4. Philadelphia Eagles (Down 2). The Eagles’ offensive line is going through a rough stretch, as they have allowed 49 pressures over the past three weeks, more than any other team. They also rank just 28th in pass-blocking efficiency over that period. Left guard Landon Dickerson particularly struggled, letting up a career-high eight pressures against Washington. On the season, Dickerson has given up 23 pressures after surrendering just 19 in 2022.
Eagles Film Analysis: All-22 defense takeaways from the Commanders road game – BGN
The came out with a lot of quick game. Sam Howell was decisive and it prevented the Eagles’ pass rush from winning. There were a lot of stick routes, slants, and screens in order to slow down the Eagles’ pass rush. I also think this set up a lot of the deep shots they took later on in the game, so you have to credit the Washington staff and Eric Bieniemy who appears to have a really good feel for a Sean Desai-led defense this season. We also saw Sydney Brown start in the slot on early downs, and it was a bit of a rollercoaster. But it was fun! He definitely was not great in coverage, especially on quick slants and in breaking routes, but he was so good in run defense. More on that later!
On the Shane Page #3: Offensive and defensive takeaways from Eagles Week 8 win against the Commanders – BGN Radio
Shane Haff and Jonny Page share their offensive and defensive takeaways from the Eagles Week 8 win against the Commanders.
When you make mistakes against the Cowboys’ defense, they make you pay. Hurts has to be on point, and the Eagles’ skill position players must secure the football at all times. The Eagles lost to the Jets because they turned it over four times. This past Sunday, the Commanders were only in the game because the Eagles lost fumbles inside their five yard line… twice. This would probably be a good week for Nick Sirianni and the offensive staff to stress the fundamentals.
The Eagles’ trade for safety Kevin Byard increased their win total by almost 0.3 wins. Philadelphia earns the NFC’s only playoff bye in 38.6 percent of simulations.
Can the Eagles finally end years of frustration against Dak Prescott? – NBCSP
Byard is the only NFL player to pick off Prescott three times. One-time Eagle Rudy Ford is among six players who’ve gotten him twice. Although Josh Sweat victimized him for a pick-6 last year in a game the Cowboys won, the last Eagles defensive back to intercept Prescott is Jalen Mills in 2019. There isn’t a defensive back who’ll play Sunday who’s been part of a win over Prescott in an Eagles uniform. The starting d-backs last time the Eagles beat him were Mills, Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins. The backups were Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, Rasul Douglas, Marcus Epps, Craig James and Cre’von LeBlanc. Only Maddox is still here, and he’s on IR. Who better to ask about Prescott than a guy who’s faced him twice and picked him off three times? “First and second down, they really want to work more (than in the past) on the quick pass game,” Byard said. “Kind of get them going early, make them be efficient, be really good on first and second down so they can be in third-and-short because I think they’re one of the best if not the best third-down team in the league (3rd at 48 percent) because they’re really good on first and second down. So I just think they’re taking what the defense gives them.
Week 9 NFL Picks Against the Spread – The Ringer
On one hand, at 7-1, the Eagles are in a great spot. On the other, if they lose here, they’re tied with the Cowboys in the loss column. There’s a scenario in which one of these teams could get the no. 1 seed in the NFC and the bye, while the other could face a Super Bowl path that involves having to win three games on the road. It’s still relatively early in the season, but there’s a lot on the line here. The Eagles defense has been a little Jekyll-and-Hyde. They played great two weeks ago against Miami but got lit up by Washington’s Sam Howell in Week 8. On offense, last week was the best game of Jalen Hurts’s career in terms of EPA per pass play. Hurts is dealing with a knee injury, and that meant taking checkdowns quickly, getting the ball out, and throwing it up to A.J. Brown, rather than trying to scramble and create. The Cowboys, meanwhile, are coming off of a convincing win over the Rams in a game that was over by halftime. Dak Prescott has looked sharp the past two weeks and is completing a career-best 71 percent of his passes on the season. Will the Eagles double Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb? Will the Cowboys double Brown? Can the Eagles run the ball effectively, given Hurts’s injury? How will Philadelphia account for the Cowboys’ do-it-all defender Micah Parsons? So many fun story lines in this one. I see two pretty evenly matched teams, but I like the Eagles to cover at home. The pick: Eagles (-3)
