SÃO PAULO — “It was sloppy,” DeVonta Smith said. And he wasn’t talking about caipirinha cocktails. He wasn’t talking about field conditions in a soccer venue in the first-ever NFL game in South America. No, the wide receiver was stating what was visible as the Philadelphia Eagles debuted their revamped system under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
“It was sloppy,” Smith repeated. “But we responded well.”
Indeed, they did. They’re 1-0 after their 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Arena Corinthians; despite Cam Jurgens snapping the ball to Jalen Hurts when the quarterback wasn’t ready; despite Hurts twice forcing the football into heavy coverage on passes that resulted in picks (one in the end zone); despite Jurgens and Hurts mishandling a last-minute “Brotherly Shove” snap that, instead of securing certain victory, preceded a field goal that gave the Green Bay Packers one last attempt at a possible comeback.
“We’re working out kinks,” said Jurgens, who took ownership of both fumbles. “When you can work things out and still get a win, it’s a good feeling.”
Saquon Barkley saved their pigskin. He jumped on that final fumbled snap. He accounted for three of Philadelphia’s four touchdowns. He logged 109 yards on 24 carries and two scores, plus two catches, including an 18-yard touchdown on a well-timed wheel route. He made general manager Howie Roseman quite happy that he set a franchise record in per-year spending on running backs by signing Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal in the offseason.
Saquon Freaking Barkley#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/ZdXg8tLqB0
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2024
“He had a hell of a game tonight,” Hurts said. “I’m happy that he’s on our side.”
The Eagles haven’t wielded a weapon quite like Barkley since LeSean McCoy. As sufficient as D’Andre Swift and Miles Sanders were in Philadelphia’s backfield the last two seasons, neither running back possessed the start-stop speed or the burst that busted Barkley deep beyond the Packers defense on an 11-yard touchdown run and a 34-yard scamper into the open field.
At last, he had blocking. Barkley, who averaged 1.35 yards before contact in six years with the New York Giants, according to TruMedia, said in training camp that he chose to sign with the Eagles partly due to Philadelphia’s formidable offensive line. There, on that 11-yard score, was a colossal chasm between Jurgens and right guard Mekhi Becton. Barkley made one sudden cut, and the Eagles suddenly led 14-12 with 5:38 left in the first half.
“They did a really good job of just setting up for me,” Barkley said. “I just try to stick to my rules. That’s my big thing to share is, you know, sometimes I can tend to try to do too much. And I don’t have to have that mentality, but I let (the offensive line) work. And when it’s time to do extra stuff, I’ll be ready for that too.”
Speaking of “extra stuff,” Moore wasn’t restricted from deploying the pre-snap motions that’d been part of his philosophy. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, whose 2023 system was the most stagnant in the NFL, had said earlier this week that “no one really knows what we’re going to do.” By my count, the Eagles used pre-snap motion on 47.3 percent of their plays against the Packers.
That included Dallas Goedert motioning left into a swing pass in which Goedert gained 1 yard. That included Britain Covey switching from wide right to wide left and Hurts hitting Goedert for a 4-yard gain in the space Covey once filled. That included A.J. Brown quickly stepping from the slot to just beyond Goedert, matching Brown against Jaire Alexander. Brown’s double move — outside, inside — left him open along the sideline. Hurts struck Brown in stride, and the receiver weaved past the Packers’ secondary for a 67-yard score.
Brown’s 23.8 yards per reception (five catches, 119 yards) were his highest average since Week 16 of the 2022 regular season. Hurts managed to find Brown in crucial third-down situations in which he faced a heavy rush. On third-and-8 on Philadelphia’s fourth drive (Barkley’s first rushing touchdown), Hurts zipped the ball to Brown for a 20-yard conversion just before getting demolished by a defender. Hurts was 6-of-7 passing for 91 yards and his 18-yard touchdown to Barkley while facing the Packers blitz, according to TruMedia.
It was a promising sign for a system in which Hurts is handling more of the pre-snap protection calls and designations for which a receiver is “hot” against the blitz. Hurts was sacked twice. The second he seemed to draw himself just before halftime, which limited a promising two-minute drive to yielding only a 38-yard Jake Elliott field goal and a 19-17 deficit to the Packers at the break.
“I thought pass protection was pretty good today,” Jurgens said. “I thought we did a good job. We’ll watch film, see how it was. But it felt good out there. We’ve got some weapons on the outside. I think we really used them today and played really well.”
