This was not an easy offense to watch, but it felt a lot better after the win! This is a crazy week after the Monday night game and Thanksgiving, so I’ll try to stay as brief as possible. Let’s get started.
Offense
When I was watching the game live, I was dismayed to see Jalen Hurts’ eyes drop on the game’s first third down. After seeing all22, I changed my mind. This isn’t on Hurts, and I’m not sure what the Eagles’ spacing is on this one. This is a bad design, and Hurts had no choice but to close his eyes and flee. Please toss this design in the trash.
Eagles Offense vs. Chiefs All22 thread. 1) I was a little sad to see Hurts close his eyes on the first third down, but after watching the film, I don’t blame him. There’s some strange spacing going on here, and I’m not a fan of the play design with mirrored paths
In this game, the Eagles’ run game finally got going. I’d been requesting more outside runs, gap schemes, and less inside zone, and I got my wish. The Eagles stopped running D’Andre Swift down the middle and used him effectively in space this week. I enjoy seeing Jason Kelce pull off these pin/pull runs, and this one is really impressive. With no one on their left shoulder, Kelce and Jordan Mailata can run the pull part of this play, and Jack Stoll does an excellent job pinning the defensive tackle. Please, more of this!
I don’t have much to say because I don’t know what the Eagles are taught. AJ Brown clearly wants the vertical shot, but the play is termed a deep-in. I doubt AJ Brown should modify his course, but who knows? In any case, the Eagles must learn from this and ensure that it does not happen again.
In this one, the Eagles still ran too many slow-developing plays for my liking. I get the Eagles’ desire to make explosive plays, but running a concept like ‘Heat’ against a Chiefs pass rush that was dominating felt like a stupid decision. However, I would like Hurts to expedite the process and get to his checkdown sooner.
This is a terrific simulation pressure by the Chiefs, but the Eagles, particularly Cam Jurgens, need to get better at identifying these pressure looks. In this game, the Chiefs’ defensive line overwhelmed the Eagles’ offensive line at times. On several occasions, it appeared to me that Jurgens was unsure who to block. The Chiefs continued this T-E stunt with a slot blitz, and Jurgens needed to overlook the defensive end collapsing into Kelce and assist Lane Johnson. Lane was left 2v1 much too often because Jurgens was attempting to block the defensive end who was crashing inside rather than leaving him to Jason Kelce. Whoever was to blame, the Eagles surrendered too many pressures.
6) This is such a good sim pressure by the Chiefs. Sometimes you gotta say fair play. Blitzing the slot CB on the same side of Chris Jones (who prevents Lane from getting to the slot) and dropping the right DE is really cool. If Hurts throws with a tiny bit more anticipation… pic.twitter.com/UFls22dphQ
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 21, 2023
The Eagles’ usage of pony personnel is still incredible. This is an excellent decision. The most crucial thing to remember about this move is that it only works if you run it from beneath center. Before this play, the Eagles had a carry, with Boston Scott rushing for 4 years for under center. That play was plainly meant to set up D’Andre Swift’s jet sweep. I’d like to see the Eagles run more under-center looks (ideally with Rashaad Penny) just so they can run this play once or twice a game with Swift. Swift excels in the open field.
7) Add this to the list of awesome plays from pony personnel that we've seen. Anytime you can get Swift in space, it's a win. This is a new look and I hope they can build on this look and run some fakes in future weeks. Chiefs D were unprepared for this! pic.twitter.com/WhIYu4q8BW
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 21, 2023
This is fantastic. This is fantastic. I saw Brian Baldinger call this play QB power on Twitter, but in my perspective, this is a classic CT counter (sorry, Baldy). The Eagles bring in both Jason Kelce and Jordan Mailata, and they execute this play flawlessly. When the Eagles’ offense is at its peak, Jalen Hurts is frequently on the field. The Eagles’ running game is entirely different when Hurts is a key part of it.
8) Beautiful. Eagles' gap scheme was back in this one, and it looked so good at times. Here's CT Counter from empty and it's blocked perfectly. The Eagles QB run game is SO important to this offense moving forward. Just watch the pullers and Lane/Jurgens on the right side. pic.twitter.com/2qhiGfjTEq
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 21, 2023
This was again another call from this week that I thoroughly appreciated. The Eagles tried this play a few times and it appeared to work every time. It’s a brilliant call against a blitzing team, and it should be a tremendous play for this offense since the offensive line is fantastic, and Swift is as good as it gets in the open field. This angle screen is likely to become a staple of the Eagles’ offense in the future.
10) It felt like the Eagles used a lot more shifts than normal in this one? This is 3rd and 5 (play before the deep shot to Smith) and it's a fantastic play call and completion. The Chiefs secondary is confused by the late shift into a bunch and they don't get set on time and the… pic.twitter.com/7usAvgSpDS
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 21, 2023
I don’t have the data, but it seems like the Eagles employed more shifts and mobility in this game. Brian Johnson did not call a terrific game in this one (let’s not speak about the WR screens…), but I believe he improved.In terms of outstanding plays. Oh yes. This is fantastic. So wonderful. Hurts glances to the left for the smash route notion, but it isn’t there. I’m not sure if he reads this before and after the snap, but he looks to his left and immediately eliminates it. He knows he has Smith on the backside coming wide open on the slot fade, and despite the pressure, he stands strong in the pocket.
