Quit snoring: 5 takeaways from Eagles-Packers a day later

Lambeau Field is a tough place to play. It is not easy to do anything in 20-degree weather.

Odds were stacked against the Eagles on Monday night in Green Bay in their first game back from the bye week. But they found a way to get a win.

The offense was abysmal, the defense was elite, it was an absolute snooze fest, and the Birds walked away with a 10-7 win. When they needed a play made, they got it. Now, since their back-to-back losses, the Eagles have won three straight.

It was not the prettiest game of football, but quit snoring, the Eagles are 7-2 and atop the NFC.

Here are my five takeaways a day after the win:

1. The Eagles’ defense was otherworldly Monday night. It was one of the best performances by a defensive unit I have seen. They held the Packers to 261 yards and seven points, forced two turnovers, and disrupted Jordan Love all night long, who completed just 20 of 36 throws, tossing for 176 yards with no completions longer than 25 yards.

Yes, the Packers were banged up on offense, but this is still a really good unit.

Every Eagle performed. Jaelan Phillips made one heck of a debut, Jalyx Hunt had the best game of his career, Nakobe Dean was all over the place, Adoree’ Jackson was surprisingly really good in coverage, Jalen Carter was ultra-disruptive in the first half, and the usual suspects, Zack Baun, Cooper DeJean, and Reed Blankenship, were excellent as well.

We have said it since last year, but this defense is young and only getting better.

2. If Phillips can keep playing like this, Howie Roseman has done it again.

He was all over the place. Bouncing off blockers, open field, being disruptive, and forcing the game-sealing fumble.

Phillips recorded eight pressures, seven hurries, six tackles, six stops, and a 19.4% pressure rate. He became an Eagle five days ago. That is tremendous.

Some other returners were Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham, who both performed well, particularly Smith. He had two quarterback hits and a sack.

All of a sudden, the Eagles’ edge rusher position has formed into a deep group. Phillips, Smith, BG, Hunt, and others behind them. In one week, the Eagles’ biggest issue has become a huge strength.

3. Now, what in the world was going through Nick Sirianni’s mind at the end of the game?

On fourth-and-six with the ball on the Packers’ 35-yard-line up three with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter, what would you do? For some reason, the Eagles ran a play.

What?

Punt the football!

The Eagles are lucky the defense held on because not only did Sirianni make a wild decision, but the play call was awful. Jalen Hurts tried to throw the dagger to the deep left corner of the end zone to A.J. Brown. It was underthrown, Brown did not make a great attempt at it, and the Eagles gave the Packers a chance.

The Eagles have executed fourth-down shots like that before, but in this situation, with 33 seconds up three, there has to be a higher-percentage play that can be called.

By throwing an incomplete pass, the Eagles not only stopped the clock at 27 seconds, they gave the ball back to the Packers at their own 36-yard line, down 10-7 with a kicker who’s made a 61-yarder. They are lucky Brandon McManus absolutely shanked the game-tying shot.

“I would have liked to be in a little closer to kick a field goal,” Sirianni said postgame. “Again, you play every situation a little bit differently, but it was into the wind on that one. I knew the kick would have to be a little bit lower trajectory of a kick on that particular one.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in our offense. It didn’t work out on this one. We just didn’t get it, but I stand pat on that decision, especially being up three because you go up six, they are still going to need a touchdown. So we would have ended the game if we would have gotten that and I’ve got a lot of faith in our guys to be able to do that.”

Sirianni is a Super Bowl champ, a two-time NFC champion, and has the third-most wins by a head coach in Eagles history. But, come on, no one was even thinking about a field goal there. It would have been a 53- or 54-yarder into the whipping wind, and if Jake Elliott missed, the Packers get the ball around their own 43. Why was that even a thought?

What about punting the football? Pin the Packers deep, or even run around with it and chew some clock.

No one asked Sirianni about that postgame.

Bizzare.

4. This offense was miserable. It was putting me to sleep.

In the first half, following the opening, 16-play, 77-yard drive, which looked promising until Hurts fumbled, the Eagles had drives of:

3 plays, 3 yards, punt
3 plays, 8 yards, punt
5 plays, 7 yards, punt
4 plays, 6 yards, downs, end of half

They mustered up a field goal from Elliott and a touchdown to DeVonta Smith in the third, but other than that, that was it.

The running game was back to its poor form. Saquon Barkley had six rushes for 28 yards in the first quarter before faltering the rest of the game, going just 16-for-32 after that point. The 150-yard game against the Giants looked like a spark for the rushing offense, but once again, there just were not any holes for Barkley to run through.

Hurts went 15-for-26 for 183 yards with a touchdown pass and a fumble. He was inaccurate, uncomfortable, made bad decisions, and missed open guys. Brown had just two receptions for 13 yards, which will surely go over just great.

The Eagles abused the coward’s draw on third and longs. They played a conservative game, almost scared at some points, which I thought we had moved past.

The Packers possess an outstanding defense, and the weather conditions were problematic. But considering the offenses’ issues back early this season, this was definitely concerning.

5. Lane Johnson is one tough man.

He was injured on a second-and-third play late in the second quarter when Evan Williams landed low on his ankle. He was down for a while, needed help getting off the field, and was taken into the locker room. You know something is seriously wrong with Johnson when he receives this type of treatment.

At halftime, it was safe to wonder if the All-Pro right tackle would return this season. With an already banged-up offensive line that is not performing up to the tier they should be, losing a future Hall of Famer would be detrimental.

And then, all of a sudden, just as the Packers are about to kick off the second half, Johnson, with a helmet on, emerges from the tunnel, walking out like Stone Cold Steve Austin.

He was back on the field when the Eagles got the ball back with just under six minutes left. 

It was almost not surprising. How many times have you seen a player carted into the locker room and return to the game? What a dog.

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: