Tag: 2022 Philadelphia Eagles

Commanders and Chiefs defeated the Eagles with Hurts in 2022 season

Only two teams defeated the Eagles with Jalen Hurts under center this season: the Chiefs and Commanders.

Al Galdi’s tweet immediately upon completion of Super Bowl LVII caught my eye and brought a chuckle.

It was truthful. The Eagles, with starting quarterback Jalen Hurts were nearly unbeatable all season. With Hurts in the lineup, the Eagles had gone through the regular season losing only one game.

Indeed, it was the Commanders on a Monday Night Football game in Philadelphia who handed the Eagles their lone loss with Hurts in the 2022 regular season, as Washington defeated the Eagles 32-21.

Super Bowl LVII saw the Eagles drive down in the fourth quarter to score, narrowing the Chiefs lead to 35-33. Jalen Hurts rolled left and used his greatly underrated leg strength to get into the end zone, tying the game at 35-35 in the final quarter.

It was then a holding call that allowed the Chiefs to keep the ball nearly two more minutes, running down the clock, providing the Chiefs the Super Bowl championship, and yes, tongue in cheek, only the second victory over the Eagles with Hurts as quarterback this season.

Oh, simply attempting to have some fun from a Commanders’ perspective that the Eagles, an NFC East rival, has fallen 38-35 in a great Super Bowl. The Eagles competed fiercely and represented the NFC East admirably.

For the Eagles, it was their third franchise loss in the Super Bowl, having fallen to the Patriots 24-24 in SB XXIX (39) and the Oakland Raiders 27-10 in SB XV (15).

The Eagles were going for their second Super Bowl title, having defeated the New England Patriots, 41-33 in SB LII.

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Where are the Commanders in the NFC East right now?

A look at where the Commanders stand in the NFC East compared to their rivals.

Three weeks of playoffs have passed us, so where are the Washington Commanders thus far in this offseason?

The Commanders have publicly announced that they have interviewed Pat Shurmur, Ken Zampese, Charles London, Eric Studesville and Thomas Brown to fill the offensive coordinator position.

Eric Bieniemy is now said to be a target. Is Bienemy really that unhappy in Kansas City, that he would choose to leave Andy Reid for Ron Rivera? Would he actually rather work with Sam Howell than Patrick Mahomes?

Why on earth would Bieniemy consider a lateral move, working for a team that hasn’t had a winning record since the 2015 and 2016 seasons? Meanwhile, in those same eight NFL seasons, the Chiefs have won 11, 12, 10, 12, 12, 14, 12 and 14 games in regular seasons.

What are we missing here? What is not being said?

Are we simply to believe Bieniemy would make a lateral move to a young Sam Howell who has attempted a whopping 19 passes in his NFL career? He would actually make a lateral move away from Mahomes, who, since being the starter in Kansas City, has passed for 5,097, 4,031, 4,740, 4,839 and 5,250 yards.

Howell, with those 19 passing attempts, is the only quarterback on the roster for 2023. Consequently, the new offensive coordinator is by necessity going to be someone who has no guarantees about the ownership for the 2023 season, if Ron Rivera will be around for the 2024 season, or if he himself will be around past the 2023 season.

Meanwhile, in the NFC East, the Eagles have, in the last three seasons, drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round, traded Carson Wentz, moved on from a Super Bowl-winning coach, hired a first-time NFL head coach, and are back in the Super Bowl for the second time in only six seasons.

The New York Giants, in their previous five seasons, had lost 13, 11, 12, 10 and 13 regular season games. Enter Brian Daboll. Daboll, in his first season, managed to change the culture of the losing Giants and instantly improve them to move ahead of the Commanders and win a playoff game over the Vikings in Minnesota.

The Cowboys? Dallas won 8 and 6 games in the two seasons prior to head coach Mike McCarthy’s arrival. Since McCarthy took over the reins, Dallas has won 12 games in both 2021 and 2022, won a road playoff game, and gave the 49ers all they wanted in San Francisco in the divisional round. Meanwhile, the TV and Twitter pundits are repeatedly telling you what an idiot McCarthy is.

