The Eagles/Ravens game was the most important game for the Birds until last week when a media frenzy spotlighted what was perceived as an Eagles–specifically Jalen Hurts–weakness: passing.
One word was all it took for the city of Philadelphia and the local media to speculate that something bigger was happening behind the scenes. Was AJ Brown wrong? Not really. The Eagles have become a dominant running team with the help of the best running back in the game right now, Saquon “MVP” Barkley. But, to AJ’s point, if the Eagles had to work on anything, it was passing. But then things got out of control, which may have been heightened due to Brandon Graham’s comments and even furthered by Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens making comments–what year is it?
Eagles vs Steelers: The Pennsylvania State Championship
A lot of the media’s focus this past week was on the “drama” between Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown and whether Jalen could perform in the passing game at a high level. Was the run game the focus because it was working or because the Eagles had to cover for Jalen’s deficiencies? Even though they won, their performance against the Panthers last week had the fanbase worried–and, in this case, rightfully so. While the game against the Ravens proved the Eagles could likely handle themselves in a post-season run, the game against the Panthers felt like a step back. Suddenly, our in-state AFC rivals–the Steelers, who were on a streak of their own–became the next roadblock to our postseason and Super Bowl dreams.
While there were two turnovers early on, the Eagles defense showed up and helped Pittsburgh to 3 points off of those turnovers. For the rest of the game, both sides of the ball looked great for the Birds and while the run game wasn’t what it has been, Jalen Hurts showed that he can manage a game with the best of them and win it on the ground or in the air. Now sitting at a 10-game winning streak, a first for the franchise, and tied for the second-best record in the league–and tied for the best in the NFC–the Eagles are looking more and more like a Super Bowl contender. With three games left, all against our NFC East rivals, with only the Commanders as a real threat, the season is looking like we could easily go 15-2 and, with another Lions loss, a potential 1st seed in the NFC, things are looking up. Perhaps now we can all shut up.
