What a huge win that was for the Philadelphia Eagles. I had a lot of time to get into the Washington Commanders film over the weekend, so I have a lot of takes this week! Let’s go.
Offense
I will immediately get a couple of controversial takes out of the way. I’ve read a lot online, and the consensus appears to be that...
- Jalen Hurts was bad in this game.
- The running game was excellent, which is why the Eagles won.
I disagree with both points above, and I’ll try to explain why throughout the article.
Let's start with the first 3rd down of the game. You know a quarterback and receiver are on the same page when they make a play like this. The drag route AJ Brown runs is fantastic against man coverage but pretty useless against zone coverage. AJ Brown does an excellent job slowing down to find an opening and Jalen Hurts throws an excellent ball. The ball is right on AJ Brown rather than in front of him, which allows AJ Brown to turn upfield, avoid the defender, and pick up the first down. This is one of those impressive plays which looks easy, but there’s a lot of good here.
Eagles Offense All22 thread vs. Washington. 1) It's a simple play, but there's a lot of good in this 3rd down conversation. These drag routes aren't great against zone coverage, but AJ Brown does a good job slowing down and Hurts leads him away from the defender. The minor… pic.twitter.com/oIdB0yZPbR
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
This is such an interesting play to break down. The first time you watch this, it looks like a bad miss on 3rd down by Hurts. He has DeVonta Smith running wide-open across the middle of the field but chooses to try to win with his legs instead. However, after watching it again, I don’t think this is fully on Hurts. Firstly, there seems to be an issue with the timing of this play. Hurts takes a deep drop, which means that the quick throw to DeVonta Smith isn’t as open as it should be. This should be a quick drop and throw. Secondly, check out the safety coming downhill. By the time Hurts hits the back of his drop, that safety has seen DeVonta Smith coming across the field. If Hurts throws this ball, it would result in a huge hit. I can understand why Hurts doesn’t make this throw. He probably should still throw it but this is why the All22 matters. It’s not as bad of a miss as it looks.
2) Interesting one. Smith looks wide open but Hurts drop is too deep to hit him quickly. Although he looks open, there is a safety crashing down too. I don't think it's as bad of a play by Hurts as I thought live and I can get why he tries to scramble. It could have been a… pic.twitter.com/JcmpD2TgRf
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
I wasn’t going to bother posting this one until I noticed the unbalanced line! That’s cool. Lane Johnson is lined up next to Jordan Mailata, which is a big reason why this works. The Eagles don’t normally line up like this for a tush push, so the Commanders should have realized something was up. It may not work as easily the next time!
3) I totally missed the unbalanced line on this fake tush push! The Eagles line up Lane Johnson & Mailata next to each other. It's an obvious giveaway but they snapped it quickly enough. I'll be interested to see if they run the unbalanced line again but run the standard tush… pic.twitter.com/lSnJzjyhWf
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
I wasn’t going to post this either, but I thought some of you would ask for it. Usually, I know what the offense is trying to accomplish with a trick play. I have no idea what this is. AJ Brown doesn’t fake a block or anything, so the cornerback isn’t going to let him behind. Maybe the play is to get it to Dallas Goedert on the wheel route? Either way, the risk-reward on this one feels all wrong. Let’s not do this again.
4) I've got nothing to say about this one. What a disaster. Can anyone figure out what the plan was?! I can't figure out the purpose at all. You can't run a trick play any worse! pic.twitter.com/PjcJMa1TWl
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
Can anyone remember when Jalen Hurts couldn’t throw to the middle of the field or beat the blitz?
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) November 16, 2024These QBs eat between the sticks
QBs with the highest EPA per Attempt over the middle of the field:
Lamar Jackson: 0.61
Jalen Hurts: 0.47
Caleb Williams: 0.44
Gardner Minshew: 0.43
Derek Carr: 0.42
Tua Tagovailoa: 0.36
Joe Burrow: 0.34
Brock Purdy: 0.33 pic.twitter.com/huDhvF5okr
We’ve all forgotten how bad this offense was against pressure last year. I don’t love everything about Kellen Moore’s offense, but he’s made this offense incredibly effective against the blitz. Washington sends 5 here, and Hurts knows exactly where to go with the ball. I just wish there was more quick game stuff like this, even when the opposition isn’t sending pressure.
5) I like this passing game so much more when the opposition blitz. The Eagles always have a quick game answer for pressure and Hurts looks in total command. This is just a simple slant. I'm surprised we don't see more quick game. It seems like something they only run vs.… pic.twitter.com/PrFigNIols
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
Like play 2, I assumed live that this was an awful play by Jalen Hurts. It seemed obvious he had to get the ball out. There are 2 wide-open Eagles receivers in the end zone?! However, once again the All22 does show a slightly different picture. Earlier on, I noted an issue with the timing of Hurt's drop back and the play that was called. Here, there is a huge issue with the depth of route by both AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. They run right into each other. It could have been quite nasty. If you keep an eye on Hurts’ eyes, he drops them when the receivers run into each other. It’s easy to point out that Smith is open later on, but I think Hurts has already given up on the play by then. I think he could have tried to keep his eyes down the field while stepping up in the pocket, but it’s fair to point out that he wasn’t expecting Smith to come open after he saw him run into his teammate. This one is mainly on the play design and execution and not the quarterback.
