The Eagles won the game and are moving on to the Divisional Round.

Was it pretty? Not necessarily. But it was a playoff win and you take it however you can get it. Green Bay was sloppy and turned the ball over, the Birds punished them early, then went through a slog of a second quarter before extending the lead and putting the game away. They made more plays and committed fewer bonehead mistakes, and that’s typically what’s going to win you a football game.

Jalen Hurts did not play particularly well, just 13 completions for 131 yards and 37 on the ground, but he held on to the ball and didn’t give it away, which was the catalyst for most of the Eagles’ 13 prior wins. The defense conceded just 10 points and didn’t allow Jordan Love to do much of anything through the air.

It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that these games are rarely perfect. The year the Birds won it all, that first home contest against the Falcons was nerve-wracking, and came down to a late stop and a nailbiter of a Julio Jones end zone target. There was a pass that came of Keanu Neal’s knee and a few bounces went the Eagles’ way. From there, the offense woke up in the NFC title game and Super Bowl, and the rest is history.

So we take this W and move on. Jalen hopefully shook off some of the rust and will be better next week.


To the observations:

1) What a start on special teams. Oren Burks laying the wood! It looked like Keisean Nixon got the ball back in the scrum, and the refs did review the play, but upheld the call on the field. Was that the right decision? Either way, great job Jeremiah Trotter Jr. digging that ball out and fighting for it.

2) Raise your hand if you had Jahan Dotson scoring a touchdown in the playoffs, let alone the first touchdown. Yeah, me neither. The offensive line was incredible on that play. Look at this pocket:

3) Nolan Smith with the biggest sack of his life thus far. 3rd down, inside move, chases down Jordan Love, then Green Bay is punting. He stepped up after Brandon Graham went down earlier in the year.

4) Please don’t tell me I saw a BUBBLE SCREEN on third down. For who? For what? Why would you ever ask DeVonta Smith to block in space anyway? It just doesn’t make any sense. That page in the Eagles’ playbook should be torn out and sent to the pyre.

5) That first Jalen Hurts read and pull was a thing of beauty. Turned a huge loss into a huge gain and got down to slide and protect himself at the same time.

6) Big Play Slay! Never said anything bad about the guy. First playoff interception. You can’t play that any better. The technique was perfect.

7) Please never play Seven Nation Army at Lincoln Financial Field ever again. It’s unoriginal and it’s a college football song anyway. It’s the most overplayed stadium anthem in the history of stadium anthems.

8) Running it with Saquon Barkley on 3rd and 12… Dunno. Tom Brady made a good point about playing it safe there, punting it away, and trying to keep some momentum for yourself. Only problem is that the kick was returned for 23 yards so the resulting field flip wasn’t much of anything at all.

9) Slay went out on the 4th Green Bay drive, so Isaiah Rodgers had to come in for him. He had a huge PBU in the end zone which wound up being called back for a penalty anyway, but to come in cold and make a solid play is impressive.

10) Nakobe Dean left the game injured, but he did so forcing a 3rd and 13 that ultimately led to a missed field goal. He walked off the field but was then carted off and immediately ruled out, which makes you fear an ACL or something worse. Totally sucks.

11) After the Baun interception, they run Saquon for six yards, then pass, pass, false start, punt. There was a defensive pass interference in there that was not called, but regardless, you gotta come away with a field goal attempt there. That was piss poor even with the refs being blind.

12) Kevin Burkhardt called that 3rd down pass “a dirtball from Hurts,” but all know the proper term is “worm burner.” An homage to Donovan McNabb. Number five will always love you!

Coincidentally, my Philadelphia Eagles grindcore album is titled “Worm Burner” –

13) You can’t be +3 in turnover differential at halftime with only a 10 point lead. Going 1 for 6 on third down was the biggest culprit for why they couldn’t open the game up and extend the advantage. A couple of crap play calls and some rusty/ineffective QB play will do that for ya.

14) Poor drive coming out of halftime. Deserved boos. You run Saquon a couple of times, good, then you take a two-yard loss and Hurts kills the drive with a bad sack. Gotta scramble or get rid of the ball.

15) Reed Blankenship was in position to make a play on that 3rd and 2 that Love heaved up there for Dontayvion Wicks. Maybe the ball was a little underthrown, but he couldn’t seem to turn and locate with enough time to get up there and contest it.

16) Agree with Brady on the Quinyon Mitchell DPI. Wicks did a little bit of acting, but there was contact on the turn upfield and enough to warrant a whistle. Good response from Mitchell, though, because on the ensuing set of downs he was targeted twice and both passes fell incomplete, resulting in a field goal instead.

17) Holy shit! That Dallas Goedert touchdown reception will go down as one of the great plays in Eagles history. Not joking! First of all, the pass was terrible. A blitz beater and quick release, sure, but the fact that he even caught it and stayed on his feet was incredible. Then you tread the sidelines while stiff arming the same guy in the face, twice? That was awesome. That is grown man, big boy football.

18) Jake Elliott shanked an extra point. Hope that poor woman didn’t get hit in the face again.

19) Defense was disappointing following the Goedert touchdown. Green Bay went 77 yards on eight plays, including the Josh Jacobs run where the three-fifths of the secondary couldn’t bring him down. They converted a 3rd and 7 but were ahead of the sticks for every other play of the drive. There was a chance to build some momentum there and the D couldn’t keep them out.

20) Hate to say it, but Mitchell with a bit of Asante Samuel tackling on that Packers drive. It’s the postseason, you’re gonna have to get in there and make a hit even if you don’t want to.

21) The fake tush push… they had it. Just missed. But that’s the beauty of going on 3rd and 1, knowing that you’re gonna have 4th and 1 to do the same thing.

22) Not sure what Burkhardt was talking about when he thought the Nixon penalty was soft. Nixon didn’t push Barkley very hard, but they were way out of bounds and he could have easily just taken his hands off of him. Give the dumb refs a reason to throw the flag and they will.

23) They made it a two-possession game with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the game. That was a weird drive, and wracked by penalties on both sides, and a wasteful Eagles timeout, but 13 plays for 58 yards over 7:23 for a crucial field goal is a positive outcome.

24) What book do we think A.J. Brown was reading on the sideline? War and Peace? The Stinky Cheese Man? Thus Spoke Zarathustra? They later revealed it was this:

25) The Packers were doing what exactly on that final drive? A couple of runs without Josh Jacobs? Then you throw on 4th and 3 and the receiver comes down out of bounds? Yeesh. That was a gift. Then they committed a stupid penalty when the Eagles got the ball back, Elliott hit from 32 yards, and that was all she wrote.