Eagles survive defensive classic!

Who said that game was boring? I saw plenty of fans (for both teams) complaining about how terrible their teams looked, presumably because this was one of the lowest scoring games in recent memory. Who cares? Both defenses played well and the sudden cold (as low as 20 degrees on the field) unquestionably hampered both offenses. Let's hit a few talking points on a big Monday Night Football victory:

• Starting with a negative comment, just to get it over with. Nick should have had the team punt the ball on that last fourth down. At worst, you get a touchback that drains six or eight seconds off the clock and pushed the Packers back ten yards or so. Failing on that play gave the Packers a meaningful shot at a tying FG (only needed about 30 yards in 27 seconds). Seemed like the call was there to give AJ a chance to be a hero after a remarkably quiet game on his part.

• Bye week magic strikes again. I criticized Nick Sirianni just now, but this game showed his strength as a coach in terms of preparation. The Eagles have never lost a regular season game with more than the normal 6-9 day preparation window; 5-0 in season openers and now 5-0 off the bye. Philly is also 2-1 with extra time off in the postseason, with the LVII defeat the only loss. That's 12-1 if you're keeping score. That's Andy Reid territory.

• Was the offense really that bad? The ten points will excite no one, but Philly's 294 yards actually exceeded the per-game average that Green Bay had allowed before tonight (286.4 YPG). Philly's 4.9 yards per play also exceeded Green Bay's to-date season average of 4.6. Hurts was not spectacular (had a rare turnover and could have had a couple others), but was efficient enough (92.3 rating, 7.81 ANY/A) and looked good as a runner. The Packers are a good third down defense and were pretty healthy on that side of the ball, but Philly's 7-for-16 3rd down conversion rate was a sneaky important stat from the evening. Throw in the conditions (Philly had yet to play in a game with a temp below 50 at kickoff, and the average temp before today was 74) and the fact that the Birds were missing two important OL starters for the majority of the night and I'll take it.

• Holy cow, that defense! Green Bay was held to single digits on the scoreboard for the first time since November 6, 2022. The Packers' 4.0 yards per play from tonight would be the worst in the NFL, if it were a seasonlong figure. This is the first Packers game in which they scored less than 10 points, had 4 or less YPP and two or more turnovers since 2019. Previously unsung (or unavailable) pass rushers Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith Nakobe Dean and Jaelen Philips combined for three sacks, two additional TFLs and six QB hits (not to mention forcing and recovering two critical fumbles). There is a lot of youth, inexperience and new faces on this group and that has shown at times, but not tonight, and for that reason the best is still to come for this side.

• Skill player report. AJ Brown notched 13 yards on two catches with three targets. I'm sure that wasn't deliberate but one wondered what the deal was. I'm grateful they didn't try to force feed the ball to him (except on that last play). We did see excellent effort on AJ's part on the big Barkley pass play; once he saw what was happening he hustled hard to block. To be clear, I don't actually think this meant anything and I do think the offense was better than the media will be portraying, but unfortunately we're in for another week of AJ Brown stories. Devonta, on the other hand, had a great day with a daggerlike score to put the game in Philly's hands. Barkley racked up 101 yards from scrimmage and his backup Shipley added 34 more. Dallas Goedert was huge early for the team.

• Let's talk about the special teams. The ST has been more ordinary than special so far this year, but it's worth pointing out that Jake Elliott's FG kick was not a guarantee (he was coming in cold, figuratively and literally). Braden Mann averaged a net of 43.2 yards on his five punts. Philly may have uncovered a return game weapon at last with Xavier Gibson; he had a couple slippery returns to avoid pinning his team deep in their own territory. It was nice to see this group be an asset this week.

• On to Detroit. The Lions likely represent the toughest remaining game on the schedule, and they appear to be rounding into form, so this will be a significant test for the Birds. Philly already has wins over three teams in the playoff picture and has a chance to corner the tiebreaker market with a win on Sunday. Make no mistake, this will not be easy but we've been waiting for this matchup for several years. They should be concerned about us as much as we are concerned with them.

LETS GO BIRDS!