Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
Jalen Hurts’ value is clear after Kenny Pickett takes over in Eagles’ loss to Commanders with postseason seeding in sight – PHLY
Hurts’ value to the Eagles was evident in the absence. The loss on Sunday was not on Kenny Pickett — the No. 2 quarterback was fine, albeit unspectacular — but the Eagles function better and operate smoother with Hurts in charge. Of course, if DeVonta Smith catches an open pass late in the fourth quarter, the story this week is how Pickett helped rally the Eagles to a gritty victory. Instead, the team is lamenting how they could somehow lose a game in which they forced five turnovers and scored more than 30 points. They’re the first team since 2010 to do that. There were reasons to go around — C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s ejection disrupted the defense and left them exposed in the middle of the field; special teams couldn’t kick touchbacks and gave Washington short fields; the offense too often settled for field goals and Smith had a costly drop. Coach Nick Sirianni cited a “sloppy” performance. But the focus is always on the quarterback, and the Eagles were on their way to a two-touchdown lead when Hurts was injured and they scored one touchdown during the remainder of the game. (Pickett finished Hurts’ second drive by passing for a touchdown.) “He’s our starting quarterback — everything we do and what he’s able to do is why we’ve been super successful,” said running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns. “At the end of the day, Kenny came in and did a really good job. We just didn’t get the job done. One play here, one play there, that’s football — it’s a different conversation. Yes, losing Jalen really hurt us.”
Eagles vs. Commanders: The good, the bad, and the ugly – BGN
Kenny Pickett starting well after Hurts left the game with a concussion, going 3-for-3 for 20 yards. He hit A.J. Brown for 11 yards on his first play on a third-and-7 at the Washington 21. Pickett hit Brown for a four-yard TD pass to go up 14-0. With Pickett in, however, Dan Quinn and the Washington brain trust opted to change direction and instead of a man defense, they moved to more of a zone look. On fourth-and-seven at midfield, Pickett still came through by connecting with Brown for 15 yards with just under six minutes to play. Pickett is not Jalen Hurts. But he did place the Eagles in a position to win the game.
Roob’s Observations: Eagles drop heartbreaker to Commanders – NBCSP
2. Pickett wasn’t perfect at all, but dang-it, he gave the Eagles a chance to win, and if it weren’t for late drops by Saquon Barkley in the right flat on one field goal drive and DeVonta Smith over the middle on the next, the Eagles would have won the game and they’d still be riding that winning streak. Pickett had a nice TD pass to A.J. Brown on his first drive and he also had that 45-yarder to Brown on a non-scoring drive, picked up 67 yards on three Marshon Lattimore DPIs on A.J. Brown and converted two gutsy 4th-down passes on a 4th-quarter field goal drive. The interception deep in Eagles territory was terrible and led directly to Washington’s first touchdown, and his fumble deep in Washington territory could have been disastrous. Fortunately, Lane Johnson recovered. But Pickett put 26 points up on the scoreboard in his first playing time in a year and his first game as an Eagle against the NFL’s No. 4 pass defense, and if not for those two drops he wins the game. Most likely, Pickett will start against the Cowboys Sunday, although it’s not unheard of for someone to clear the protocol in a week. If he plays like this against the Cowboys Sunday, he’ll give the Eagles a shot.
Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Commanders game – PhillyVoice
6) The ‘Bottled Up’ Award: Saquon Barkley In the first quarter, Barkley exploded for 7 carries for 109 yards and 2 TDs. The rest of the way he had 22 carries for 41 yards. The Commanders packed the box and dared Kenny Pickett to beat them through the air. But also, Barkley didn’t have the advantage of the threat of Hurts keeping the ball on zone reads and helping occupy other defenders. Ultimately, the Commanders did a good job slowing Barkley down for the final three quarters, which gave them opportunities to get back into the game.
