For the first time in the season, the Philadelphia Eagles as a team finally played to their level and outperformed another undefeated team on the road. While the score says otherwise, the yardage differential and time of possession say more than enough of how the Eagles outplayed the Buccaneers. Unfortunately, Like with Darius Slay and team celebrations, some team members did things differently and failed to contribute to the 14-point victory. While others did more than what they were supposed to and picked up the slack of some of their teammates.
Philadelphia Eagles Week 3 Slay and Bomb
SLAY
Reed Blankenship
Eagles S Reed Blankenship (32) – Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports
Nothing warms my heart more than an undrafted player playing above his draft stock. The starting safety once again became a stalwart in the secondary, leading the team in tackles, recording a tackle for loss, a pass defense, and even a momentous interception in Buccaneers territory.
While he did get overpowered in a few tightly covered passes, I’ll be an optimist today and say that’s a whole lot better than blowing coverages for bigger gains. In a secondary that allowed back-to-back 300-yard games and a 100+ passer rating, It’s pleasant to see someone in the defensive back group make plays and give the big guys upfront time to disrupt the quarterback.
Defensive Tackles
Speaking of the big guys up front, the most talented position on the Eagles once again carried the defense to a dominating performance. Once again, holding the opposition’s rushing attack to under 50 yards and averaging 2.4 yards per carry. The lowest they allowed this year. They also got the job done in the pass rush, creating double-digit pressures, two sacks, two fumbles(One recovered), and even a safety.
While Jalen Carter will receive most of the spotlight due to his name value, don’t forget about veterans such as Fletcher Cox and Marlon Tuipoluto, who also made plays in the backfield and made Baker’s life hell when he dropped back.
D’andre Swift
We need to give the offensive line all the credit we can for both protecting Jalen Hurts and giving D’andre Swift a chance to shine. But while doing that, we also have to acknowledge that D’andre Swift is easily looking like the best running back on the team and arguably a top-5 running back in the league.
Not only is this the first back-to-back 100-yard game of his career, he’s also second in the league in rushing yards and first in yards per carry(MIin 20 attempts). The talent of D’andre Swift has to be emphasized because no one from last season nor this season looked this good at running the rock than D’andre Swift.
BOMB
Jalen Hurts
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (1) – Chris O’Meara/AP Photo
I’d hate to admit it, but Jalen Hurts is not playing to the level that his team needs to be. With the erratic play calling the last two weeks. It was easy to blame his offensive coordinator, but Brian Johnson is gradually getting better at calling plays, minus the fourth down try. I can say it was a miscommunication issue between him and Swift on the first interception or an exceptional play on the ball by the Buccaneers’ safety on the second one. But the fact of the matter is they were turnovers nonetheless. And the team is fortunate that the Buccaneers failed to take advantage of the two turnovers.
While the quarterback isn’t playing downright terribly, as he did make a few pretty throws that resembled his 2022 campaign, and there were a pair of endzone drops by A.J Brown. He’s just playing inconsistently. And you can’t afford to be inconsistent when the Eagles start playing top-tier teams later in the season, such as the Dolphins, Chiefs, and 49ers.
Josh Jobe
With the injury of slot cornerback Avonte Maddox downing him for the year, The defense moved James Bradberry into the slot and second-year cornerback backup Josh Jobe as the starter. This move may be temporary, as it seems they decided on the move on the day of the game. But Josh did not show anything impactful that gives the coaches a reason to give him the full-time position as a starter.
His struggles on the outside continued from last week as he consistently gave up passes throughout the game and was guilty of a dreadful pass interference call on a third-down pass in the red zone. Thankfully, like with Hurts, most of Jobe’s mistakes didn’t lead to any drastic game-changing plays. But it is still worrisome that the player is performing this poorly.
If Jobe doesn’t improve soon, we could see a positional battle between him and undrafted rookie Eli Ricks, who exceeded expectations in his pre-season showings and was activated to the main roster amidst Maddox’s injury.
