rd down to preserve the clock? Probably so, but if Barkley catches the ball, no one is thinking about that run. That was a missed chance but all the defense had to do was their job. It was a team loss, not an individual one. It was just a bad loss. That’s it. fans are ready to write everyone off and kick people to the curb. They’re two games into the season and already fans are giving up.
The finger-pointing is what fans do best. Most of them have never played the game. They are couch coaches. They look at replays and figure a player should have gone left instead of right. They have never faced live action.
The Philadelphia Eagles will be fine. Their schedule is tough but the talent is there. Better decision-making is a must. Experience is key. These young players have to be in these positions. They have to learn from it. They have to know what to do or not to do in those situations again. This was a learning experience. It’s not last season, the decline is not coming.
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