This Defense is Legit — Eagles Move to 8-2

The identity of a football team can sometimes take a while to show itself.

Last season, the Eagles’ identity took until after the bye week to come into form, and it seems that after this year’s bye week, the Eagles may have found it again.

For a team with this much talent offensively, you would think their identity would revolve around that side of the ball. Wrong. The 2025 Eagles’ identity is defense, and it is a formula that can lead to a lot of success, like it did over the Lions in a 16-9 win on Sunday Night Football.

Vic Fangio for MVP

In their biggest test of the season so far, the Eagles’ defense showed up again. For the second straight week, they have held their opponents to under 10 points. There are no cupcake teams either; these are some of the best teams in the NFC.

In our SeatGeek pre-game show, I mentioned that a key to tonight’s game was getting pressure on Jared Goff, because he will fold under that pressure. Well, Goff folded like a cheap lawn chair. He finished tonight’s game 14/37 for 255 yards and an interception. His 38% completion percentage was the worst of his career. It seemed as if every time he dropped back, an Eagles pass rusher was in his face, and it was very obvious that it was affecting him.

Howie Roseman traded a big asset in a third-round pick at the trade deadline to acquire Jaelan Phillips from the Dolphins. It turns out Phillips was the missing piece that this defensive line needed because they have been playing their best football these last two weeks. The guys on the edge, including Jaylx Hunt, have really stepped up, but the guys in the middle have stepped up, too.

Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter were all over the place tonight, including having 5 passes deflected. It is no coincidence that the defense has started playing better since Carter has started playing better, and if he can keep it up, we could see this team really go places.

The Other Side of the Coin

While the Eagles’ defense is the star of the game tonight, it is impossible not to think about the offense struggling yet again. Coming off the bye week, the Eagles have scored just 26 points, but have obviously won both games. Coming off a bye, you would hope that the coaching staff would have been able to find a way to fix this offense, but unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.

Jalen Hurts struggled again tonight as he went 14/28 for just 135 yards. The Eagles yet again struggled to move the ball through the air, and I believe Hurts is a big reason why. For the second straight week, he was inaccurate, completing just 50% of his passes, and he again was holding onto the ball too long.

It seemed as if the Eagles were forcing the ball to A.J. Brown, which was disappointing. While Brown is obviously a great player, his targets need to come naturally in the offense, not be forced. Brown finished the game with 7 catches on 11 targets for 49 yards. Brown seemed like he had a hard time getting open, but he did draw the game-winning pass interference call late in the game that sealed it for the Eagles. Going forward, I would like the Eagles to play more naturally in the passing game instead of force-feeding Brown because he is complaining.

The running game also struggled again tonight as Saquon Barkley rushed for 83 yards on 26 carries for just 3.19 yards per carry. It seemed as if he was constantly getting hit behind the line of scrimmage, and there was just nowhere to go. I give the Eagles credit for keeping the defense honest and sticking to the run, but it is just never going to be close to what it was last year. The wear and tear Barkley and the offensive line took last year are playing a factor, and it seems as if this is what it will be all season.

Even with all the struggles of the offense, they still won the game, but if they want to repeat as Super Bowl champions, it needs to be better.

A Look Ahead

Luckily for the Eagles, the hardest part of the season has come to an end. At 8-2, they now have wins over the Lions, Packers, Buccaneers, Rams, and Chiefs. If the season ended today, the Eagles would be the number one seed in the NFC because they own the tiebreaker over the Rams. While at 6-4, it will be hard for the Lions to get the number one seed, today was a huge win for tie breakers come playoff time.

The Eagles’ schedule for the rest of the season lightens up as they play just three teams that look like they will make the playoffs. The Eagles will travel to Dallas next week, then take on the Bears, Chargers, Raiders, Commanders, Bills, and Commanders to wrap up the regular season. While nothing is guaranteed, this is a lot easier second half of the season than first half.

With these last two wins against Green Bay and Detroit, the Eagles have put themselves in a great position to get the NFC’s number one seed, and they look like a team that can be playing in February for a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

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