The Philadelphia Eagles once again gutted out an entertaining nine-point victory against a Rams squad that was bringing back Cooper Kupp for the first time of the season. As with all Eagles games this year, some players had ups and downs. Some players rose to the occasion and kept the Eagles undefeated. At the same time, some made a few blunders during the game. Who slayed the competition and who bombed their performance in this edition of Slay and Bombs?
Eagles BOMBS
Quez Watkins
Eagles WR Quez Watkins (16) and Rams DB Cobie Durant (14) – Ronald Martinez/ Getty Images
It feels like ever since his game-crippling fumble against the commanders last year that aided in their undefeated streak breaking, Quez Watkins is seen as that red-headed stepchild in the Eagles franchise. While he does have the speed to outrun anyone on the field, he’s never in the opportunity to do so. And when he rarely has that opportunity, he doesn’t take advantage of it.
Late in the second quarter on third and short, Watkins received a screen pass. And instead of cutting in between the blocks by Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown, he runs outside and gets stopped at the Line Of Scrimmage, forcing the Eagles to kick a field goal.
Looking back, this play fortunately didn’t affect the game long term. But that was mostly because the offense scored in the next possession. But it was still a major lapse of judgment by the starting slot receiver who has yet to do anything important this year.
Nicholas Marrow
Creating a bombs list where the team’s defense allowed less than 250 total yards and four sacks is difficult on most occasions. Nobody on the defense necessarily “bombed” this game and did their job well enough to gain a victory. But when it comes to missed chances to become a game changer, Nicholas Morrow unfortunately had a few of them.
Nicholas Marrow played particularly well today, still being a tackling machine behind and on the Line Of Scrimmage, not allowing yards after contact. But in the second half, he had two opportunities to get both a tipped interception and a fumble recovery in their territory and got neither.
Like with Quez Watkins, Marrow’s blunders didn’t come back to bite the Eagles in the behind so It’ll most likely be forgotten about in the future, but the lack of severity that the mistake has shouldn’t excuse it at all.
Eagles SLAYS
A.J Brown
For the third week in a row, A.J. Brown wowed the Philly faithful with his pass-catching ability and simplicity in getting open. The four-year pro recorded his fourth straight 100-yard game that was highlighted by a spectacular one-handed catch with under 30 seconds to go in the second half. His catch put the Eagles in the red zone and the team ended the half with a touchdown, giving the Eagles the lead.
This catch was a huge momentum changer so late in the second quarter and should be credited as one of the biggest reasons why the Eagles won.
Dallas Goedert
Dallas started the season dangerously low, not even recording more than 50 yards during the first four weeks. Fortunately, the coaching staff remembered that he was on the team because the Eagles needed all of his 7 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Along with Brown, Dallas Goebert had a few clutch catches that extended the drive to where it ended with points. While they weren’t as pretty and eye-popping as Brown’s catches, their importance shouldn’t be skewed because of that.
Defensive Line
Repeating the production that last year’s defense made would be impossible due to the losses that occurred during the offseason. Despite that, the defensive trenches that the Eagles employ continue to be a dominating unit that can win them games and keep opposing quarterbacks trembling in the pocket.
After allowing more than 100 yards last week to the Commanders, the defensive line returned to its elite run-stuffing form, allowing only 54 yards on 14 attempts, along with five tackles for loss.
The pass rushers also did their job, notably Jalen Carter, who recorded two sacks and two QB hits. Haason Reddick also got two sacks that became game clinchers as he got in the backfield on third and fourth down to give the Eagles the ball on turnover on downs.
