Koobservations: Eagles Dramatically Change Trajectory Of Season With Week 4 Win In Green Bay
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's tell the truth Friday, KoObservation Nation. I'm writing this at 4:13 a.m. in our CBS3 News Truck.
Why you ask? Well, yes, I'm working a morning shift for Eyewitness News.
Also, yes, I did watch the entire Eagles game last night. No, I have not slept since the very early hours of Thursday morning.
I'm over 24 hours without sleep. I'm ready to observe. This could get weird, but I'm honestly a little excited for it.
The Eagles evened up there record and dramatically changed the trajectory of the season with a 34-27 win at Lambeau Field last night.
I thought Green Bay would win. I thought their defense was better -- I was wrong.
But, can we please get one thing straight?
Stop reviewing offensive and defensive pass interference.
Two things here:
- For the second straight week the Eagles had a touchdown negated by offensive pass interference only for it to be overturned upon review. In both cases, an Eagle was inline blocking (at the line of scrimmage) on a pass play that resulted in a pick. This is widely known to be legal. It was flagged twice. It was reviewed twice. Am I repeating myself? Good.
- No one likes referees. OK, great, we get it. You know what's worse? Taking a judgment call that occurs in a split second and then further subjecting it to super-slow motion when the governing body of the sport does not have a consistent answer on what pass inference is. This is the 2019 version of "what is a catch?" except we don't even have a baseline for what constitutes pass interference anymore.
Face guarding is legal? OK, got it. Contact before the ball arrives is not legal? Well, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. The defender has to turn around and play the ball, otherwise they can't contact a receiver? Apparently not, according to several plays last night.
The NFL has given coaches the ability to challenge no-calls. And guess what!? It may surprise you to find those review-based decisions are just as random too. This is anarchy. This is a multi-billion dollar league.
Get it together.
Get games played in under three hours. Some of us have to sleep at some point -- just not me, I have a live shot coming up.
Mason Crosby, Eagles MVP
When the Birds needed a spark in the first half, down 10-0, they turned to the Green Bay kicker. Miles Sanders got things going with a 60-plus yard return that led to points and then Crosby promptly booted a kickoff out of bounds, which gave the Eagles great field position and led to seven for the Birds and gave them a lead they never relinquished.
The Ground Game Endgame
The Eagles run defense is bonkers. Straight up dominant and it's pretty incredible when you consider the amount of injuries the front seven has had to deal with.
The run defense allowed 77 yards on 20 Green Bay carries. If you throw out Aaron Rodgers' rush totals (scrambles), they allowed 31 yards on 15 carries.
They dominated the LOS (line of scrimmage) so severely the Packers refused to run the ball on the goal line on all six plays from inside the five-yard-line in the fourth quarter, including five consecutive plays in which Davante Adams left the game with turf toe.
I don't care that the Packers have Aaron Rodgers. They were afraid to play smashmouth football when it mattered.
Oh, and Green Bay is one of the last teams to routinely use a fullback.
Why use the roster spot if you're not going to run the ball?
To further drive it home, here are the stats for opponents RB1 vs. the Eagles this year.
- Aaron Jones: 13 carries, 21 yards
- Kerryon Johnson: 20 carries, 36 yards
- Davonta Freeman: 11 carries, 22 yards
- Derrius Guice: 10 carries, 18 yards
[insert chef kissing fingers emoji]
The Jordan Howard Game
Well, well, well.. looks like the Birds have a little thunder/lightning action brewing.
Thursday was by far Miles Sanders' most decisive game as a running back in terms of his decision making, but Jordan Howard provided the punch.
The Packers front seven is the anti-Eagles rush defense [insert Swiss cheese joke] with rushing lanes as wide as Troy Aikman's ego to run through.
Sanders and Howard combined for 159 yards on 26 carries (6.11 yards per carry) and showed it's not all on Carson Wentz's right arm to deliver W's.
But, after basically going unused through three weeks, Doug Pederson took the hammer out with Howard between the tackles and ran stretch plays for Sanders. It was good to see an Eagles running back get under his pads and finish runs for a change.
Howard also caught three balls, one for a touchdown, and all of a sudden a beaten up Eagles offense looks multiple and potent heading into Week 5 against the J-E-T-S.
Who needs coffee when you average six yards per carry!?
I'm juiced up just thinking about combo block schemes.
Extra Point: Philly Fans Are the Best
Last week it was the dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania going full drill Sargent.
This week, however, we have reached true fan nirvana.
Meet Rob Dunphy, if you haven't already. This man's torso tapestry is nothing shy of miraculous. His abdominal artwork features a very tasteful chest-wide Eagle landing on a bridge beneath the symbol for the nation's most resilient roadway -- Interstate 95.
And that's hardly the best part.
If you look to the left side of your window, our tour continues with the skyline of Philadelphia (which appears to be outdated. I don't see Comcast 1 or 2. That's an issue. Need to get this updated Rob).
Then, behold. The navel that's sweeping the nation.
Our dear Philly Phanatic "phinishes" this masterpiece by subleasing Rob's belly button for his mouth.
What happens when he wants to stick his tongue out?
I'm too tired to know. All I know is I'm calling this man's upper body the South Philly Sistine. Michelangelo's Final Judgment would be "I'm a hack" when gazing into this man's midsection.
And for that, we love you Rob Dunphy.
Now go get a Gritty tattoo and complete the full set.
Sleep well, enjoy the weekend of stress-free football (unless you're in DFS or Fantasy Football) and get ready for Week 5.
In the words of Carson Wentz, "Huge win."