6) This is another one where I'm more against the design than the play of Hurts. Watching live it looked like a terrible miss. But it's another execution issue. Hurts drops his eyes when AJB & Smith run into each other. If he buys time he would see Smith come open, but it's hard… pic.twitter.com/A3RqzMdMUv
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
Ooh, yes. I love this call on 3rd and 2. I wouldn’t say it’s a traditional ‘Tight End Leak’ call, as a ‘Leak’ play normally has the tight end sneaking out the opposite way to the receivers. However, it has very similar characteristics. This is a risky play on 3rd and 2 as these types of plays require excellent protection up front, but when it works like it does here, it’s incredibly hard to stop. I’m a big fan of this type of play.
7) This was my favorite call. 3rd and 2. The Eagles take a risk by running a variant of TE Leak which is a slow developing play that only works if the offensive line can hold up in pass protection. They did! And the play works perfectly. pic.twitter.com/4m9XeftNYZ
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
This is an outstanding play call. It looks like a checkdown, but I feel this was designed to go to Saquon Barkley if the opposition brings pressure. The Eagles run four verticals, which can be frustrating, but I don’t mind it with the short option like this. Hurts doesn’t take long at all to eliminate what isn’t there, and he throws a nice touch throw to Barkley. Then it’s down to Barkley, who makes the safety miss and gallops for a big gain.
8) This is fantastic. The Eagles run 4-verts but I think Hurts always planned to take the check down. He eliminates the deep routes quickly and throws an easy touch pass to Saquon who takes advantage of the space. pic.twitter.com/EiNiza5F3L
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
So, I’ve already pointed out some examples where I think offensive design was more of a problem than Jalen Hurts in this game. I think most of us, myself included, expected these Eagles’ outside wide receivers to dominate Washington’s secondary, just like they did last year. But it didn’t happen. I was impressed by Washington’s cornerbacks, and I think AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith didn’t create much separation. I don’t write that very often!
This is one of those 3rd downs where I wish the Eagles would get a bit more creative, but they end up with AJ Brown one-on-one with the outside cornerback. He gets no separation, and I’m unsure if Hurts is throwing this away or just putting it away from the cornerback. Either way, it highlighted a frustration of mine with this week's offense. It never felt like the passing game was in rhythm. It’s easy to blame the quarterback, and he had some misses, too, but I didn’t think the receivers played particularly well either. I would have liked the passing game to be less streaky by week 11, but it does feel like this offense is just a little bit too hit-or-miss. I don’t think Hurts was at his very best but I didn’t come away from this game thinking it was all on him.
There’s just something missing from the passing game on too many drives. I can’t quite decide what it is. Sometimes, it’s a missed block. Or a drop. Or a poor route. Or a poor decision by Hurts. It just feels as if they are not entirely in sync. It’s not bad; it’s just not where I would like it to be. And it is not all on the quarterback.
9) This is... not fantastic. 3rd and 6. An important play. I don't mind isolating AJ Brown but the throw just isn't there. Hurts has nothing else open either. This seems mental to say but I think the Washington DBs won the battle against the Eagles receivers. They played 10 yards… pic.twitter.com/Vq9FBDIyXv
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
I haven't really spoken about the running game too much because it wasn’t very good early on! The first half was pretty poor, especially with inside runs. There was a weird issue in this game that I haven’t seen in a while, and I expect Jeff Stoutland to get it fixed pretty quickly. In the zone running game, one of the Eagles’ best strengths is getting to the second level of the defense. In this game, the Eagles’ linemen were too keen to get to the second level and that led to confusion over who should be blocking the defensive tackle. You can see an example here. This happened a few times, and I expect it to be cleaned up.
10) The running game struggled early on and the Eagles had this odd issue where there was a miscommunication over who was blocking the DT and who was getting to the 2nd level. I expect Stoutland to sort it out quickly! pic.twitter.com/2pRA7Ea0i7
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
Once again, I’m not the biggest fan of the play call on 3rd down. DeVonta Smith doesn’t win his option route. AJ Brown is covered on the comeback. This is another example of Washington’s defensive backs doing an excellent job covering the Eagles’ superstar wide receivers. However, this is where Jalen Hurts is outstanding. He recognizes that no one is open and makes an incredible play with his legs, picking up the 1st down. I believe that a quarterback should have mobility because I think plays like this are vital in the modern game. This was a big play.
