Eagles

Eagles Evaluation: Eagles Clip Falcons Wings With Two Goal Line Stands

By
Paul Bowman
Author photo
Paul Bowman Sports Editor

Penn State Great Valley MBA, Penn State Berks Undergrad, Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor, IT Service Manager. I joined Sports Talk Philly in 2017 and root for all the Philly teams (as well as their minor league counter parts).

All posts by Paul Bowman
Sports Editor

Published08 Sep 2018

Disclosure
We sometimes use affiliate links in our content, when clicking on those we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you. By using this website you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Staff Eagles Evaluation: Eagles Clip Falcons Wings With Two Goal Line Stands

The Eagles opened up their season the same way they left off: with a win. The offense struggled mightily without Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins. In fact, Nelson Agholor seemed to be the only pass catcher on the field making any plays for much of the game. Luckily, the Eagles won in the trenches and the defense stood tall in the red zone. The good guys were able to pull out a W and hand the team that many believe to be the Eagles toughest competition in the NFC the loss as well as gain a head to head tie-breaker that may greatly impact this year’s playoffs.

Below are my drive by drive analyses:

First Quarter

Drive One (Defense)

  • A false start gave the Eagles defense room to work, but Jenkins pushed Julio Jones out after a 10 yard gain.
  • They went back to Julio behind the line and Rodney McLeod got stiff armed and did nothing to slow him down allowing an easy first down.
  • Another easy first down as Sidney Jones overran the running back and could not make a play.
  • Both Jordan Hicks and Jalen Mills blew up the receiver just as the ball got there to stop the first play and a poor throw by Ryan got a third down and 10.
  • Julio Jones hit a seam between McLeod and Ronald Darby for a big gain. There were two blatant holds on the play as both Derek Barnett and Chris Long could have gotten to Ryan were they not held, but neither was called.
  • A rush up the middle seemed to be headed for a touchdown, but McLeod dropped in and wouldn’t let the Falcons in.
  • After another run up the middle ran into Cox and went nowhere and a poor pass by Ryan, Kamu Grugier-Hill showed that although he is the captain of the special teams unit, he is a powerful force on defense, too. He was blocked well by a tight end, but knocked the block off and was able to head straight to the runner for a turnover on downs. This is a huge drive for the defense to start the season.

Drive Two (Offense)

  • The Eagles handed the ball to Sproles who was hit at the line, but fought for a few yards.
  • Agholor made a nice grab on a pass that was too high, but an incomplete pass intended for a well-covered Sproles forced a punt.

Drive Three (Defense)

  • Shelton Gibson took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to set the Falcons up with a short field.
  • After a well defensed pass by Darby and a rush up the middle for five yards, the line failed to contain Matt Ryan and allowed a first down.
  • Ronald Darby nearly missed a tackle on the sweep, but he did well to force the runner to the edge and he could not stay inbounds.
  • Barnett brought pressure, but a lob over his head ended up going for over 20 yards as Rodney McLeod once again made the tackle before the runner could reach the end zone.
  • A very low pass gained a few yards (and lost an Eagles timeout on a lost challenge) and that was followed by a pass attempt where no one could get open and Ryan had to throw it away.
  • The Eagles seemed to be out of the woods with a sack, but that was called back on an offsides penalty against Barnett. Luckily, the pass was intended for Austin Hooper who collided with Nathan Gerry as neither was paying attention to the other.
  • The Falcons kicked an easy field goal this time around

Drive Four (Offense)

  • A couple handoffs to Sproles and Clement went nowhere, but an offside penalty put the Eagles in third and manageable.
  • Nelson Agholor made a nice grab and was hit by four different Falcons, but earned the first down.
  • Foles was hit and sacked quickly on a blitz. Sproles missed the blitzer and ran up the middle rather than picking up the block which left Foles with no chance on the play. It was a great play call for what the Eagles were doing as the play had Sproles running the opposite way up the middle, so the area where the blitz came from was the one way he wouldn’t see on his route.
  • A handoff to Clement went nowhere. It seemed like a poor play call at first glance, but the real issue was Stefen Wisniewski moving late and then overrunning his guy which left Clement with a defender in his face. Had he been able to get past that defender (or had Wisniewski made a block) Jason Kelce was downfield with Zach Ertz and Mike Wallace blocking a wide open running lane.
  • Foles implemented a nice hard count to draw a penalty, but a snap that was dropped by Foles lead to an easy sack and the Eagles were forced to punt.

