SÃO PAULO — “It was sloppy,” DeVonta Smith said. And he wasn’t talking about caipirinha cocktails. He wasn’t talking about field conditions at a football venue during the first-ever NFL game in South America. No, the wide receiver said what was visible when the Philadelphia Eagles debuted their revamped system under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
“It was sloppy,” Smith repeated. “But we responded well.”
Indeed they did. They are 1-0 after their 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers at Arena Corinthians; despite Cam Jurgens hitting the ball to Jalen Hurts when the quarterback wasn’t ready; despite Hurts twice forcing the football into heavy coverage on passes that resulted in picks (one in the end zone); despite Jurgens and Hurts mishandling a “Brotherly Shove” snap at the last minute that, instead of securing a certain victory, preceded a field goal that gave the Green Bay Packers a final attempt at a potential comeback.
“We’re working out kinks,” said Jurgens, who took both fumbles. “If you can solve things and still win, that’s a good feeling.”
Saquon Barkley saved their pigskin. He jumped at that last awkward click. He was responsible for three of Philadelphia’s four touchdowns. He recorded 109 yards on 24 carries and two scores, plus two catches, including an 18-yard touchdown on a well-timed wheel route. He made general manager Howie Roseman very happy when he set a franchise record in annual spending on running backs by signing Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal this offseason.
Saquon Freaking Barkley#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/ZdXg8tLqB0
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2024
“He had a great game tonight,” Hurts said. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”
The Eagles haven’t wielded a weapon like Barkley since LeSean McCoy. As good as D’Andre Swift and Miles Sanders were in Philadelphia’s backfield over the past two seasons, neither running back possessed the start-stop speed or the burst that carried Barkley deep past the Packers defense on a touchdown run from 11 meters and a 34 meter. garden run into the open field.
Finally he had a block. Barkley, who according to TruMedia had a 4-foot-10 average in six years before hooking up with the New York Giants, said during training camp that he chose to sign with the Eagles in part because of their formidable offensive line Philadelphia. There, on that 11-yard score, there was a colossal gap between Jurgens and right guard Mekhi Becton. Barkley made one sudden cut and the Eagles suddenly led 14-12 with 5:38 left in the first half.
“They did a really good job setting it up for me,” Barkley said. “I just try to stick to my rules. The main thing I want to say is that sometimes I have a tendency to do too much. And I don’t have to have that mentality, but I make (the offensive line) work. And when it’s time to do extra things, I’m ready for that too.”
Speaking of “extra stuff,” Moore wasn’t limited in using the pre-snap moves that were part of his philosophy. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, whose 2023 system is the most stagnant in the NFL, had said earlier this week that “no one really knows what we’re going to do.” By my count, the Eagles used pre-snap motion on 47.3 percent of their plays against the Packers.
That included Dallas Goedert gesturing left on a swing pass in which Goedert gained 1 yard. That included Great Britain Covey switching from wide right to wide left and hitting Hurts Goedert for a four-yard gain in the space Covey had once filled. That included AJ Brown quickly moving from the slot to just past Goedert and matching Brown with Jaire Alexander. Brown’s double move — outside, inside – left him open on the sideline. Hurts hit Brown in stride, and the receiver weaved past the Packers’ secondary for a 67-yard score.
Brown’s 23.8 yards per reception (five catches, 119 yards) were his highest average since Week 16 of the 2022 regular season. Hurts was able to find Brown in crucial third-down situations when he faced a heavy rush . On third-and-8 on Philadelphia’s fourth drive (Barkley’s first rushing touchdown), Hurts zipped the ball to Brown for a 20-yard conversion just before being demolished by a defender. Hurts was 6 of 7 passing for 91 yards and his 18-yard touchdown to Barkley while facing the Packers blitz, according to TruMedia.
It was a promising sign for a system in which Hurts handles more of the pre-snap protection calls and designations that require a receiver to be “hot” against the blitz. Hurts was fired twice. He appeared to tie the second just before halftime, limiting a promising two-minute drive to just a 38-yard Jake Elliott field goal and a 19-17 halftime deficit against the Packers.
