The Eagles’ offense, after its two best performances of the season before the bye week, took a step back in its return to the field Monday night in Green Bay.
It didn’t matter because the Eagles’ defense, with its newest addition, was sensational.
The result was another win over the Packers for the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. The 10-7 victory was sealed by newcomer Jaelan Phillips on a fourth-and-one play as he got penetration and finished off his brilliant night with a tackle for a loss.
The play also resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Reed Blankenship and the Eagles survived a questionable fourth-down decision by coach Nick Sirianni to pull out their seventh win in nine games.
The Eagles’ defense held the Packers to 261 yards, forced two turnovers, registered three sacks and had eight quarterback hits.
Sirianni improved to 5-0 after the bye week and moved ahead of Dick Vermeil into third place in franchise history with 55 regular-season wins.
But the Eagles’ offense was another matter. Jalen Hurts finished 15-for-26 for 183 yards with one touchdown and Saquon Barkley ran 22 times for just 60 yards. The Eagles finished with 294 yards, their lowest total since Week 4 at Tampa Bay.
The offense finally arrives in fourth quarter
After a scoreless first half and three quarters without either team getting into the red zone, the Eagles went into the fourth quarter with a 3-0 lead.
And then their first and only touchdown drive was the result of two explosive plays.
On a third-and-seven play, Hurts couldn’t find anyone open down field and settled for an outlet throw to Barkley. The running back spun away from cornerback Carrington Valentine at the first-down marker and turned it into a 41-yard gain.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo dialed a deep shot on the next play and DeVonta Smith took advantage of a matchup with safety Evan Williams to pull in a 36-yard touchdown catch.
The Packers answered with their only points of the night on an 11-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a touchdown run by Josh Jacobs.
A real head scratcher
A boneheaded decision by Sirianni made for a nail-biting ending for Eagles fans.
Faced with a fourth-and-six from the Green Bay 35 with 33 seconds remaining, the Eagles attempted a deep pass to A.J. Brown that fell incomplete with 27 seconds remaining.
That allowed the Packers to run five plays in an effort to get into a position for a game-tying 64-yard field goal, but Brandon McManus could not connect from that distance in the cold and wind.
An immediate presence
Not only did Phillips get the start in his first game with the Eagles, the newest addition to the defense also made his presence felt immediately.
Jalyx Hunt got credit for the sack of Jordan Love that resulted in an 11-yard loss and destroyed the Packers’ promising opening drive, but the initial pressure came from Phillips. Love left the pocket and landed in the arms of Hunt, who got his second sack in as many games.
He also had a fumble recovery after a strip sack by Nakobe Dean ended a Packers’ scoring threat just before halftime.
It was clear to see with Phillips’ addition on defense that the Eagles have improved their pass rush. Phillips finished with six tackles, two quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss.
Oh no Bo
Bo Melton, the former Cedar Creek High School and Rutgers star, had a chance to get the Packers into scoring position early in the second half, but he dropped a pass in the red zone on a fourth-and-nine throw from Love.
False start, false narrative (or maybe not)
The argument that it’s difficult for officials to see false starts lost some of its luster when a false start call was missed on a Packers’ quarterback sneak on the opening drive of the game that resulted in a first down.
But the argument immediately resurfaced when the Eagles’ Landon Dickerson got away with a false start on the Eagles’ first tush push of the game.
Maybe the officials should just be better. Or maybe that should be a reviewable call.
To their credit, referee Scott Green’s crew did catch Packers guard Aaron Banks starting early on a fourth-and-one play from their own 45, which forced a Green Bay punt.
And then they correctly called two false start penalties on Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata.
The truth of the matter was that all those false starts played a role in the scoreless first half.
Sixteen plays and nothing to show for it
The Eagles’ had an impressive opening drive, going from their own 9-yard line to the Green Bay 24 on 16 plays despite one of those false start penalties on Mailata.
The drive ended with a 10-yard gain by Hurts on a nicely designed quarterback run, but Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper punched the football out and Keisean Nixon recovered to end the Eagles’ threat.
It was Hurts’ fourth fumble of the season, but just the second one he has lost. He has three turnovers for the season.
Finally some points
The Eagles became the first team to get on the board with 8:58 left in the third quarter when Jake Elliott kicked a 39-yard field goal, but it was still a disappointing way to end a 10-play drive that started at their own 35.
Hurts, after completing just 7 of 13 throws for 48 yards in the first half, opened the second half by hitting on three of his first four passes for 35 yards, but his one miss was a bad one that could have been a touchdown to tight end Grant Calcaterra.
The Eagles did convert on a third-and-four when Hurts found Dallas Goedert for a first down at the Green Bay 23. But the drive stalled from there and the Eagles went three-and-out on their next series for the third time in the game.
It was that kind of night for the Eagles’ offense, but it didn’t prevent them from putting up another victory.
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