December 08, 2022
How sweet is this holiday season for Philadelphia fans? The Phillies are making big moves and the Eagles started the month of December in an amazing way.
For a brief moment on Wednesday December 7, Philadelphia fans were upset because one person, literally one person, floated a rumor that the Eagles were a team to watch as Odell Beckham Jr. looks to join an NFL roster. Big names get clicks, so the bait was thrown out there. Instantly, there was concern about the locker room dynamic and how he would fit on the roster. Nick Sirianni is never brief or direct when answering questions, but he said in his own way the Eagles were fine at wide receiver. He also said that backup wideouts must play special teams here. That effectively killed the chances that OBJ would come to Philadelphia. While I didn’t believe the rumor, I do think the fans who were bothered by it got it right in one important way: the Eagles don’t need more than they currently have to win the Super Bowl.
The Eagles are 11-1 and just throttled a Titans team that many fans feared going into the game. The game showcased that the Eagles are who we thought they were, and as they get healthier, they are equipped, as is, to make the Super Bowl run that has become mandatory. Jordan Davis returned last week. Avonte Maddox returned to the practice field this week, and Dallas Goedert has basically already announced he is returning next week from his shoulder injury.
That is a lot of quality to be adding to a team that has found a way to win without those pieces. OBJ is also not needed here because the Eagles have A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. Both had over 100 yards last week. With Goedert out, Quez Watkins has stepped up and shown a lot of improvement (and has participated in practice this week after an AC joint sprain). As Sirianni alluded to, they don’t need a guy who hasn’t played football all year to help punt and kick coverage. He wouldn’t fit because the Eagles are that good. Compare that to last year’s Super Bowl-winning Rams who badly needed to add him, and you see how good the Eagles are this year. They are much better this year, than last year’s champs.
Jalen Hurts is the back-to-back NFC Offensive Player of the Week and he won those awards playing two completely different styles. I marvel at how he continues to evolve. Who else in the league can say they have a weapon that resembles him? Not many. Miles Sanders has a very good chance of going over 1,000 yards for the first in his career time this week against the Giants. He is playing with the consistency that we have all wanted to go with his big play ability. And look at this team’s defense. Derrick Henry is a certified beast, and the Eagles completely contained him. His longest run was six yards. They have the personnel to stop the run when they need to, and Johnathan Gannon decides to scheme to do so.
Even special teams finally showed improvement with Britain Covey having his three longest punt returns of his career all happening against the Titans. I wrote last week and have been saying on the radio that the best football for the Eagles is still ahead of them. We just got a taste of that. They will have a chance to show that again against the Giants this week and humble a well-coached, but undertalented limited team. They get to head out to snowy Chicago and handle business and then on Christmas Eve the Eagles will get to sweep the Cowboys out in Dallas. ESPN can make up phony metrics all they want to pretend the Eagles aren’t the best team in the NFC, but hot takes don’t win football games. Good players do and the Eagles have all the good players they need to win the Super Bowl.
Tyrone Johnson is the host of "The Best Show Ever?" on 97.5 The Fanatic, airing Monday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
You can follow him on Twitter: @TyJohnsonNews