Drive Five (Defense)

  • A pass to Jones was met by McLeod and Darby on him to create an incompletion.
  • Brandon Graham went unblocked and made the Falcons play by blowing up a run to end the half.

Second Quarter

Drive Five (Continued – Defense)

  • The Eagles line blew up a screen to force a punt. Cox played it like a linebacker to ensure he wouldn’t get by while Bennett and Graham cleaned up.

Drive Six (Offense)

  • A pass to Agholor behind the line went nowhere and that was followed by Ajayi’s first touch – a very short run.
  • A dangerous pass into coverage was caught by Agholor. He seems to be the only receiver playing this game and he is doing it well.
  • Foles threw another pass to Agholor. It was behind him, but that was the smart move – if Foles had hit him in stride it was an easy interception. That was a heads-up play and a great adjustment by Agholor who was hit as he made the catch.
  • DeAndre Carter made his first NFL catch for a first down. Maybe another receiver has shown up to play.
  • Ajayi broke quite a few tackles for an eight yard gain. He was able to rush for one more yard and then they handed it off to Sproles who broke a tackle and cut up for a first down.
  • A pass and a handoff to Sproles gained a few yards, but it was a pass interference called in coverage of Mike Wallace that earned the next first down.
  • Kelce holding negated a five yard run by Sproles and Dallas Goedert made what should have been a good grab and a touchdown, but the rookie made a college catch only getting one foot in bounds. He has to be better than that.
  • A Clement rush and catch by Ertz brought a fourth down and field goa attempt. Jake Elliot has not been all that great from these short distances and the kick was an ugly one, but it tied the game nonetheless.

Drive Seven (Defense)

  • Jalen Mills shut down a run play quick, but Darby was juked by Julio Jones and that resulted in a huge gain.
  • The line shut down a rush and an eight yard catch was made, but a roughing the passer call that had no reason being called was called against Chris Long to give the Falcons a first down.
  • A short run by Ryan and a throwaway set up third and long.
  • Jordan Hicks made an amazing play. He hit Freeman, who is a power back, and nearly knocked him down before sacking Ryan and forcing a long field goal kick.

Drive Eight (Offense)

  • Shelton Gibson decided to wait and then took out a return that set the Eagles up way back in their own territory.
  • Foles threw away a pass to avoid a safety and hit Agholor for a four-yard gain. The Falcons roughed the passer and gifted a first down.
  • Agholor made a great sideline catch, but it was erased on a defensive holding penalty.
  • Foles hit Ertz for a five yard gain but Sproles, who could have made a man miss for a first down, dropped the pass on the following play.
  • Foles then threw a pass far too high for Ertz to catch and the punt team came on.

Drive Nine (Defense)

  • An 11-yard catch to Jones was followed by a pass that hit McLeod’s hands. That should be an easy interception that gives the ball to the Eagles just outside the red zone.
  • Jenkins covered a dump pass and Darby broke up a pass intended for Julio which forced a punt.

Drive 10 (Offense)

  • Foles caused an offside penalty and then threw a pass way down field intended for Mike Wallace. The defender was pushing Wallace, had his arm hooked and did not look for the ball, but somehow that was not interference.
  • They tried the same thing again, but ended up throwing the ball away.
  • A screen to Sproles was short of the first down and a punt was made, but a roughing the kicker penalty kept the ball in the Eagles hand and they kneeled to run out the clock.

Third Quarter

Drive 11 (Offense)

  • A nice nine-yard pass to Ertz opened the half and that was followed by a first down rush by Ajayi.
  • Foles threw off his back foot and nearly threw a pick six. A defensive penalty would have negated that anyway.
  • A Clement rush went nowhere and that was followed by another would be interception thrown essentially right to a defensive back. Luckily that was dropped.
  • A screen to Agholor behind the line also went nowhere and a punt was in order.

Drive 12 (Defense)

  • Hicks stopped a run just shy of a first down and Darby, playing off of Jones, allowed an easy first down pass.
  • Cox could not get to Ryan and a near deep pass was thrown to Jones. It was a controversial no catch, but Julio was bobbling the ball and I believe that Mills knocked it loose as he went to the ground ensuring the Jones did not have possession until the ball reached the ground.

  • Matt Ryan was under pressure and intentionally grounded the ball to lose a down and yardage.
  • A small pass was cleaned up by Hicks to force a punt.