Eagles Blow It – Iggles Blitz
Washington adjusted their defense and severly limited the run game. Saquon Barkley ran for 109 yards in the first quarter and finished with 150 yards. Not ideal. The defense dared Kenny Pickett to beat them. He couldn’t. To be fair, he did make a good throw to DeVonta Smith late in the game that might have sealed the win, but Smith dropped it. Just flat out dropped it. Ugh. Pickett led the Eagles to 12 points in the final three quarters. Not good enough. This loss isn’t on him, though. This was a sloppy performance by the whole team. The OL didn’t have their best showing. Saquon Barkley dropped a key pass. Smith had his drop. The defense had several chances for big stops and couldn’t get them. Quinyon Mitchell gave up his first TD. CJGJ got ejected. Jake Elliott came up short on a long FG. The kickoff coverage was a mess all game long. Sydney Brown was offside on the final KO of the game, giving WAS five free yards at a time when you just couldn’t do that.
NFL Week 16 Review: Who Will Win the NFC? – Sumer Sports
Perhaps more surprising than an offense sputtering with a backup quarterback was how Washington was able to score against Philadelphia’s usually dominant defense. Vic Fangio’s unit started strong with a fourth down stop on the Commanders’ first drive, a Jalen Carter forced fumble to start the second drive, and a three-and out to close the third drive. A Frankie Luvu interception led to a short field touchdown, and Washington was able to start multiple drives with strong field position because of Washington’s kick return unit. The Commanders also had a 96-yard drive where Jayden Daniels challenged both Eagles cornerbacks on vertical routes. In total, Washington turned the ball over five times but had enough chances to get the last-second win. Aside from succeeding against the blitz and on down the field throws, Washington was also productive on late downs. The Commanders were a combined 9/16 on 3rd and 4th downs as they produced an 81st percentile EPA/play on those plays. The Eagles shut down Washington’s run game, but Daniels’s play extension was crucial down the stretch. Philadelphia also lost C.J. Gardner-Johnson to an ejection and Jordan Davis to an injury in this game while Nakobe Dean and Josh Sweat spent some time in the injury tent.
NFL playoffs: Biggest weakness for seven Super Bowl contenders – ESPN+
Each of the second half drives included a negative play. The first got inside the 10-yard line, but backup Kenny Pickett took a sack on a third-and-3 play where he looked to throw the football, with the Eagles settling for a field goal. Pickett was sacked on the first and last plays of the next drive, which went into the red zone and yielded another three points. A Barkley run lost 4 on the next drive, which put the Eagles behind schedule and produced a near-turnover and a punt. The fourth drive stalled out after a Pickett sack, producing another Jake Elliott field goal. And after a Daniels interception gave Philadelphia a chance to seal the victory, the first snap of the next drive saw Barkley lose 3 yards. The Eagles again got behind the sticks, and after Smith dropped a third-and-5 slant that would have all but closed out the game, Elliott’s fourth field goal of the half gave them a five-point lead. Then, 112 seconds later, it was gone. The Eagles forced five turnovers and recovered the first four fumbles in the game (before the Commanders fell on a lateral on the “pitchy pitchy woo woo” attempt that ended it), so this should have been a comfortable Philly victory, even without Hurts for most of the game. There’s blame to go around for Pickett, the defense and the coaching staff, but I’d also be concerned about how Philadelphia seems to need those big plays to thrive on offense.
Saquon Barkley needs 268 yards in final two games to break NFL single-season record – PFT
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is two good games away from breaking the NFL record for rushing yards in a season. After Sunday’s game in Washington, Barkley has 1,838 rushing yards this season. Eric Dickerson set the NFL record of 2,105 rushing yards in 1984, so Barkley needs to total 268 rushing yards in the Eagles’ final two games to break the record. Barkley can definitely do it, given that the Eagles’ final two opponents, the Cowboys and Giants, have two of the worst run defenses in the NFL.
NFL Week 16 Recap: Washington Commanders 36, Philadelphia Eagles 33 – PFF
Jordan Mailata continued his All-Pro season with another clean slate at Washington. The Eagles star didn’t allow a single pressure on 40 pass-blocking snaps. Mailata also posted a stellar 89.9 run-blocking grade.
Winners and Losers of NFL Week 16 – The Ringer
As good as Daniels was in the clutch, it’s hard to shake the feeling the Eagles gave this game away—even if Jalen Hurts missed most of it after suffering a concussion in the first quarter. Since 2000, NFL teams have a .952 winning percentage when forcing at least five turnovers in a game. The Eagles became the 27th team to pull off a rare loss—just weeks after the Texans joined the list after intercepting Jared Goff five times in a Week 10 loss. Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett committed two turnovers to keep Washington in the game, but it was ultimately Philadelphia’s stars who let this game, quite literally, slip through their fingers. Smith’s drop will get the most attention, but A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley also had key drops in the second half that may have changed the game’s result.
