PHILADELPHIA — From a weather perspective, it was a picture-perfect day in South Philadelphia, as temperatures lurked in the mid-70s throughout the Eagles’ afternoon matchup with the Denver Broncos. On the field, however, things didn’t exactly fall in the Eagles’ favor, as they fell to the visiting Broncos, 21-17.
GETTY IMAGES: The Philadelphia Eagles’ hail mary attempt comes up short, giving the team their first lost of the season to the Denver Broncos by a score of 21-17.
Down 17-10 in the fourth quarter, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix led a six-play, 72-yard scoring march that covered 7:36, culminating in an 11-yard connection over the middle to tight end Evan Engram. Rather than knot the score with an extra point, however, Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton elected to attempt a two-point conversion, which proved successful as Nix hit wide receiver Troy Franklin with a wide through inside the right pylon to put them ahead 18-17. Franklin created enough room to comfortably pull away from cornerback Kelee Ringo.
A Wil Lutz 36-yard field goal with 1:11 left to play created the breathing room necessary.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 21 of 33 pass attempts for 249 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Saquon Barkley carried the ball six times for 30 yards. On the receiving side, wide receiver DeVonta Smith led the charge, reeling in eight receptions for 114 yards.
Inactive for the Eagles were QB Sam Howell (3rd QB), CB Mac McWilliams, C/G Drew Kendall and WR Xavier Gipson. Fourth-year edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, inactive the first four games, made his Eagles debut.
For the second consecutive week, there were no practice squad elevations for the Eagles. The same applies for the Broncos, though the team signed LB Garrett Wallow to the active roster from the practice squad.
Let’s get to the observations.
*The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, bringing on the Broncos’ offense to start. After limiting RB J.K. Dobbins to six yards on two carries, Nix attempted a deep shot down the right sideline to WR Courtland Sutton on a third-and-four. The pass was incomplete, with CB Quinyon Mitchell — the Week 4 NFC Defensive Player of the Week — squeezing Sutton toward the sideline and providing blanket coverage. It offered a glimpse into Payton’s aggressiveness. Mitchell has been outstanding, but it hasn’t precluded teams from shying away from testing him in coverage.
*Bad encroachment penalty on a first quarter fourth-and-two from DT Jalen Carter, affording the Broncos a free conversion that they ultimately parlayed into a 55-yard Lutz field goal. The Eagles, who were tagged with 8 penalties for 83 yards in Week 4 against the Buccaneers, have fallen victim to far too many mental lapses.
*Predictable, but smart offensive game-planning from Kevin Patullo and company in getting wide receivers A.J. Brown and Smith involved early. For perspective, the Eagles’ dynamic duo was targeted nine times in the first half, reeling in eight receptions for 110 yards, which accounted for all but 60 of the Eagles’ total yardage in the first half. The backbreaker occurred late in the second frame, when Hurts dialed up a deep shot to Smith, who had steps on Broncos CB Riley Moss, for a 52-yard hookup. Incorporating both wide receivers added rhythm and balance and loosened up an aggressive defense. While it has appeared laboring at times getting the football to its playmakers, Sunday afternoon may have unlocked the passing game.
*Thought Hurts was efficient to start — including the 47-yard wheel route touchdown to Barkley and the 52-yard completion to Smith — sans the early miss to Dallas Goedert, but had some throws later in the game he’d likely want back, including a deep attempt to Brown that fell incomplete, despite Brown uncovering. Not sure if Hurts just missed or if Brown stopped running, but it was a missed opportunity. Early on, though, Hurts was decisive and on-time, keeping the offense on schedule. Bold decision for the Eagles to move away from their foundational philosophy and abandon the running game in exchange for a pass-happy approach. For perspective, Hurts dropped back over 30 times while Barkley carried the ball just six times.
*When the Eagles acquired RB Tank Bigsby a few weeks ago, it was widely expected the second-year pro would provide an immediate jolt to the kick return game. But the early returns have been rather uninspiring, whether Bigsby struggled to field Joshua Karty’s knuckleball kicks against the Rams or appeared indecisive on returns. Against the Broncos, on the first return, there seemed to be poor communication between Bigsby and fellow RB Will Shipley, as both players ran to the same spot to field the kick. Bigsby ultimately took it out, but managed only 18 yards. With Ringo starting at CB, the gunners this week were Sydney Brown and Bigsby, who replaced the inactive McWilliams.
*When the season opened, Shipley was the clear-cut No. 2 back behind Barkley. Shipley, who sustained an oblique injury in the opener, missed the next two weeks against the Chiefs and Rams, respectively. But upon returning last week in Tampa, Shipley logged just three snaps, taking a backseat to A.J. Dillon. Perhaps that could have been interpreted as Shipley working his way back, but Dillon was again first up in relief of Barkley. That should change, as Shipley brings a different dimension to the offense, but for now, it appears Dillon is the No. 2.
*Signed to a one-year deal in free agency, fourth-year pass rusher Ojulari waited five weeks to play in his first game as an Eagle. The 25-year-old, inactive due to his lack of third phase value on game day, was pressed into service due to a numbers shortage at edge rusher. Ojulari made good on his opportunity, collecting a quarterback hit and a tackle for loss. Ojulari brought some juice and he’ll get an extended look in the coming weeks.
*To put the Eagles’ defensive performance into perspective, the Broncos managed only three points at halftime, the fewest number of points they’ve accumulated in a first half this season.
*The Eagles lost left guard Landon Dickerson (ankle) and tight end Grant Calcaterra (oblique) early in this one, thrusting veterans Brett Toth and Kylen Granson at left guard and tight end, respectively. I’ll need to give it another watch, but upon initial view, it appeared Toth largely held his own, aside from the fourth quarter holding penalty. This also happens to be the most recent injury sustained this season by Dickerson, who suffered two separate injuries earlier this season, so it certainly bears watching. It takes a lot for Dickerson to be ruled out.
*Not much improvement in the penalty department this week, as the Eagles were tagged with nine for 56 yards. Comparatively, the Broncos rolled up 10 for 96 yards.
*To my eye, it seemed Nix, for much of the game, was skittish and indecisive in the pocket. The happy feet were evident, hindering his ability to plant and drive the football. While the Eagles generated interior pressure, I was surprised Nix didn’t move around as much as typically does, carrying only three times for 22 yards.
*It’s easy to spot Ringo’s growing comfortability playing cornerback with each rep. Ringo, who surprisingly wasn’t tested all that much in Tampa, brought good energy and tackled better than he did the previous week and provided physical coverage. There was one instance, when Nix attempted a deep shot down the right sideline to wide receiver Marvin Mims with 21 seconds remaining until the break, where it (initially) appeared Ringo committed an egregious gaffe in coverage. There was a flag thrown, but it was subsequently picked up. The Eagles dodged a bullet. This feels like a situation where Ringo, starting in place of a healthy Adoree’ Jackson, is performing well enough to hold onto the job.
— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com