Drive 13 (Offense)

  • After a nice return by Sproles, a short pass to Goedert was followed with a large gain on a pass to Ertz.
  • The Eagles loaded up on blockers and handed the ball to Ajayi who tripped forward for the first down. Had he maintained balance he would have had a huge gain and possibly a touchdown – and he knows it.
  • Foles threw into good coverage to Agholor, but Agholor at least knocked away an interception.
  • Ajayi slipped a few tackles to gain five yards.
  • The Eagles ran what many are calling the Philly Special II with Foles making a 15-yard reception. It was well executed with a nice throw from Agholor, but did not feature a direct snap and diversion as the Philly Special did. It was more like a flea flicker with a reverse added in.

  • A low through to Ertz and a short run by Ajayi left a third and long, but Foles hit Ertz again to get inside the 10 yard line.
  • A rush by Sproles gained a few yards, but it was a rush by Ajayi up the middle that scored the first touchdown of the season.

Drive 14 (Defense)

  • The line stopped a rush and then gave up a five-yard rush, however the latter was negated as the Falcons offensive line was called for clipping as they quite obviously attempted to take out Flectcher Cox.
  • A pass for 15 yards gained back the lost yardage, but left a third and long.
  • Darby was once again in good coverage as he knocked the pass away to force a punt.

Drive 15 (Offense)

  • Ajayi rushed for a hard earned four yards, but two dropped passes by Ertz forced the Eagles to punt right back.

Drive 16 (Defense)

  • After a four-yard rush, Darby was covering Jones on a pass that was too short and McLeod knocked the ball out of a tight end’s hand which caused the Falcons to punt.

Drive 17 (Defense)

  • Tre Sullivan kicked the ball which muffed the punt and the Falcons recovered with great field position.
  • Nate Gerry nearly got a sack and forced Ryan to throw. He tipped the ball and was nearly able to get under it for an interception, but it bounced just a bit too far.
  • A short pass ran out the clock for the quarter.

    • Fourth Quarter

    Drive 17 (Defense – Continued)

  • Cox came up with a huge sack, but Barnett was offside yet again and gifted the Falcons a first down. Killer, especially after they decided not to challenge the pass call just before.
  • After a five-yard run and a two-yard run, Darby came out and Rasul Douglas came in. Ryan must have known that and lobbed it over Douglas’ way. He must have thought Douglas was completely inept as he just floated it and Rasul came up with an easy interception to prevent a score.

Drive 18 (Offense)

  • After two Ajayi runs for nine yards, Foles tossed a ball to Agholor who got nice blocks from DeAndre Carter and Lane Johnson to gain 16 yards. He might have been able to go farther if he had cut inside and picked up another block from Kelce down the field, but that is no sure thing and it was a great run by Agholor who has carried the pass defense for the receiving corps in Alshon Jeffery’s absence.
  • Foles looked to Goedert, but Goedert just knocked the ball up and allowed an interception. That is on Goedert, not Foles.

Drive 19 (Defense)

  • With another short field, Ryan hit Jones in the 10 to get a first and goal.
  • The next play was a rush for a touchdown that got the Falcons the lead again, but they missed the extra point kick. McLeod was juked on the touchdown run and Destiny Vaeao was somehow unable to catch the runner while he juked McLeod.

Drive 20 (Offense)

  • After Ajayi rushed for seven yards, he lost one as Brooks, Kelce, and Ertz all got knocked over.
  • A great 10-yard catch by Agholor was negated by Ertz committing a pass interference. Ertz then dropped another pass that would have been a first down.

Drive 21 (Defense)

  • Cameron Johnston kicked a huge punt inside the 20-yard-line, but the referees saw two separate Falcons players holding Eagles on the play. So they called one on each team despite the Falcons committing both and made the Eagles re-kick an impressive kick that did not go the same way for the Eagles, but ended in the Falcons favor.
  • Ngata sniffed out and took down a run for a loss, but a holding penalty against the Falcons negated that and gave the Eagles more yardage.
  • Sidney Jones forced a loss of five by immediately tackling the receiver behind the line. This was followed by Cox bringing down Ryan who was hit by Chris Long as he fell. This knocked out the football and even though a Falcon picked it up, they lost another four yards to create a third and 29.
  • In prevent defense, the Eagles gave up a ten yard pass, but not near a first down before the Falcons punted.