“I thought the pass protection was pretty good today,” Jurgens said. “I thought we did well. We watch a movie, see what it was like. But it felt good out there. We have some weapons on the outside. I think we really used them today and played really well.”
Sloppiness also came from the Eagles’ defense.
Sirianni fired former defensive coordinator Sean Desai, in part because his system surrendered the NFL’s second-most passing yards in 2023. The Eagles thought they would improve the defense by hiring the system’s creator, Vic Fangio. But there were times when it was not at all clear that any change had taken place. Jordan Love, who completed 17 of 34 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, took advantage of an apparent coverage error by hitting Jayden Reed for a 70-yard touchdown to seize their halftime lead. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, signed in free agency to improve the back end, missed a tackle that could have saved the score.
Apparently Gardner-Johnson took some heat from the fan base by the time he returned to the locker room.
‘All those fans who have something to say. Everyone get out there and get started with us. Put that in the news,” Garnder-Johnson said. He turned to his left and saw Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. “Tell them, Jeffrey. Every fan says they can make a tackle. We invite anyone who says we’re bad at tackling. We’re going to take them out there with AJ Brown and see if they can make a good tackle. Everyone knows it’s not that simple.’
Lurie just laughed.
Reed Blankenship, red in the face but not disagreeing, continued his post-game interview. Yes, there were some coverage issues, Blankenship said. Yes, they had not just done ‘what we did in practice’. But when the Packers had a chance to go up two scores in the third quarter, Blankenship hooked Love’s throw for a game-changing interception. Blankenship said he saw Love pretend to throw to Reed along the sideline, but returned to the middle of the field when Gardner-Johnson cut off that option.
Safety Reed Blankenship picked off Jordan Love’s throw up the seam for a game-changing interception. (Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
“So it was one of those moments of anticipation,” Blankenship said. “But I couldn’t have done it if he hadn’t done his job at the back.”
It’s difficult to immediately deduce where the jam occurred based on Reed’s 70-yard score. The Eagles played on dime, their six-defense package designed for passing scenarios like that third-and-10. Second-round rookie Cooper DeJean and veteran Avonte Maddox appeared to cover short zones in the slot. Gardner-Johnson was the top safety, but was at least surprised that Reed only encountered the right hash.
“This is the hardest sport because it involves all 11 boys,” Gardner-Johnson said. “And if all eleven of them are not facing the same direction, all kinds of things happen. That doesn’t mean you’re the (worst) player in the world. If that were the case, the owner would have let you go. We have to understand that this game here, we have to understand that as young guys we are just now getting good. We play together and we understand that we can be dominant in every aspect of the game.
Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell emerged as a reliable starter in his professional debut. Love tested the No. 22 pick on a deep ball early in the first quarter, but Mitchell knocked the ball out of Christian Watson’s grasp. Later, Mitchell stretched laterally to deflect another Love pass near the sticks.
Mitchell played entirely on the outside corner, an interesting development given Fangio’s commitment during training camp to platooning the rookie at nickel. Mitchell had played outside cornerback in the starting lineup and switched to nickel during preseason games. But Maddox started at nickel against the Packers. The arrangement may be unsustainable. Maddox was targeted on back-to-back plays by Love, scoring first a pass interference and then a touchdown on the next play.
Isaiah Rodgers’ absence may have played a role. He had primarily been the outside cornerback during training camp when Mitchell played nickel. Rodgers was declared inactive due to a hand injury. When asked if Rodgers’ absence played a role in the decision, Sirianni said: “That’s still a competitive advantage we have that I’ll keep to myself.” Dealing Maddox as a nickel also raises the question of whether the Eagles were confident Kelee Ringo could have fulfilled the game plan at cornerback in nickel packages.
Sirianni, who has further embraced his CEO-like role in 2024, has 10 days to cut the sloppiness before the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, September 16. The 43-year-old coach is now 4-0 in the regular season. season openers.
“I’m happy to move on,” Sirianni said. “We’ll have some tough conversations about what went right and what went wrong, but we’re happy with these guys and we’ll be better from this game.”
(Top photo: Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
