It was tough. It was chippy. It was the best win for the Philadelphia Eagles since 2010. Once again, it took until the last drive by the offense; but the Eagles pulled out another victory. For many reasons, this win is much more satisfying than the victory over the Browns last week. The Ravens are a contender, and despite four turnovers and a ten point halftime deficit, the Eagles found a way to win the game.
Offense:
It was a game of highs and lows for the Eagles offense today. Michael Vick completed 23 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball for 34 yards and scored the game winning touchdown on a quarterback draw with 1:50 left in the game. It wasn’t all good though. Vick threw two interceptions and nearly threw two more. Overall his decision making improved, but there is still work to do.
The Eagles struggled to establish a strong run game, but they did just enough to keep the Ravens defense off balance. LeSean McCoy ran for 81 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown. He also fumbled in Ravens territory. McCoy had one fumble all of last season. He already has two this season.
Brent Celek was the offensive MVP in this game. Celek caught eight balls for 157 yards. Many of these catches came on third down,
Eagles tight end Brent Celek hurdles over Ed Reed on the way to a big gain.
which extended drives and kept the tired Ravens defense on the field. DeSean Jackson had a nice game, catching seven balls for 114 yards. The best play Jackson made was a 49 yard reception down the sideline. Jackson made the catch and hung on to the ball despite a huge hit by safety Ed Reed. Jeremy Maclin caught a 23 yard touchdown pass in the first half but left the game after re-injuring his hip. He is listed as day to day this week.
The offensive line held their own despite a nasty knee injury to center Jason Kelce and a hamstring injury to left tackle King Dunlap. Kelce is said to have a knee sprain, but coach Andy Reid said it didn’t look good after the game. Kelce will have an MRI in the morning.The Eagles were down to their last offensive lineman today due to injuries. Asked what would happen if another one went down, Andy Reid joked that he would have used “the biggest and oldest defensive lineman on the team.”
Overall, the Eagles proved that it has one of the most explosive offenses in the league. However, to be a Super Bowl contender, the Eagles must stop turning the ball over.
Grade: B-
Defense:
The defense had a strong outing for the second week in a row. The Eagles silenced the Ravens run game thanks to strong performances by DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks. Joe Flacco was sacked twice and threw one interception. What is more impressive is that the defense held tough despite four costly turnovers by the Eagles offense.
It wasn’t all good, however. The secondary broke down several times on long pass plays, including a long touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones towards the end of the game. Luckily, that play was called back for offensive pass interference. Nnamdi Asomugha was beaten twice on third down. This will have to improve if the Eagles want to be contenders.
Overall, the Eagles showed improvement for the second week in a row. Next week will be another tough test against Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals.
Grade: B+
Coaching:
The Eagles had much more balance today than they did a week ago. This kept the Ravens defense off balance, which opened up the deep pass. The Eagles will need to keep this balance.
Juan Castillo has shown major improvement over the past two weeks. It is still too early to tell whether or not this was a good hire though. We may get a better read the next two weeks against the Cardinals and the Giants.
Overall, I thought Andy Reid and staff out coached John Harbaugh and his staff. Many people had said that John Harbaugh, a former Reid assistant, could out coach his teacher, Andy Reid. That was not the case today.
Grade: A
Overall, this was a great win for the Philadelphia Eagles. This was the type of game that the Eagles kept losing last season. Have they really improved that much? We’ll see. They travel to Arizona next week to take on the Cardinals. The Cardinals are coming off a huge win against the Patriots. But we’ll worry about that later. Now is the time to celebrate a great Eagles win.