October 29, 2017
The Eagles' first-half performance against the 49ers was just as soggy as the field conditions, at least until the final two minutes of the second quarter. After sputtering to just three points the rest of the half, Philadelphia scored 14 in a furious stretch to close things out to enter halftime with a 17-0 lead.
• One thing that has set Doug Pederson apart from Chip Kelly as a coach — besides the whole "not being an emotionless robot" thing — is the way he has used tempo as a pace-changer, rather than the offense's calling card. Teams would come in against Kelly's Eagles and know that if they could keep up with the offense's pace, they had basically shut it down.
The Eagles have mixed in a good deal of no-huddle within the offense this year, and while it hasn't always yielded points, it has more often than not led to positive things for the offense. On the game's first series, Pederson had his unit go up-tempo right away, yielding two consecutive first downs on a LeGarrette Blount run and a slant to Nelson Agholor. The drive stalled after Lane Johnson took a bad false start penalty on third and six, but we still got a glimpse of what a speed increase can to do help the offense.
Part of that credit goes to quarterback Carson Wentz. He is comfortable changing speeds and making audibles on the fly, which allows his coach to mix it up at a moment's notice.
• The offense got off to a slow start for the second straight week, but they were picked up by a strong performance from the boys on the other side of the ball. After a period of stagnation that kept the Eagles pinned back deep in their own territory, Patrick Robinson unloaded a perfectly-timed hit to pop the ball up in the air, and Rodney McLeod took advantage of the opportunity.
Robinson closes quickly and making another play, Rodney McLeod with the pick pic.twitter.com/uoejke9Jor
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 29, 2017
Robinson probably deserves an individual shout-out here, because he is having an unbelievable season. He has been targeted a great deal on defense, and while he has let a few interceptions get away from him, he has consistently broken up passes and put an end to drives from the secondary.
Jim Schwartz's defense isn't exactly going up against an offensive juggernaut on Sunday, but it is getting the job done.
• A pass interference penalty put the Eagles on the one-yard line with just under two minutes to go in the half. They did not let the opportunity go to waste.
Ertz, don’t it 49ers? pic.twitter.com/WLSbgeOQIk
— Dan Levy (@DanLevyThinks) October 29, 2017
I'm not sure letting Zach Ertz run free in the end zone is a strong defensive strategy, but let's see how that works out for San Francisco the next time they decide to go that route. Wentz is happy to see his favorite target with even a little bit of separation, so you can only imagine the joy in his heart when he saw Ertz hanging out by his lonesome.
• Jalen Mills made an excellent break on this ball, but he gave himself the opportunity to score by cutting the ball back across the field and running directly at an injured Joe Staley, who could do nothing more than lay on the ground.
[Forman Mills voice] JALEN MILLS!!! #Eagles pic.twitter.com/IqlHZyVNjW
— Dan Levy (@DanLevyThinks) October 29, 2017
Score one for the secondary guys who see every interception as an opportunity to go to the house. A lot of people around the Linc were probably shouting at him to just go down and give the offense the ball, and he sure showed them.
• Derek Barnett has stepped up his play in recent weeks, but he lined up offsides on third down on San Francisco's first possession, gifting the 49ers another shot on third down. He was bailed out by a poor throw from CJ Beathard, but it's just a silly penalty for a defensive lineman to take.
• Wentz had Alshon Jeffery over the top for what would have been a touchdown, but he sailed a throw that his wideout couldn't get to. Too bad.
Jeffery has been rather pedestrian this year, but some of that has to be put on his quarterback, who can't seem to get on the same page as him. Ultimately Eagles fans don't care who the ball is going to as long as the team is succeeding and putting up points, and Wentz has done that quite effectively despite several big misthrows in Jeffery's direction. Still, it would be nice for him to make better use of his presumed No. 1 option.
• The Eagles looked like they were prepared for a sloppy, rain-soaked game at Lincoln Financial Field, and they ran the ball early and often in the first half. One problem: they didn't do it all that well.
As opposed to a normal week in Philadelphia, when fans are constantly complaining the team needs to run the ball more, this would have been a good time to mix up the play calls a little bit more. The lack of protection for Wentz from the offensive line probably had something to do with that, but it's not an excuse to discard play-action throws, which are a big part of what makes this offense work.
The Eagles attempted runs on several second-and-long plays in the first half, all of which were telegraphed and doomed from the start. Maybe try spicing things up in half two.
• Philadelphia's offensive line play in the first half of this game was uninspiring, to say the least. Big V was expected to have his struggles filling in for Jason Peters, but the Eagles actually had more struggles away from their left tackle than they did on Vaitai's side of the line.
The right side of the line just got completely overwhelmed at times, leaving Wentz and the running backs little time to get anything going.
Lane Johnson and the right side of this line hasn't showed up yet pic.twitter.com/V2oIAoueVG
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 29, 2017
This has to get cleaned up and fast. The Eagles should win this one comfortably, but they don't want to expose their franchise QB to more hits than he needs to take.
• Zach Ertz's blocking ability is not his calling card. But when you're the lead blocker for the franchise quarterback, you have to do better than this.
You know that's your quarterback and next contract behind you, right asshole? 🙄 pic.twitter.com/4oWStHTxVC
— Couch Correspondent (@notkerouac) October 29, 2017
Come on, man.
• The last thing the Eagles needed was another injury. This will be something worth keeping an eye on:
Patrick Robinson evidently injured his head on that PBU leading to a pick. Return questionable.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) October 29, 2017
Hopefully, Robinson is alright and this is just a precautionary measure because they can't afford to lose his what he's bringing to the table right now.
• The 49ers entered this game 0-7. This did not prompt them to go for it on 4th and 4 from Philadelphia's 38-yard line. It was bad, and they should feel bad.