Spadaro: 6 takeaways as Eagles’ win streak comes to an end in 36-33 loss to Commanders – PE.com
1. Offense unable to close the game out. A Reed Blankenship interception off a tipped pass by cornerback Darius “Big Play” Slay on a throw intended for wide receiver Luke McCaffrey with 3 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter set the Eagles up with a chance to end the game. A first down there would have likely been the end of the end of the game. A third-down throw from quarterback Kenny Pickett, in for Jalen Hurts who suffered a concussion in the first quarter, to an open DeVonta Smith was on the mark, but Smith couldn’t bring the pass in and instead of the clock ticking away, the Eagles settled for a Jake Elliott field goal and a 33-28 lead. Washington had one final possession and quarterback Jayden Daniels made the Eagles pay. Daniels completed all four of his passes for 35 yards, including the game-winner to wide receiver Jamison Crowder. “We wouldn’t be in the position in that game without (Smith), to begin with. He’s an unbelievable player. He knows that we’re going to throw him the football, A.J. (Brown) too, no matter what. There’s not an ounce of confidence lost at six (Smith),” Pickett said after the game.
Buy/sell on 19 NFL teams still in playoff hunt: Which contenders are legit? Who’s suspect? – NFL.com
The Eagles have been rolling so much over the past two months that it was hard to anticipate their 36-33 loss to Washington on Sunday. The biggest problem Philadelphia seemed to be dealing with was how to properly spin the drama that erupted between wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts a couple weeks ago. But sometimes things don’t go your way in this league, which is what happened to Philly against the Commanders. Once Hurts was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the first quarter, you knew the Commanders had to be giddy about the possibility for an upset. That loss also shouldn’t be seen as a troubling sign for Philadelphia. The offense still has an MVP candidate in Saquon Barkley, a sturdy offensive line, dynamic receivers and a quarterback in Hurts who can win with his arm and his legs. The defense gave up 36 points, but it also forced five turnovers. Jayden Daniels can overcome those types of problems with his brilliance. The Eagles are still a safe bet to make a run at the Super Bowl, and they might be fortunate enough to land the top seed in the NFC if Detroit or Minnesota falters.
Commanders Vs. Eagles (Game Two) – Studs and Duds – Hogs Haven
Jayden Daniels – Jayden had an amazing game, throwing for 258 yards and a career high five touchdowns on 24-39 passing. He was also Washington’s leading rusher accounting for 81 yards on nine carries. The game-winning drive he engineered to give Washington the win was a thing of beauty.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offers support, but not full endorsement, for Mike McCarthy – Blogging The Boys
You would think that if Jerry seriously wanted McCarthy back that he would offer him a wave of support and declare it now. That is not how Jerry Jones operates, though. Perhaps Jerry is prepared to move on and cannot be swayed by the emotions of any would-be “impressive” victory. Or maybe Jerry just wants the attention that will come from the questions surrounding McCarthy’s status. For now we will continue to wait. With the Cowboys officially not going to the playoffs we know that we are just a couple of weeks away from these decisions having to be made.
NFL playoff picture: What does Bucs-Cowboys mean for NFC standings – SB Nation
Game result: Well that was not good news for the Buccaneers, as their loss dropped them completely out of the playoff picture. They currently sit eighth in the standings and need some help in the last two weeks. The Cowboys knew they were eliminated heading into the game.
New York Giants hold No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft – Big Blue View
The New York Giants currently hold the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The Giants suffered a 34-7 blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16, falling to 2-13 on the season. That was enough to ensure that the Giants would hold on to the second overall pick regardless of what else happened in Week 16. The Giants’ exact position was pending the afternoon game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Giants caught a break as the Raiders beat the Jaguars, 19-14. The Raiders had previously held the top pick thanks to the strength of schedule tiebreaker. That boosted them to 3-12 on the season, leaving the Giants as the sole remaining two-win team.
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