November 12, 2024
The Eagles won in Dallas for the first time in seven years to make it five straight victories and to send themselves straight to the top of the NFC East following Washington's loss earlier Sunday.
It's a short week, but the Birds can grab a clear hold of the division coming back home with the Commanders on deck Thursday night.
They've scored at least 28 points in the past four games, have flipped their turnover fortune in a big way, and are finally starting to resemble the NFC powerhouse that most thought they would be back in the summer.
The current vibe check, courtesy of Jordan Davis:
Please enjoy JD hitting his little dancey dance 🕺🏻😂 pic.twitter.com/uN6e7CKvfN
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 11, 2024
Yeah, things are clicking right now, and the team seems to believe they're only getting started.
"There are a lot of positive things going on right now," running back Saquon Barkley said from his locker after the Dallas win. "And the beauty is that we still haven't scratched the surface. That's kind of the scary thing."
They'll have a chance to put the entire locker room on notice Thursday night back at the Linc.
Until then, here are a couple more odds and ends stemming from the 34-6 rout of the Cowboys...
Here's another show of how good Zack Baun has been for the Eagles' defense, via Pro Football Focus:
Zach Baun has been the highest-graded LB each of the past three weeks 👀 pic.twitter.com/XNvoz817l2
— PFF (@PFF) November 11, 2024
The Eagles' defense has re-invented itself into a much tighter and far more suffocating unit since returning from the early-October bye, having not allowed a touchdown in 3 of the past five games.
Rookie corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean serving as a shot in the arm for the Eagles' secondary has played a big part in that, but so has Baun and Nakobe Dean locking it down through the middle of the field as maybe the strongest linebacking duo the team has had in years.
And the Eagles have been waiting for Dean to step up like this since picking him up in the third round of the draft two years ago.
Baun, though, he's just been waiting for this shot.
"I think, through my time in New Orleans, of course, people say I was an on-ball linebacker," Baun said after the Dallas game. "But when I was in New Orleans, I was putting in the time, just the same amount of work as the starters were, just to prepare for a moment like this and my opportunity. All I had to do was take advantage and just let it fly."
He's made the most of it, both to his and the Eagles' reward so far.
MORE: Eagles 'still haven't scratched the surface' of how good they can be
In the immediate aftermath of Dallas' pummeling, Jerry Jones gathered the media and declared war against the sun for blinding every team, including his own, through the AT&T Stadium windows that he okay'd in the design and has been well aware of for years – you can read more on that HERE.
And in the Cowboys' locker room, after they dropped to 3-6 to keep their season spiraling, Micah Parsons didn't exactly vouch for his head coach Mike McCarthy's job security.
Given how much Micah Parsons’ quote on Mike McCarthy’s future has taken off, feels worth posting the full clip of the question and answer.
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) November 11, 2024
(🎥: @dallascowboys) pic.twitter.com/k4xQKeuz7I
"You know that's above my pay grade if Mike is coaching again next year, but all coaching aside, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants, but I kinda feel bad for guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or are on their way out," Parsons said. "That's who I wanted to hold the trophy for. You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did, so those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for."
😬
Speaking of McCarthy, here's the sun bearing down on his press conference.
The sun is causing a glare in the Cowboys press conference room.
— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) November 11, 2024
So there’s a shield to block the sun from Mike McCarthy’s face.
Novel concept. pic.twitter.com/BKxp0Wn0I3
The sun: sworn enemy of the Dallas Cowboys.
MORE: Are the Eagles real contenders? Here's what the numbers say
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