State of the Eagles: Week 7 (2021)

2.) Quez Watkins

Another day, another dollar, and another Quez Watkins good game. His numbers from Thursday’s game don’t jump out of the stat sheet as incredible; although, he made some good plays on Thursday. The most noticeable of which was a nice adjustment while falling to catch a ball that was tipped by a Tampa Bay defender. Watkins is solidifying his case to be the Eagles #2 wide receiver.

3.) Jordan Mailata

Mailata had himself yet another good game, doing so while making the switch to Right Tackle during Lane Johnson’s absence. Mailata has been an absolute stud this season; the Eagles may have found their franchise Left Tackle if/when Lane Johnson returns. Mailata’s story of transitioning from a rugby player to an NFL player is nothing short of incredible.

4.) Penalties

The Eagles still struggled with penalties this game; however, they struggled much less than they had in previous weeks. The Eagles were actually penalized less than the Buccaneers were on Thursday, with only 4 penalties called against them. On a week with not many positive observations, this is certainly one of them.

Negative Observations

1.) Nick Sirianni’s play-calling

Sirianni’s play-calling has not been up to par this season; his reluctance to run the ball is infuriating as a fan to watch. Sanders needs more than 9 rushes per game; it’s aggravating to continue to watch Sirianni refuse to give him the ball. In addition to this, the Eagles seemed to have no creativity or motion during their plays on Thursday. Sirianni can only call so many screen plays & short routes before the opposing defense starts to play up and jump routes. In Week 7, it is disappointing to see him still fall short.

2.) Lack of pressure

For the big names on the Eagles’ defensive line, they certainly aren’t generating enough pressure to justify paying them the contracts that they have. During the majority of this game, Brady had all day to throw. This needs to change if the Eagles anticipate being anything close to competitive during the rest of this season.

3.) The officials

Before I jump into this section, let me preface by saying this: The officials are not why the Eagles lost this game. The Eagles lost this game because they were outcoached and outplayed. With that being said, the officials in Thursday night’s game were awful; blatantly missing seemingly obvious calls. The worst call of all was an interception that was overturned by the officials after further review. The officiating in this game was laughable and quite disappointing.

4.) Jalen Hurts

Let’s face it: Jalen Hurts looked bad this game. He sailed some throws and he short-hopped a few of them. His accuracy and arm talent have been some criticism of his during his young career, and he certainly didn’t do enough to quiet them during Thursday’s game. In addition to only completing 46% of his passes against Tampa Bay, he also threw an interception. Am I ready to give up on Jalen Hurts? No; however, this was not a good game for him.

Standings

The loss on Thursday night resulted in the Eagles dropping to a 2-4 record. The Giants and the Washington Football Team also lost this weekend; however, the Cowboys won an overtime thriller against New England. With the Cowboys sitting at 5-1, this division is theirs to lose; they are looking dangerous this season. The updated NFC East standings are as follows:

1. Dallas Cowboys: 5-1
2. Washington Football Team: 2-4
3. Philadelphia Eagles: 2-4
4. New York Giants: 1-5

Upcoming Game

The Eagles travel to Las Vegas on Sunday to face the 4-2 Raiders. The Raiders have had an interesting season, with losses to the Chargers and the Bears. This is a winnable game for the Eagles; however, the Raiders are a formidable opponent. Derek Carr has had a decent season so far, with similar stats to Jalen Hurts. Ultimately, if the Eagles can get enough pressure on Carr, I believe that they can win this game. This may be hopeful thinking, but I expect the Eagles to come out of next week with a 3-4 record.

Conclusion

The Eagles are certainly having a rough start to the season. With that being said, three of their first six opponents are NFL juggernauts in the Cowboys, Chiefs, and the Bucs. The next 7 games on the Eagles’ schedule are all winnable games, with the lone exception being against the Chargers. This team is still attempting to figure out who they are as a team, as well as Sirianni still trying to figure out who he is as a coach. This team is young, give them a break. Now is certainly not the time to start calling for the Eagles to draft a QB in next year’s NFL draft. To all Eagles fans: relax, let’s see what Hurts can do before clamoring for the Eagles to spend a premium pick on a QB in a bad QB draft class. As always, Go Birds.

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