Watch enough NFL football (and with four consecutive weeks of games based in the UK, there’s been a LOT of it to watch) and ultimately only one conclusive truth emerges. Philadelphia Eagles fans are overreactive.
The hue and cry surrounding the defending Super Bowl titlists and their quaterback was reaching a crescendo going into Minneapolis yesterday, something YAHOO! Sports’ Reuben Frank was acutely aware of:
The Eagles blew a 14-point 4th-quarter lead two weeks ago at home to the Broncos and then got obliterated by the lowly Giants last week, and this was clearly a team at a crossroads…If the Eagles ever needed Jalen Hurts to have the best game of his life it was Sunday.
ESPN’s Tim McManus picked up the narrative of how that challenge was dealt with:
Hurts said he played with “some fire” following back-to-back losses… and that was evident to teammates as he threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns and ended with a perfect 158.3 passer rating — just the third Eagles signal-caller to do so…Hurts made his way into the visitors locker room following the Eagles’ 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, he shouted, “We ain’t f—ing losers no more.”
Not that they were in all that much danger to begin with. Whatever momentum the Washington Commanders might have been able to justify to give the Iggles a run for their bird feed was all but obliterated by the epitome of inconsistency and division rivals in a plodding late afternoon national game–or so sayeth THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Schuyler Dixon:
Dak Prescott threw for three touchdowns, starting with the long one to (Cee Dee) Lamb, DaRon Bland returned an interception 68 yards for a score after Jayden Daniels left with a hamstring injury and the Cowboys beat the …Commanders 44-22 on Sunday.
Lamb ran sideways, arms in the air with the ball in one hand while finishing off a 74-yard touchdown catch with new sidekick George Pickens backpedaling into the end zone at the same time from just a few yards away.
The dynamic Dallas receivers were back on the field together after Lamb missed three games with a high ankle sprain, and they had plenty to do with the best game of the season for the Cowboys.
And with that exchange of active talent, coupled with the reality check that the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons-less defense somehow still allowed 22 points to a Washington offense devoid of its three top receivers and eventually its star quarterback it’s hard to see either of these teams putting up a genuine battle for division honors moving forward.
As for the other NFC East combatant–the one that set tongues wagging ten nights ago with that vaunted upset–after a fantabulous 45 minutes yesterday afternoon any hopes they might actually be viable foes came crashing down to Earth as quickly as anyone doing wind sprints at 5280-ish feet otherwise would. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Karl Rasmussen provided the sordid details:
Denver’s offense had been putrid all game, and the team entered the fourth quarter without a single point on the board, trailing 19–0. Things started clicking in the fourth, as Bo Nix & Co. were able to find their rhythm and get back into the game.
The fourth quarter was utter chaos, with a total of six touchdowns scored between the two teams, including four for the Broncos. After Bo Nix gave Denver a late 30–26 lead, New York scored on their ensuing drive thanks to a costly pass interference penalty against cornerback Riley Moss.
That left 40 seconds for Nix and the offense to get into field goal range, and a pair of prolific passes down field saw them do exactly that, setting up Wil Lutz for the game-winning field goal.
The Broncos’ comeback was the largest in NFL history in which a team had entered the fourth quarter without scoring. They erased a 19-point deficit and put up 33 points in the fourth quarter in order to steal a win from Dart and the Giants.
And guess where the G-Men get to travel next Sunday? 45 minutes down the Jersey Turnpike and then over the Schuylkill River bridge to Lincoln Financial Fiele for a rematch with those “ain’t f–kin’ losers”.
Now if somehow the Jints can conquer those odds and sent Hurts back into a funk, then perhaps Bird Nation will have something to truly bitch about. Until then, count your blessings.
Courage…