Eight wins in a row. Eight!

You can thank the Eagles’ defense for the continued win streak, because Vic Fangio’s unit did an incredible job in Baltimore on Sunday evening. Consider that the Ravens came into this game averaging 426 yards and 30.3 points on average. The Birds went into their house and held them to 302 and 12 points before backing off in garbage time. They got some help from Justin Tucker, who left seven on the board all by himself, but it was a comprehensive performance from a unit that looks every bit as good as the 2022, 2017, and 2004 defenses. They are that good, and they’re doing it with young kids playing big roles while missing a couple of banged-up veterans.

On the offensive end? Only punts and touchdowns until a late field goal. It was a feast-or-famine type of game for Jalen Hurts and company, who alternated between head-scratching fecklessness and The Greatest Show on Turf. They only needed three scores to win the game, but sleepwalked through a third quarter that put too much of the onus on the defense to preserve a slim lead.

Regardless, they got the job done. They’ve looked better in other games this season, but beating an 8-4 Ravens team in Baltimore is a top-three win of the year, and maybe the best win of the year depending on how you feel about Week 1 in Brazil.

When you took the temperature of Eagles fans over the past week or so, the common thought was that the team might split the Ravens and Steelers games. Hammer the Panthers at home between those games, take out the rest of the divisional trash, and you’re looking at 13-4, 14-3, something like that. But after this win, they are 10-2 with one road game remaining, and that doesn’t require getting on a plane. This team legitimately has a shot at the #1 seed if the Lions slip up. The Eagles are a Super Bowl contender.


To the observations:

1) Saquon Barkley ran for 12 yards on the game’s first play. After that – incomplete to Parris Campbell, a swing pass for Will Shipley, and incomplete for Britain Covey. Those guys should ideally be getting 0 targets per game, not three on one drive.

2) The first Ravens drive had a little bit of everything. Josh Sweat’s sack was wiped out by an Avonte Maddox defensive holding, then Jalen Carter blew up a 2nd down in the red zone after a Lamar Jackson scramble drill resulted in a huge gain. Jackson later missed Mark Andrews on what looked like a touchdown, so all things considered, holding them to three there was acceptable.

3) That first Ravens touchdown was pretty dumb. Pass rush couldn’t get close to Jackson, who threw into a crowd for Andrews. Reed Blankenship was trying to cover and didn’t have his head turned. Ugly all around.

4) Clank! Might be the loudest extra point miss in the history of football broadcasting.

5) Five penalties for the Eagles in the game’s first nine minutes. A.J. Brown starting off the third drive with a false start was particularly annoying, because they found themselves in 2nd and 12 and 3rd and 7, forcing an obvious passing down in which Jalen Hurts was sacked.

6) Hat tip to the Ravens for killing their own third drive. Lamar missed a wide-open Isaiah Likely, then flubbed a handoff, and the Birds held on 3rd and 19.

7) The 3rd and 1 on the 4th drive screwed up the entire thing. Even if you gain nothing on that running play, you still have the tush push on 4th and 1. The fact that they lost yardage on that sequence is inconceivable.

8) Lamar paid homage to the great Donovan McNabb with the worm burner here:

9) If the NFL ever went through a division realignment, I wouldn’t mind playing the Ravens twice a year. Baltimore is pretty similar to Philly. Hardcore sports fans, blue collar, not exactly cosmopolitan. They’d be a welcome addition the NFC East.

10) We called for more A.J. Brown slants, and we got more. His first two receptions were slants, one off a play action fake toss.

11) Lovely design on the touchdown pass for Dallas Goedert. They hold the defensive end with the pull, then Brown is just sort of clearing out with a vertical route, which functions as a pick and forces Kyle Hamilton to go underneath and take a circuitous route:

12) It was an obvious holding call on Hamilton in the end zone. The refs didn’t call it, but the broadcast did a good job of pointing it out. We’ll say that the zebras totally missing the false start on the ensuing tush push serves as a makeup call. We’re even now.

13) Nice hold by the defense to start the third quarter, especially since Quinyon Mitchell had gone into the blue medical tent right before the field goal attempt. They got out of there without a Baltimore target at Kelee Ringo, then Tucker missed from 47 yards to preserve the two-point lead. It felt like the drive in Los Angeles last week where the Rams ran into a brick wall once they were in scoring position.

14) Lamar makes some iffy plays, doesn’t he? The attempted shovel pass throwaway that resulted in a sack was one. The third down leap that left him short of the sticks was another one. He’s always been a bit of a wild card in the sense that his dynamic ability sometimes results in risky choices.

15) Two fumbles that the Ravens just happened to fall on. Damn.

16) Eagles receivers were catching the ball, UNLIKE AGHOLOR, who dropped a deep bomb down the sideline that would have put the Ravens right on the goal line.

17) Tucker: 2 missed field goals, missed extra point. Looked like Jake Elliott against Washington.

18) There was a lot to dislike about the two Eagles third quarter drives that went 6 plays, 2 yards, and two punts. In particular, Saquon Barkley getting one carry, and Jalen throwing short of the sticks on 3rd and 7 of the second drive. Why? Why are you throwing it there?

19) You have to protect him because of how important he is to the defense, but man it would be nice to see Cooper DeJean returning punts instead of Britain Covey.

20) No exaggeration, but on every Ravens’ passing play, Jalen Carter or someone else was being held.

21) Everything that’s thrown between 3 to 8 yards for Goedert feels like it comes off at a 99% rate. They do such a good job when they wrap the read game into some shallow tight end passing options.

22) You knew Saquon was getting in. It was just a matter of time. He is inevitable.

23) DeJean obliterating Derrick Henry while Eagles fans yell Coooooooooooooop! What a moment. If that didn’t get a rise out of you, you might not be alive.

24) It’s the small things, but after Saquon’s fumble and recovery, you gotta love him putting both hands on the ball on the ensuing play and just plowing forward for 10+ yards.

25) Hurts didn’t play his best game, but what did he do well? He protected the ball. He’s only turned it over twice during this win streak and both of those were in Dallas. Call him a game manager if you want. They’ve found a formula to win games and continue to execute it.

26) The refs were just letting them play out garbage time, but there was a clear hold on Milton Williams during Lamar’s huge run, which resulted in the Ravens scoring and getting an onside kick attempt. If the zebras had any courage, they would have called it. Instead, they did not, because they are cowards.