Eagles’ Blowout Victory Against the Raiders Was the “Get Right Game” They Needed

Heading into Sunday’s snowy matchup, the Raiders did not stand much of a chance, even less with Kenny Pickett starting at quarterback due to Geno Smith‘s injury. However, the NFL works on an “any given Sunday” basis, and it was more than possible that the Eagles dug themselves into a deeper hole.

Luckily, Nick Sirianni and his staff buried the 2023 comparisons with an exceptional win. As Greg Olson put it on Fox’s broadcast, “The Eagles checked every box that Nick Sirianni wanted to, coming here, back at home, three-game losing streak, trying to get back on track.”

From an offensive standpoint, they did almost everything right.

Jalen Hurts, in a way, has restricted the dynamic of the offense by taking a step back in the running game. There had previously been considerable success with read options and quarterback draws, which had opened up all facets of the offense, but we have not seen much of that this year. Today, Hurts re-established himself in the run game.

In the opening drive, he broke off a nine-yard run on third down to continue their offensive series in the Raiders’ territory. Their following touchdown drive, Hurts pulled the ball on a read option in consecutive plays, which led to a first down deep into the redzone. In his second-to-last drive of the game, he was in shotgun and, after reading the defense, took matters into his own hands with a 13-yard run to move the chains. By simply showing that he can and will run, Hurts adds a whole new level to the Eagles’ offense that they’ve been missing for most of the season.

As for the offense with Hurts under center, the playcalling took a step in the right direction. They utilized a tight formation, which opened up lanes for Saquon Barkley to get through. They paired up the under-center run game with some well-designed pass plays, one of which Dallas Goedert got to reset the sticks with. However, the run game was not good all game; Barkley’s first sixteen carries only totaled 32 yards, but he excelled in the later drives as he broke off a pair of 10+ yard runs.

The former offensive player of the year finished the game with 78 yards, gaining 3.5 yards per carry, and a touchdown. It may not be the numbers he put up last season, but Barkley is finally adding value to an offense that needed a successful run game.

The final piece of the puzzle that Kevin Patullo halfway solved on Sunday was using his top-shelf receivers. Goedert had himself a career day, catching six targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns, although it should have been three. Hurts had no problem finding his tight end through the Raiders’ zone defense.

Hurts targeted A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith only four total times, but they both hauled in 30+ yard catches. Smith’s catch was one of his longest of the season and set the tone for the game following a defensive stop. Brown caught one of the few balls that Hurts threw over the middle, which he took into the endzone for the nail in the coffin.

These were all pieces of the puzzle that we had yet to see come together in a single game. Although the volume of the passing game was a little light, the run game dominated with Hurts, Barkley, and Tank Bigsby totaling 183 yards.

On the other hand, there is one piece of the Eagles puzzle that has been consistent all season: the defense. Led by Vic Fangio, this Eagles defense kept the Raiders off the scoreboard for the entire game.

Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun are one of the best linebacker duos all season, and they proved it today. Dean racked up eight tackles, two of them for loss, and Baun intercepted a potential first-down pass during the Raiders’ most successful drive.

In the Raiders’ opening drive, they reached the Eagles’ 33-yard line, and Pete Carroll elected to go for it on fourth down; they never reached it again. Fangio’s defense kept Pickett at bay as five Raiders’ drives totaled less than ten yards. Additionally, three of those drives resulted in a loss of yards.

Not enough good things can be said about this Eagles’ defense. They have kept the team in games that, ultimately, should have resulted in losses. They have also revived Brandon Graham, who racked up two sacks, becoming the oldest player in Eagles franchise history with a sack.

Sunday’s game brought all the pieces of the puzzle onto the table, for arguably the first time all season. Take it with a grain of salt, as they played one of the worst teams in the NFL, but it was a solid “get right game” coming down the stretch of December.

We will see how the puzzle holds during next week’s division match-up against the Commanders, but the Eagles have the opportunity to piece together two solid games and establish an identity.

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