Eagles Postgame Report: Panthers Nearly Upset Philly As Eagles Keep Win Streak Alive

The Eagles were coming off a huge win over the Ravens, so they decided not to change their path on Sunday against the Panthers.

To do so, they sent an offense out that would only give Saquon one touch per drive then have Hurts run and make poor choices/throws. Shockingly, those drives ended with no points just like they do every single week. Kellen Moore and Nick Sirianni will surely try the same thing next week, however, as they do every week like they are babies who haven’t gained the ability to learn cause and effect.

In this game, that went for a full quarter and the Eagles ultimately punted an embarrassing three times against one of the worst teams there is in the first half. They did manage a touchdown at the very start of the second quarter.

That said, one deep pass had the Panthers on the board with a field goal. They then followed up the Eagles touchdown by allowing Carolina’s second-longest drive of the year. That’s plain unacceptable from a defense that’s played this well.

The Eagles nearly went into the half losing, but a lofted and terrible throw allowed CJGJ to get the pick and the Eagles cashed in with an eventual touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith in the front corner of the end zone.

To open the second half, the Eagles were driving behind Barkley. After four straight runs, however, he pulled himself from the game. The gameplan didn’t change and, surprisingly, Kenny Gainwell couldn’t move the chains running up the middle. That lead to a fourth down and a 52-yard field goal attempt that Jake Elliott was nowhere close to making.

With a short field, the Panthers moved the ball. Luck wasn’t on the Eagles side as the Panthers went for it on 4th and 2 where Jalen Carter batted the ball immediately. That was an easy stop for the defense but somehow Adam Thielen got the ball and converted on what can only be describes as an absolute BS play. That was followed up by Thomas Booker whiffing on a tackle where he was unimpeded to the runner and the Eagles defense allowed another touchdown (extra points was missed).

The Eagles responded with a Grant Calcaterra touchdown powered by a 35-yard Hurts scramble. Jake Elliott missed the kick, but an offsides on Carolina allowed the Eagles to go for two and convert off a Barkley rush to push their lead to six.

On third and five, the Eagles allowed a nine-yard gain before forcing another third and five. Nakobe Dean allowed Bryce Young to run for an easy first down on that one to allow the Panthers the momentum. They pushed all the way to the Eagles 27-yard line but went for it on fourth and two where they threw an incompletion into Darius Slay’s coverage for a turnover on downs and, quite frankly, a key stop in a close game.

A rushing drive seemed to hit a snag with a loss of eight when the throwing attempt resulted in a near-immediate sack (aside from Hurts running and then sliding backward). A key pass to AJ Brown to convert on 3rd and 13 kept the chains moving. Then Jalen Hurts was too dumb to snap the ball in time and took a delay of game to setup another set of downs behind the sticks, so on third and 13, he threw a five yard pass. That allowed them to take another delay of game so they could punt because Jake Elliott has been trash and they are unwilling to trust him from these long ranges.

Avonte Maddox downed the ball at the two-yard line and the Panthers were just six points down with 2:58 and no timeouts. On third down, Josh Sweat was in position to record the safety but he whiffed and instead allowed a 31-yard completion instead to give the Panthers life. They forced a fourth and seven, but the defense gave up a quick 13 yards pass into McCollum’s coverage to keep Carolina alive. A near touchdown was averted by a drop to bring up a fourth and four. Delay of game on the Panthers made it fourth and nine and the Eagles got pressure but allowed Young to escape and throw incomplete. The stadium hung on a flag, that turned out to be a personal foul on the Panthers so Darius Slay’s PBU stood to seal the game.

The Eagles win their ninth straight and advance to 11-2 on the season. They will head out to Pittsburgh next Sunday looking to keep themselves in the race for the #1 seed and a playoff bye.

Offensive MVP: Saquon Barkley

There really isn’t too much other choice in this one. Jalen Hurts was so poor today he recorded only 100 passing yards, so it’s not like anyone other than a running back really even got a shot to make an impact on this game. Barkley even had a poor game by his own standards, well below his average at 124 yards. He had a two-point conversion and broke LeSean McCoy’s franchise record for most rushing yards in a season in this game. He got just 20 carries against the league’s worst rushing defense.

Defensive MVP: Darius Slay

Slay has had a rough year, at least compared to rookies that are playing at such a high level already in the secondary. Today, he had two fourth-down break ups that changed the course of the day, however. It may have been his best game of the season.

Game Notes

• It’s a wonder the Eagles offense can be this bad every week. There’s no reason anyone in the offensive coaching room making calls should be employed anywhere. It really isn’t hard to figure out that Barkley needs multiple touches per drive. It also isn’t hard to figure out that running Hurts multiple times in every opening drive is a failure and he reads defenses poorly to start every game. Somehow, these coaches can’t figure that out, though, and call for the same exact failed game plan for the first quarter to half of every game. At this point, they are basically stealing money from the Eagles – they should get half of their salaries at best until they actually decide to put together a plan that doesn’t start with the same dumb plays every week.
• For Hurts’ part, it’s very concerning that he continues to just accept these early runs/pull the ball himself. He can’t be much better when it comes to decision making if he’s accepting these unnecessary hits just to punt the ball away week in and week out.
• One of the worst defensive performances of the season for the Eagles today. The Panthers are garbage and the defense made them  look like they were a playoff caliber team on par with the Eagles.
• The holds on Carter (uncalled) were not as bad/egregious/numerous this week, but they are still there. It’s just confusing at this point how the refs know they are watching a DPOTY candidate and never call these things. Just wild stuff at this point.
• If there’s one thing the Eagles need to address offensively in the offseason (other than TE with Goedert being a FA and Jalen Hurts struggles at the start of each game), it’s that they don’t have a second back. The drop off from Barkley to Gainwell is just too steep and the team cannot maintain drives. It would be wise of the Eagles to add a back who’s struggled for a few years (like Miles Sanders) but has shown the ability to be a solid NFL player to be the backup so that they can keep Barkley fresh but don’t have to change their game plans because their backup is so small he can’t run the same route.
• Another bad day for Jake Elliott. His contract seems to become more concerning by the week with how poorly he’s played in close games this year.
• Thomas Booker absolutely whiffed on a play at the goal line where he was unimpeded to the runner. Many fans wanted to see more of him and that play exemplifies why the Eagles probably aren’t trying to get him more snaps – quite possible cost the team at least three points.
• Brutal missed facemask on that “final” Eagles offensive drive. Safety-wise, that’s an egregious miss for the refs.
• Zack Baun had a critical PBU that he won’t get credited for to stop a touchdown when the Eagles jumped offsides and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
• Brutal day for Cooper DeJean and really anyone on Adam Thielen. The veteran wideout torched the Eagles all day with 102 yards and critical conversion constantly. Outside Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers had no offense outside Thielen.

Injury Notes

• CJ Gardner-Johnson left in the first half for a concussion evaluation. Not good for a team already down two safeties. He did return, however. He appeared to be reinjured in the fourth quarter and Avonte Maddox came back in.

Carolina Panthers @ Philadelphia Eagles – December 8, 2024