11) Once again, I think the Washington secondary wins on 3rd down. There's absolutely nothing open and Hurts has to make an outstanding play with his legs. Look at the spacing at the top of the screen. The design feels wrong. pic.twitter.com/ujisr6BObK
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
I have long said that running the ball is not pretty, but you must commit to it for it to work. Sometimes, it will be frustrating, but you can wear down a defense. I loved the running game down the stretch of this game. The Eagles just wore down the Washington defense. The schematic changes that the Eagles made down the stretch were beautiful. The Eagles struggled to run the ball with their usual concepts, so they decided to try something different! This is ‘tackle-trap’ and you need an extremely athletic tackle to run this. Luckily, the Eagles have Lane Johnson!
I asked my podcast partner Shane Haff for the numbers on the Eagles run game (via our Patreon - where you can ask Shane for stats on anything) before and after Gainwell’s run and he provided me with this...
Before Gainwell’s runs in the 4th quarter, the team had rushed 25 times for 98 yards (3.92 ypc) with an EPA/rush of -0.015, 5 first downs, and a 40% success rate. Counting the Gainwell runs, the Eagles then had 10 carries for 111 yards (11.1 ypc) with an EPA/Rush of 1.026), 6 first downs, and an 80% success rate.
12) Then the game changed! This Kenny Gainwell run seemed to spark life into the offense. The Eagles ran some new running concepts, such as tackle trap here, and ended up having a lot of success. That's the beauty of having a diverse run game and committing to it. If it isn't… pic.twitter.com/9vl16zMcy6
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
This is a Kellen Moore special, but we haven’t seen it much this year. This will be my ‘Concept of the Week,’ so I’ll talk about this in more detail for a Bleeding Green Nation article later this week, but it’s a fantastic changeup. I’ve seen the Lions run this a lot the past couple of years. I usually refer to this as ‘Crunch,’ but you may see others call it ‘Y-Wham’ or something. Football jargon is fun. I won’t get into the schematics of the play in this article, but you can see that it’s a very different look to the Eagles’ usual runs. I assume it’s just a coincidence that Kenny Gainwell was the back for these two changeup runs, but it could have been deliberate, too. Maybe Kellen Moore wanted to throw the defense off guard, as they may have been expecting a pass. If so, it was a very clever decision.
13) Then we saw a Kellen Moore staple, normally referred to as 'Crunch'. You can spot this run as it involves a guard trap block and a wham block to hopefully create some space up the middle. It's an excellent change up from the Eagles usual runs and it worked perfectly here! pic.twitter.com/0GEkjH0lAU
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
This is a fantastic look at the impact of motion. The Eagle's simple motion from the wide receiver distracts the Washington 2nd level of the defense, and they don’t spot Dallas Goedert coming wide open on the sailing route. This is a fantastic play, but it was nearly a disaster as Goedert tried to cut it up the field rather than go out of bounds. This is a big error, and I expect the Eagles’ coaches to reinforce the basics for the whole offense this week. This is what Sirianni means by the fundamentals. Luckily, Grant Calcaterra saves the day.
14) This is a lovely example of how motion can distract a defense. The motion seems to occupy the second level defenders and it enables Dallas Goedert to sneak behind. Disaster strikes with the fumble but luckily Grant Calcaterra is following it up! It's a lovely design. pic.twitter.com/b2jkcYg7U9
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
By this point, the Washington defense was just finished, and it was beautiful to see. The Eagles took advantage of a tired defense by getting Saquon Barkley going.
15) It quickly became the Saquon Barkley show to close out the game. There was nothing fancy here, but I think the Eagles had started to wear the Washington defense down and holes started to appear. Barkley is so so explosive in the open field and he turns on the jets to outrun… pic.twitter.com/n46OsR1D2Q
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
I know you’ve all seen the highlights of Cam Jurgens already, but just enjoy it once more. The man can move. This is how outside zone is supposed to live. What a beautiful play.
16) We have to end with the famous Cam Jurgens block. He's had a fantastic season, but probably hasn't got the credit he's deserved from the national media. That may change soon. I think Barkley reads the play perfectly too. His vision on outside zone runs was a big reason why I… pic.twitter.com/xThr23CmJ6
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024
The Eagles’ offense struggles early in games, but it finishes well. Do the coaches deserve credit for this? Or criticism for starting slow? The answer is probably a little bit of both. After the start of the game, these were the Eagles' final five drives.
15 plays 87 yards = FG.
10 plays 74 yards = FG.
11 plays 76 yards = TD.
5 plays 74 yards = TD.
2 plays 46 yards = TD.
I think that’s pretty good. As always, this offense feels like it’s on the verge of being special but it’s just missing a few things from the pass game. They just need to work on the finer details and execution.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.