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NFC East unimpressive in Week 15

It wasn’t the best week for the NFC East in Week 15.

All season the NFC East has shone brightly above the other seven divisions.

Until Week 15. Last Sunday, the Giants and Commanders played a hard-fought, competitive game. However each team further revealed they are limited offensively, they are going to battle for a playoff spot, but both teams look like they will be overmatched in a playoff game.

The Eagles won a battle defeating the Bears in Chicago, but might they have lost the war to come later in the playoffs with quarterback Jalen Hurts injuring his shoulder?

Dallas is fighting the Eagles for the NFC East title and managed to somehow lose to the Jaguars in overtime?

The Eagles now travel to face the Cowboys on Christmas Eve at AT&T stadium, and it looks like Hurts will not start for the Eagles Saturday. X-Rays were negative on the Hurts shoulder, but it cannot be overlooked; this is his throwing shoulder.

Suddenly, the Eagles may be led by Gardner Minshew in the next few weeks. How significant of a drop-off will occur in the Eagles’ offense? If the Eagles win one of their final three games, they will be the NFC overall top seed in the playoffs.

Dallas’ Micah Parsons last week was talking down Hurts, and the Dallas defense Sunday revealed they indeed were thinking about the Eagles and not entirely prepared for the Jaguars. Consequently, the Cowboys blew a 17-point lead, and Dak Prescott threw two huge picks, and the game was lost to the Jags.

Dallas has been the most impressive team in the NFL, crushing the Vikings in Minnesota. But the other side of the coin is just as true: Prescott since returning from his injury has the most interceptions in the NFL (10). Additionally, he has the most interceptions in the last four weeks (7).

Suddenly, has the NFC East fallen back to the rest of the pack?

NFC East makes another strong statement

It was another statement week from the NFC East.

Not only did the Commanders and Giants play such a tight game it ended in a 20-20 tie, but the Cowboys again provided the week’s most dominant performance, and the Eagles put a whoopin’ on the Titans.

After Week 13 games, the NFC East record is now 34-13-2. By contrast, the closest division to this success in 2022 has been the AFC East whose overall record is now 30-18.

Eagles 11-1

Cowboys 9-3

Giants 7-4-1

Commanders 7-5-1

The tie in New York meant that on the same day when Seattle won at Los Angeles, both the Commanders and Giants could have done much worse with a loss. The Giants could have fallen into a tie with the Seahawks at 7-5. The Commanders could have fallen to 7-6, a full game behind the Seahawks. So both the Commanders and Giants remained very much alive in pursuit of the playoffs.

Ok, yes, the Cowboys roughed up the Colts who entered the game 4-7-1. However, the Eagles really took care of business destroying a Titans team that came into the game 7-4. No one compares the Titans to teams like the Colts this season.

Dallas was in a tough, tightly contested game in the second half, leading only 21-19, when suddenly it was like they literally turned on the switch. “Ok, let’s get serious now.”  What followed were five yes, five fourth-quarter Cowboys touchdowns, resulting in a 54-19 massacre of the Colts.

Both the Eagles and Cowboys have shown they can defeat good teams; yet, in the last three weeks, the Cowboys have shown they can destroy NFL teams. One of those teams was the Vikings 40-3 in Minnesota. Keep in mind the Vikings are 10-2 this season. Did I forget to mention their two losses were convincing losses to the Eagles and the Cowboys?

Barring a major injury, don’t be surprised to find the Cowboys and Eagles continuing to play the best football throughout the end of this regular season.

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NFC East keeps rolling, goes 3-1 in Week 12

Yet another banner week for the NFC East.

The NFC East continues to outperform all expectations, again going 3-1 in Week 12.

The Giants were the only divisional team to lose, falling 28-20 to the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving.

The Eagles outscored the Packers 40-33 and the Commanders survived the Falcons 19-13.

  • Eagles 10-1
  • Cowboys 8-3
  • Giants 7-4
  • Commanders 7-5

If the season had ended after Week 12, it would mark the first time in NFL history that all four teams in a division qualified for the playoffs. But of course, it is also just as true that this is only the third season where seven teams from each conference will qualify and participate in the playoffs.

