After giving their coaches, players and fans a week off to ride the roller coaster of the first month of the 2024 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles announced their comeback in a major way in Week 6, defeating the Browns of Cleveland at home 20-16.
Although that final score seemed close, the actual product on the field really wasn’t, as the Browns only scored one touchdown on a blocked kick and only scored nine offensive points in 31 and a half minutes with the ball. The Eagles, on the other hand, were effective through the air, although their ground game was battered by Jim Schwartz’s defense, and Vic Fangio dominated their opponent on the ground, allowing 244 total yards in the game.
Are the Eagles back? Was their five-sack performance a new standard, or was it just an example of a good team beating a bad one? With the game now firmly behind and the Eagles back on top of the NFC East, here are three overreactions from Week 6.
Overreaction #1:
Jalen Hurts had solved his turnover problems
The pain is back, baby.
That’s right, after recording at least one turnover in each of the last four games – four interceptions and five fumbles – Hurts threw a near-perfect game in Week 6. Facing a Browns secondary that’s actually pretty good, allowing the 11th fewest passes. yards in the NFL in six weeks, Hurts had an efficient afternoon. He completed 16 of his 25 pass attempts for 264 yards and two touchdownsconnected on huge deep ball gains with AJ Brown, and even knocked out secondary players like Grant Calcaterra involved with Dallas Goedert, allowing his fellow Oklahoma Sooner to four catches on four targets to a career-high 67 yards.
In reality, the only thing Hurts didn’t do was do much as a runner, as he had just 33 yards on 14 rushing attempts, for an average of 2.4 yards per carry .
Now granted, Hurts not turning the ball over in Week 6 is an absolutely positive development. While some of his turnovers weren’t his fault, some of them were, with the on-time MVP candidate holding the ball too long or making mistakes with the football. But suppose that his gropings are resolved? Especially considering how hard the Browns have tried to stop the run? Yeah, that really might be an overreaction, at least for now. If Hurts can string together a few more plays without mistakes, then who knows, maybe he’ll finally shed his gunslinger label once and for all?
Overreaction #2:
Eagles secondary is “fixed”
In Week 6, the Eagles finally made an intentional change to their defensive starting lineup, giving Cooper DeJean the nod at cornerback in place of Avonte Maddox, who has largely been a liability for Philly in the first four weeks of the season.
On paper, the results were great, as DeJean had six tackles, a half-sack and a QB hit in addition to four punts returned for 51 yards, but he wasn’t the only interesting addition to the defense .
You see, due to Darius Slay’s exit from the game with a knee injury, fans got to see an in-depth look at two other young defensive backs, with Isaiah Rodgers logging 39 percent of the defensive snaps, Kelee Ringo playing 11 percent. hundred and Maddox bringing up the rear at four o’clock. While Ringo made headlines for a particularly brutal tackle, the Georgia product and Rodgers both looked good against rookie prop Quinyon Mitchell, who played every moment of the game.
Could Ringo or Rodgers end up starting in Slay’s place in 2025, or if he’s traded before the Nov. 4 deadline? Maybe yes, maybe no, but damn, after going decades without a promising young cornerback who could be the future of the position, the Eagles somehow have a wealth of talented individuals in this position.
That being said, don’t expect the Eagles to somehow become the next Legion of Boom, as the Browns truly have one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL and absolutely looked like they could be stopped in Week 6. If the Eagles can continue to limit opposing quarterbacks to games under 200 passing yards, then hey, maybe Vic Fangio and company really have it all figured out, but if Daniel Jones, Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence light them up over the next three weeks, maybe it’ll be back to the drawing board.
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Overreaction #3:
Nick Sirianni should still be fired
If there’s one issue that’s talked about more than any other in the City for Brotherly Love, it’s Nick Sirianni’s future.
Some see his track record and resume and wonder how on earth he could be in the hot seat like the Eagles did. a winning percentage of 66.1 percent under the Mount Union graduate. While others? Others think he’s a certified weirdo who constantly undermines his offensive coordinators and continues to run his offense even though Kellen Moore can call the plays.
After watching the Eagles win by just four points in Week 6 against a Browns team widely considered one of the worst in the NFL, some still think Sirianni should be fired because he made headlines, not for his play or his use of timeouts, but for fighting with opposing players and even his own fans during a home game.
Is Sirianni a strange guy? Yes, he certainly has his quirks and has made some unusual choices during his time as head coach of the Eagles. But come on, Philadelphia is a lot better in 2024 than it was in 2023, and if Sirianni is willing to relax his reign a little more, allowing Moore to run the show more often than not, success will continue to follow. Philadelphia into the future.
