PHILADELPHIA — Everyone watching the Eagles’ win over Dallas saw A.J. Brown’s quiet night. Everyone saw Jahan Dotson’s big catch. Everyone saw Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell making plays. And everyone saw, unfortunately, Jalen Carter spitting on Dak Prescott.
But there was a lot Birds fans might have missed on Thursday. For that, we’ve got you covered.
Here are my under-the-radar observations from the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Cowboys.
— Jalen Hurts picked up a career-high five first downs on nine scrambles, per Next Gen Stats. All of them were impressive. But I was most impressed by the touchdown runs. On the first scramble, if Hurts threw to his first read (DeVonta Smith on an out-route) it would’ve been pick-sixed. On the second scramble, if Hurts threw to his first read (Saquon Barkley over the middle) it could’ve been picked. Hurts had the presence of mind to tuck and go. Exceptional stuff.
— Props to Jordan Davis. Carter getting ejected forced the massive defensive tackle to put in a shift, playing 50 of 56 defensive snaps. Davis upped his offseason conditioning, losing 26 pounds over the offseason. That (and maybe the lightning delay) had to help the big fella.
— Speaking of the defensive tackles, how about Byron Young? There was debate over who deserved credit for stripping Miles Sanders, either Young or Campbell. Regardless, the reserve lineman was a key part of the biggest play of the game. The Eagles liked Young, who spent last season on the practice squad. And after being one of the last players on the 53-man roster, Young repaid the Eagles’ faith in him on Thursday.
— Patrick Johnson, another guy on the roster bubble, played a role in the forced fumble, too. The 2021 seventh-round pick pushed his blocker inside and filled the hole Sanders was going to run through. Sanders had to bounce it, and when he did, Young and Campbell popped the ball free. I wonder how Johnson’s role will be affected with Friday’s addition of three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Za’Darius Smith. But Johnson will get credit from the coaches on that one.
— Barkley rushed for only 60 yards. But I thought he did well with the limited space Dallas granted him. Barkley faced stacked boxes (eight or more defenders) on 12 of 18 carries, per Next Gen Stats. Still, Barkley’s lateral movement and vision turned no gains into four-yard and six-yard gains on a few occasions. The Cowboys were selling out to stop him, and he better get used to that. Because after last year, a lot of teams are going to do the same.
— I wrote after the game about Dotson and how the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver has developed trust with Hurts. That showed on their game-changing 51-yard deep ball. But Dotson is doing the dirty work, too. If you missed it, check out this block he delivered.
— On that play, Dotson helped spring Will Shipley, who looked good before suffering a rib injury. Shipley put his stamp on the RB2 role in camp thanks in large part to his ability as an outlet through the air. We saw that in the first half on a designed swing pass to the second-year back out of Clemson. The Eagles will be hoping his injury isn’t serious.
— I felt bad for Ben VanSumeren. While the Carter incident unfolded, VanSumeren was being tended to by trainers after suffering a knee injury during the opening kickoff. He eventually had to be carted off and landed on IR on Friday. Just an unfortunate situation for a potential special teams ace who was one of the last to make the roster.
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