Drive 22 (Offense)

  • After a short pass to Agholor, Foles went deep to Wallace, but could not connect.
  • They handed it to Sproles who broke a tackle to earn a first down.
  • Following a six-yard pass to Sproles, Ajayi rushed for no gain, but Clement hit a hole opened up by Wisniewski and Peters to gain 21 yards. He could have gone further but ran toward the only defender instead of toward the pylon. It was a great play by the line and good patience by Clement to let the hole develop.
  • After a short rush by Clement, Ajayi rushed on the outside for a touchdown. He broke a tackle and picked up a great block from Mike Wallace at the goal line to score that one.

  • Ajayi converted a two-point rush, but nearly fumbled the ball – perhaps his biggest weakness. That eight points means the Falcons would need a touchdown and an extra point to win with two minutes remaining.

Drive 23 (Defense)

  • A six-yard pass and a 36-yarder got the Falcons into Eagles territory.
  • Pressure from hicks forced a throwaway and Hicks and Long earned a sack to bring up third down.
  • Jones got in front of Darby and earned 18 yards for a first down.
  • A nine-yard pass got the Falcons into the red zone, but Cox came up with another sack to knock them back to the edge.
  • A pass to Sanu got the Falcons to the 10-yard line with a first down and 23 seconds remaining.
  • Great coverage forced two throwaways and the Cox hit Ryan as he threw to bring up fourth down with seven seconds remining.
  • The Eagles defensive line hit Ryan as he threw the ball away, but an illegal contact was called on Jordan Hicks. It is the same contact that all of the Falcons secondary has been making all night, but this is the first time it has been called. One second remining and an automatic first down means the Falcons get one more chance.
  • The Eagles were again in good coverage, but Jones was able to make a grab. The pass was so high that Jones had to go up to get it and Ronald Darby was able to push him out of bounds to seal the Eagles victory with a goal line stand just as they did in the playoffs last season.

Offensive MVP

Jay Ajayi got the Eagles going. There was hardy any offense without him. He was doing a lot of tough running and managed to gain more yards than anyone who wasn’t throwing passes. Ajayi had some help from his offensive line, but the Eagles were getting nowhere with all the screens and hand offs to Sproles and Clement. Had Ajayi not been so effective, the Eagles may never have scored a touchdown and may well have lost the game.

Defensive MVP

This is a difficult one. Fletcher Cox and Chris Long had a monstrous game on the line. Kamu Grugier-Hill showed his skill at linebacker with a dominating performance. Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills each played well covering Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu. Only Jordan Hicks, however, affected all aspects of the game. The middle linebacker lead the team with seven tackles (two for loss) against the Falcons as well as one and a half sacks, two quarterback hits and a defensed pass. There is not much more you could ask him to do and he reminded everyone just how big the loss of him last season was.

Game One Notes

  • The Eagles defense is just plain dominant. Two goal line stands, an interception just outside the endzone, far more success against the sweeps and dumps and a staggering 13 QB hits (four sacks). The defense went up against a high-powered offense with a good power runner, a good elusive runner, an elite quarterback, and one of the greatest receivers in the league. They allowed only 12 points.
  • Fletcher Cox put up two tackles (one for loss), a sack and four QB hits. The Falcons often put him in double coverage, much like last season, however with Haloti Ngata replacing Beau Allen, a more experienced Derek Barnett and Michael Bennett filling in for Tim Jernigan, they simply cannot keep Cox in double coverage. Allen and Jernigan are good defensive lineman, but not as good as Ngata and Bennett. While Cox being double covered allowed the other lineman to succeed last season, the additional talent this season may allow Cox to shine as offenses cannot double cover the entire line.
  • Jay Ajayi was electric last night. He had 15 carries for 62 yards, two touchdowns and even made a tackle on special teams. The Eagles seemed to lean on Sproles for the first half, but they barely got the ball moving until Ajayi became the back they were leaning on.
  • The passing game was abysmal. Only six players made a catch. One of those players was Nick Foles – and he had more receiving yards than both DeAndre Carter and Dallas Goedert. The Eagles got nothing out of Mike Wallace or Shelton Gibson and Goedert did more harm than good by knocking up an interception and otherwise only making one catch for four yards. Nelson Agholor stepped up, but the Eagles need another receiver to do the same as Agholor cannot carry the team on his own.
  • To go with the passing issues, Nick Foles was not great. His stats are very skewed by an interception that should have been a completion, drops by Ertz, and pass interference calls not being made with Mike Wallace down the field. The stats look bad, but should not be nearly as bad as they are. The issue is that aside from the end of the first half, Foles seemed reluctant to throw anything that was more than two yards down the field. When he is going good, he is making those deep shots and he was not taking them Thursday night.
  • Darren Sproles accomplishment in this game should not go unnoticed, either.