Time for the Eagles to get the ball rolling after win over Raiders

Weeks of despair and questions about whether the Eagles are a legitimate contender began to simmer down on Sunday, after their 31-0 win over the Raiders.

Before Sunday, the Birds looked outright awful. Philadelphia, coming off three straight losses, couldn’t get anything going offensively. In these losses against Dallas, Chicago, and the Chargers, the Kevin Patullo-led offense averaged under 20 points per game. Prior to that, while they did win back-to-back games, Philly scored just 26 total points and had to rely on their defense.

Relying on the defense has been the entirety of Philadelphia’s system for weeks on end. Patullo’s playcalling has been the focus of the fans’ criticism, with seemingly every play resulting in little or no gain. As of late, Jalen Hurts has been receiving the most hate after his 5 turnover performance against the Chargers.

But now the tides may be turning.

Philly’s 31-point shutout made it clear that while there were struggles in the past with the offense, the Eagles are a contender.

From Hurts to Dallas Goedert, the Birds were almost perfect on the offensive side of the ball on Sunday. Hurts responded after his abysmal game last week with a 12/15 showing, throwing for 175 passing yards and 3 touchdowns against Las Vegas. Goedert continued his dominant season with 6 receptions for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Things got so bad for the Raiders that Philly threw in the backup quarterback, Tanner McKee, for the fourth quarter.

The offense was elite, but once again, the Philadelphia defense was stellar. The Birds shut out Vegas, and more impressively held them to just 75 total yards of offense. In the air, former Eagle Kenny Pickett couldn’t do anything. Pickett threw 25 passing attempts, yet completed just 15 and was able to gain 64 yards in the air all game. His main target was Brock Bowers, who, in 6 catches only, was able to sniff out 28 yards. On the ground, Vegas wasn’t much better. Ashton Jeanty only got 9 attempts on the ground and wasn’t able to move very far. The rookie finished with just 35 yards on the day.

Philadelphia fans expect this type of dominance against a team like the 2-12 Raiders, but they need to carry the momentum into the more difficult games.

They will get the chance to do just that in 2 weeks against Buffalo.

The remaining schedule has Philly visiting the Commanders, then heading to Buffalo, before heading home to take on Washington one more time. Philadelphia needs to ride the momentum from this past week into next week against Washington and continue with it through the rest of the season.

The Commanders allow numbers just as bad as the Raiders defensively and have shut Jayden Daniels down for the season, so if Philly can handle them, Buffalo will be the clear focus.

The Bills are currently 10-4 and are coming off a win against the Patriots, one of the top teams in football. It will be a big test for the Eagles, who haven’t won against a tough opponent since their tight win over the Lions a month ago. This is a game that all Philly fans need to have circled on their schedule.

If Philadelphia can come out on top against Washington, then head into Orchard Park and win, then finish the season on a three game win-streak, Lincoln Financial Field may be the toughest place to play in all of the Wild Card round.

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