Sloppiness stemmed to the Eagles defense, too.
Sirianni fired former defensive coordinator Sean Desai partly because his system surrendered the NFL’s second-most passing yards in 2023. The Eagles thought they’d improve the defense by hiring the system’s creator, Vic Fangio. But there were moments when it wasn’t clear there’d been any change at all. Jordan Love, who completed 17-of-34 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, exploited an apparent coverage bust by striking Jayden Reed for a 70-yard touchdown to seize their halftime lead. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, signed in free agency to improve the back end, missed a tackle that could’ve saved the score.
Apparently, Gardner-Johnson caught some heat from the fan base by the time he returned to the locker room.
“All them fans that got some s— to say. Y’all get y’all a– out there and come tackle with us. Put that in the news,” Garnder-Johnson said. He turned to his left and spotted Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. “Tell them, Jeffrey. Every fan say they can make a tackle, we’re gonna invite everybody that say we suck at tackling, we’re gonna bring them out there with A.J. Brown and see if they can make a f—ing tackle. Everybody know that s— ain’t so easy.”
Lurie just laughed.
Reed Blankenship, flushed in the face but not disagreeing, continued his post-game interview. Yes, they’d had some coverage breakdowns, Blankenship said. Yes, they hadn’t done just “what we did in practice.” But when the Packers had a shot to go up two scores in the third quarter, Blankenship hawked Love’s throw into the seam for a game-shifting interception. Blankenship said he’d seen Love make as if he wanted to throw to Reed along the sideline, but turned back to the middle of the field once Gardner-Johnson cut off that option.
Safety Reed Blankenship picked off Jordan Love’s throw into the seam for a game-shifting interception. (Pedro Vilela / Getty Images)
“So, it was one of those anticipation moments,” Blankenship said. “But I couldn’t have done it if he didn’t do his job on the back end.”
It’s difficult to immediately deduce where the breakdown occurred on Reed’s 70-yard score. The Eagles were playing dime, their six-defensive back package designated for passing scenarios such as that third-and-10. Second-round rookie Cooper DeJean and veteran Avonte Maddox appeared to be covering short zones in the slot. Gardner-Johnson was the deepest safety, but at the very least caught by surprise that Reed was running alone into the right hash.
“This is the hardest sport because it includes all 11 guys,” Gardner-Johnson said. “And if all 11 aren’t on the same page, stuff happens. That doesn’t mean you’re the (worst) player in the world. If that’s the case, the owner would’ve let you go. We’ve got to understand that this game right here, we’ve got to understand that as young guys, we’re just now getting good. We’re playing together and we’re understanding we can be dominant in every f—ing aspect of the game.”
Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell revealed himself to be a reliable starter in his professional debut. Love tested the No. 22 pick on a deep ball early in the first quarter, but Mitchell swatted the ball from Christian Watson’s grip. Later, Mitchell extended himself laterally to deflect another Love pass near the sticks.
Mitchell played entirely at outside corner, an interesting development considering Fangio’s devotion throughout training camp to platooning the rookie at nickel. Mitchell had played outside cornerback in base packages, then switched to nickel during preseason games. But Maddox started at nickel against the Packers. The arrangement may be untenable. Maddox was targeted on back-to-back plays by Love, first drawing a pass interference, then a touchdown on the following play.
The absence of Isaiah Rodgers may have played a role. He’d mainly been the outside cornerback throughout training camp when Mitchell played nickel. Rodgers was ruled inactive with a hand injury. When asked if Rodgers’ absence played into the decision, Sirianni said, “That’s still a competitive edge that we have that I’ll keep to myself.” Fielding Maddox at nickel also raises the question of whether the Eagles were confident Kelee Ringo could’ve fulfilled the game plan at cornerback in nickel packages.
Sirianni, who has further embraced his CEO-type role in 2024, has 10 days to reduce the sloppiness before the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Sept. 16. The 43-year-old coach is now 4-0 in regular-season openers.
“Excited to continue to move on,” Sirianni said. “We’ll have some tough conversations about what went right and what went wrong, but pleased with these guys and we’ll get better from this game.”
(Top photo: Pedro Vilela / Getty Images)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5751243/2024/09/07/eagles-packers-saquon-barkley-brazil/
