How Bout Dem Eagles???

The Birds faced possibly their toughest challenge yet on Sunday in Philly against their biggest rival. The Dallas Cowboys have proven they have one of the best defenses in the league to start the season, and one of the better teams in the conference. Both teams starting the season hot, everyone was expecting a show Sunday night at Lincoln Financial. The show for Philly started out just how they wanted gaining a big 20-0 lead in the first half, but soon was diminished by the scrappy Cowboys. Fortunately, the Birds were able to hold on and improve to 6-0 after a 26-17 victory. They now continue to show why they are one of the best in the NFC and league as a whole.

Major Takeaways:

1. Holy RPO

• The offense continued to shine and come with a game plan against Dallas. The offense has shown to be dynamic in the passing and running game with multiple schemes. The RPO is one of the most affective, and showed to be useful again. The RPO play that ends up in a pass to the flats opposite of the back was majorly useful. They have used many players on this flat route this season and showed it with Goedert and then Brown on a touchdown. The RPO system will continue to play a big part in this offense, which keeps the defense guessing.

2. Weapons showing

• Just as the point above, the weapons are used in many ways in this offense. Spreading the ball around is important for a team to not only keep the offense fluid, but the defense guessing. Being able to throw to Smith, Brown, Watkins, Goedert, and Stoll was a huge part in the game plan for Dallas. On top of that using Sanders, Scott, and Gainwell is a lethal way to run the ball and keep the defense on their heels. The Birds showed their weapons and rammed it down the Dallas defense for the majority of the game.

3. Secondary impresses

• While the defensive front was struggling with the run game at times, and pressure on Cooper Rush, the secondary put fear into Rush. They came out blazing forcing two interceptions in just the first half to help propel the offense into scoring positions. Whether it was coverage or pass deflections, the secondary was playing at a high level that can help this team tremendously in the long run. The defense ended with four turnovers, with three of them being interceptions. CJ Gardner-Johnson was the star and is now proving to be a huge acquisition for the team.

4. Second half struggles

• While the team looked amazing in the first half, the second half struggles struck again with this team. The Birds got off to a 20-3 halftime lead and were looking unstoppable, but the momentum took a big turn once the Cowboys received the kickoff. Scoring 17 straight points against the Eagles' defense while maintaining long drives. They were starting to chain some plays down the field and establish a running game. The Eagles' defense started looking tired and like a completely different team from the first half. Luckily the team was able to generate offense once again after being held to start the second half as well. The team went down to score what would be the game sealing touchdown and ultimately win the game. Six points in the second half is not going to cut it later on in the season, and will have to be a huge adjustment the team makes in the grand scheme of things.

5. Sirianni is Philly built

• I think the team can be thankful for the second year coach after showing his outright passion for the Birds. His passion and leadership is what the Eagles need, and more importantly the city of Philadelphia. In a rivalry game he not only came with a great game plan, but celebrated like he should against the biggest rival of them all on their home turf.

Notable Stats:

Jalen Hurts (QB) - 15/25, 155 Yds, 2 TD

Miles Sanders (RB) - 18 Car, 71 Yds, 1 TD

AJ Brown (WR) - 5 Rec, 67 Yds, 1 TD

TJ Edwards (LB) - 14 TOT, 1 PD

CJ Gardner Johnson (S) - 4 TOT, 2 PD, 2 Int

Darius Slay (CB) - 2 TOT, 2 PD, 1 Int

The Birds now look to get some rest heading into a bye week, and then prepare for a scrappy Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) team.