Anthony DiBona
Well then, that wasn’t what many of us expected. The Philadelphia Eagles absolutely destroyed the New Orleans Saints yesterday, 39-17. Throughout the beginning of the regular season, the Eagles struggled to put together an entire game. That wasn’t the case yesterday as the Eagles dominated the Saints from opening kickoff until the final whistle.
Here are five takeaways from a much-needed victory over those pesky Saints!
1) Hello running game!
It finally happened, the Eagles finally executed in the running game. It brought me back to 2013 when the Eagles had arguably the best rushing attack in the NFL. No longer were their offensive linemen blocking the same players or running backs looking hesitant, it was poetry in motion. Besides DeMarco Murray missing an obvious hole on one play that stood out, the running game as a whole finally looked alive.
Speaking of Murray, he wanted more touches after last week’s game and received them. But he finally did something positive with the ball in his hands. Although it was likely due to the uptick in offensive snaps the team saw as a unit, Murray received 27 total touches (20 rushes, 7 receptions) for 120 total yards and a touchdown. His tag team partner in the backfield, Ryan Mathews, also played well with 11 total touches (8 rushes, 3 receptions) for 96 total yards and a touchdown.
2) Fletcher Cox is really, really, really good
While this isn’t a surprise for actual Eagles fans, defensive end Fletcher Cox is ridiculously good. Yesterday’s game will likely serve as a notice to the rest of the fans around the league but Cox may have had the best game of his entire life against the Saints. Cox finished the game with three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
According to Josh Paunil of Birds 24/7, this was the first time in Cox’s football career that he had three sacks in a single game:
https://twitter.com/JoshPaunil/status/653340797345992705
3) Jordan Hicks may be the Eagles best linebacker
This is likely a bit of a hot take but it’s also completely possible. As a controversial third round pick, not much was expected of Hicks this year. But due to injuries to key players such as Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso, Hicks has been forced into action early on in his NFL career. That being said, Hicks has played out of his mind…or maybe all of us were wrong in questioning the pick in the first place.
Many were questioning Chip Kelly when he said Hicks was by far the highest rated player on their board in the third round. But sure enough, Hicks is playing like he should have been drafted in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. In fact, Hicks is playing so well that Pro Football Focus has him rated as the third best inside linebacker in the entire league through five games. Hicks is only ranked behind Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall and Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. There’s a chance that this year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year is wearing midnight green.
4) “Second Half Sam” does it again!
There you have it. My nickname for Sam Bradford went from “Sammie Sleeves” to “Is he even a quarterback?” to “Second Half Sam” in a matter of weeks. Seriously though, why in the world is he so bad in the fist half of games? He went from throwing two awful red zone interceptions in the first half against the Saints to throwing dimes in the second half. Reuben Frank of CSN Philly broke down Bradford’s stats in each half this season:
Sam Bradford this year:
1st half: 54-for-96, 524 yds, 3 TDs, 4 INTs, 64.8 rating
2nd half: 58-for-84, 681 yds, 6 TDs, 3 INTs, 104. 7 rating— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) October 11, 2015
From a 64.8 passer rating in the first half of games to a 104.7 passer rating in the second half of games, that’s astonishing. Based on this season’s quarterback play around the NFL, that’s like going from being Ryan Mallett in the first half to being Phillip Rivers in the second half. Kelly even seems perplexed by Bradford’s play from one half to the next, joking that maybe the Eagles should look into playing double headers in his press conference earlier today.
5) Josh Huff finally breaks out
The moment we have all been waiting for finally happened. Second-year wide receiver Josh Huff finally had that breakout game many have been anticipating. He started the game off with a 40-yard kickoff return which was cool and all. But what happened throughout the rest of the game is what really stood out. Huff was finally getting involved on the offensive end and making plays with the ball in his hands.
Huff’s rookie year was plagued with injuries and costly mistakes but this week he finally appeared to be a changed man. He played 41 total snaps on offense (49%), which may seem a bit low but he was more productive than any other wide receiver on the team. Huff hauled in 4 receptions on 5 targets for 78 yards and an impressive 41-yard touchdown that ended in a front flip.
Sam Bradford gets a TD pass, Saints need to stop tackling each other pic.twitter.com/kzRcerqEdC
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) October 11, 2015
That’s all for my takeaways from the Eagles impressive victory over the Saints. Now the team will look to carry their positive momentum into next Monday’s crucial match-up against the New York Giants. Be sure to check back here at Philly Influencer for everything and anything going on in the City of Brotherly Love!