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The Phillies Battled, the Flyers Battled, and the Eagles No-Showed Against a 1-4 Team with a Rookie Quarterback
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We’ve seen a lot of losses in Philadelphia sports, so we’re well aware that they come in various shapes and sizes.
Case in point, Thursday night, when the Phillies and Flyers battled hard in their respective road games against the defending MLB and NHL champions. The Phils went to extra innings with the Dodgers before finally succumbing and the Flyers fell by a goal in Sunrise, which is nothing to be bummed about in a rebuilding year.
The pitiful Eagles, however, no-showed against the 1-4 Giants, the lowlight perhaps being this defensive “effort” by Adoree Jackson:
It was hideous all around. Absolutely disgusting. Jackson and Kelee Ringo took turns looking like Izel Jenkins out there, battling for the illustrious “toast” award. Jalen Carter didn’t even play. Quinyon Mitchell left injured. Zack Baun got dusted by Jaxson Dart for a touchdown and Andrew Mukuba missed a tackle on another TD. The defensive line made Cam Skattebo look like Mike fuckin’ Alstott while only hitting Dart three times and mustering two sacks, one of which allowed Russell Wilson into the game, mercifully forcing a third down stop.
Offensively, they did the same thing they always do. No issues in the first half. Tush push was on point, the goal line shovel play worked again, and they hit A.J. Brown down the sideline for a big gain. But they did only two things in the second half – jack and shit. Jalen Hurts overthrew DeVonta Smith on a surefire TD pass, tossed one of the ugliest interceptions you’ll ever see, and couldn’t do anything with his feet. The line struggled immensely with Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence and Abdul “traitor” Carter. Even Kayvon Thibodeaux made a play! They desperately need a healthy Landon Dickerson on the interior and while Tyler Steen is doing fine in pass protection, he’s definitely not Mekhi Becton in the run game. Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata had noticeably bad reps throughout and it appears they’ve both lost a step.
The line is truly a concern. You see it and I see it.
Special teams, meantime? They still have nobody who can catch a kickoff. Tank Bigsby may as well be Reno Mahe out there. A.J. Dillon muffed one and then fumbled a few plays later, turning in the classic butterfingers performance.
The only guys who played truly well on Thursday night were Dallas Goedert, Smitty, Jake Elliott, and Braden Mann. Some individual bright spots from guys like Jihaad Campbell and Coooooooper DeJean, and at least Saquon had a couple of explosives, but again was held to his under.
Those of us who thought a bad loss was needed ended up being wrong. The short week and road game wasn’t the catalyst. Maybe they need a long week and then a trip to Minnesota is…. oh my God, they’re going to get cooked by Carson Wentz and Justin Jefferson, aren’t they?
It’s one thing to battle and lose, but they didn’t even show up. The Eagles are officially on the shitlist. Figure it out!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com