NFC East goes 3-1 in Week 11

It was yet another strong week for the NFC East.

The NFC East (29-12) continued its run of having the best record of the divisions in the NFL, winning three of four in Week 11.

The AFC East (26-14) also has each of its teams with a winning record. However, with the Eagles being two games better than the Dolphins and Bills, the NFC East still holds the edge.

Dallas was super impressive going to Minnesota and kicking the Vikings 40-3. It was hands down the most impressive victory by an NFL team thus far in 2022.

The Eagles scored late to escape Indianapolis with a 17-16 win, while Washington went to Houston and shut down the Texans 23-10.

However, the Giants were disappointing, losing at home to the Lions 31-18.

  • Eagles 9-1
  • Cowboys 7-3
  • Giants 7-3
  • Commanders 6-5

NFC East continues to have best record in NFL

It was another banner week for the NFC East, led by the Commanders’ upset over the Eagles.

The NFC East has each team at .500 or better. Incidentally, in the AFC East, each team has a winning record. However, seeing both Philadelphia and New York have better records than all AFC East teams, the NFC East still has the best overall record through Week 10.

Dallas led Green Bay at Lambeau 28-14 in the second half, but the Cowboys were outscored 17-0 down the stretch, falling to the Packers 31-28.

Washington went up to Philly and surprised the undefeated Eagles 32-21, while the Giants took over second place in the division with their 24-16 win over the Texans.

  • Eagles 8-1
  • Giants 7-2
  • Cowboys 6-3
  • Commanders 5-5

 

NFC East goes 1-1 in Week 9

The Giants and Cowboys were off in Week 9.

With the NFL schedule having the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys both off for Week 9, the NFC East looked as if it was going to be 2-0.

The Eagles had already defeated the Texans 29-17 Thursday Night in Houston to remain the NFL’s only defeated team at 8-0.

The Commanders had the Vikings on the ropes and struggling to stay alive. Washington led 17-7 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings suddenly rallied, outscoring the Commanders 13-0 in the final quarter for the 20-17 win.

  • Eagles 8-0
  • Cowboys 6-2
  • Giants 6-2
  • Commanders 4-5

The Eagles’ victory means Philadelphia is 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. Jalen Hurts has the longest winning streak for an NFL starter, dating back to his final three games of 2021, for an 11-game total currently.

Hurts was pretty much flawless against the Texans, completing 21 of his 27 attempts for 243 yards, and two touchdowns.

Javon Hargrave was a beast against the Texans. Hargrave contributed seven tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. He was clearly the dominant force on the line of scrimmage, Thursday.

The Commanders have to be kicking themselves for leading 17-7 early in the final quarter before being outscored 13-0 in the final frame. Taylor Heinicke had his typical game–inconsistent. Heinicke passed for 149 yards, though completing only 15 of 28 attempts. He only managed to produce 5.3 yards per attempt.

Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen had good games inside for the Commanders. Payne collected four solo tackles, four tackles for a loss, one sack and two QB hits. Allen contributed two tackles for a loss and four QB hits.

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NFC East goes 3-1 in Week 8

It was another banner week for the NFC East.

The NFC East continues to shine, winning three of four games in NFL Week 8.

The Eagles remained undefeated rolling the Steelers, the Cowboys owned the Bears, the Commanders came from behind late in Indianapolis to win, and the Giants lost on the road to NFC West leader Seattle.

  • Eagles 7-0
  • Cowboys 6-2
  • Giants 6-2
  • Commanders 4-4

NFC East goes 3-0 in Week 7

Another stellar week for the NFC East. The best division in the NFL?

Is there any doubt the NFC East is the NFL’s best division seven weeks through this season?

The Commanders topped the Packers, the Giants won in Jacksonville, and the Cowboys easily defeated the Lions. Only the Eagles did not win, but that was because they were scheduled for their bye week.

  • Eagles 6-0
  • Giants 6-1
  • Cowboys 5-2
  • Commanders 3-4