After the Eagles beat the Jaguars on Sunday they advanced to 6-2, many were happy with their performance and believe they are contenders. Let’s break it down, are they legit contenders?
The offense during the past couple of weeks has been absolutely great. Jalen Hurts looks like his 2022 self. In the past three games Jalen Hurts has scored eight touchdowns and has had zero turnovers. Saquon Barkley also looked great with 160 yards and had a touchdown as well against the Jaguars. He also had one of the best plays of all time when he gained extra yards after jumping over a defender backwards. AJ Brown went down towards halftime after he hurt his knee and was out for the rest of the game. The injury isn’t supposed to be serious and he should be back soon. Jahan Dotson also had a crazy catch after it bounced off a defender and ended with 36 yards against the Jaguars. The offensive line also played very well with only allowing three sacks and defended Jalen Hurts very well.
The defense has also been one of the best in the league, they started great against the Jaguars and allowed zero points in the first half but they struggled towards the end when the Jaguars scored 23 points in the second quarter. The cornerbacks have been the most impressive on the team, there was doubt after both veteran cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry got injured making the starting cornerbacks rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean but both rookies didn’t disappoint and have been doing a great job. The defense is ranked third overall in the NFL, giving up 290.1 yards per game. They are fifth in rush defense and seventh in pass defense. They have allowed just eight passing touchdowns. Last year they were next-to-last in the league giving up 35, just four fewer than the worst team in 2023, the Commanders. Sacks have begun to come, too. The defense had just six in the first four games of the year, but 16 in the previous four games.
The main concern for the Eagles team this year has been the coaching. The coordinators have been doing a great job and Kellen Moore has done a great job adding new plays and getting everyone involved. Vic Fangio has done a great job making sure to limit the weapons for each team and has been coaching one of the best defenses in the league. But, many fans are upset with Nick Sirrani, many say that he started out good but recently he’s trying too hard to be friends with the players and not a coach, he needs to discipline them more. They also say that he’s been too aggressive and should limit going for it on fouth down and needs to take the three points and or punt depending on the situation.
In conclusion the Eagles are a contending team with a great offense and defense but the coaches need to step up and do a better job in order to be an elite team.
