"They haven't played anybody," "how many wins were above teams over .500," and "wait until they play a contender." You won't hear any more quotes after the Eagles dominated the Ravens in what could have been a Super Bowl preview. Despite it being a five-point game, it was not close. Baltimore went up 9-0 in the first quarter, not surprising considering the Eagles have the least points scored in the first quarter this season. After that, the Eagles went on to outscore the Ravens 24-3 before giving up a garbage-time touchdown with three seconds left. The Birds are 10-2 or better for the third season in a row, the first time the team has done that in its history. Besides Nick Sirianni, only seven other coaches have done this: Sean Payton, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Mike Shanahan, Mike Ditka, John Madden, and Curly Lambeau.
Defense Wins Championships
The Eagles defense is officially elite. During this eight-game streak, they give up the fewest PPG in the league at 13.4. They lead the NFL in yards per game allowed at 241, passing yards per game at 148.5, 15 Forced Fumbles, and 30 Sacks. They held Derrick Henry to just 82 yards and 4.3 YPC, his third-lowest YPC in any game this season. He averages 108 rushing yards per game, so to hold him under 90 is a testament to how good the Eagles' run defense is. Lamar Jackson rushed for 79 yards, but 39 of them came in one attempt during the Ravens' final drive of the game in garbage time, so we took those 79 yards with a grain of salt.
It wouldn't be right to talk about his defense without highlighting some players. One guy I probably haven't mentioned enough this season is Zach Baun, who has been one of the top linebackers in the league this season, playing as good as star LBs like Fred Warner. That's not biased praise either; there are numbers to back that claim. He has the most efensive stops in the NFL with 52, no other player has more than 45. He officially became the top-rated LB in the league this past week, passing Warner.
Jalen Carter has quietly been a top interior defensive lineman this season. He had eight pressures, seven hurries, three of the team's five TFLs, two QB hits, and a sack. He's not the only DT showing out, Milton Williams has been a problem this year, having a 14.8% pressure rate, the highest of any DT that has played 150+ snaps. Not only is this defense elite, but they're so young, the future of this Eagles defense is so bright, the rest of the NFL should be terrified.
Saquon for MVP
Saquon Barkley just became the first running back this season to rush for 100+ yards against the Ravens. Against the top run defense in the league, he went for 107 yards on 23 carries and ran in a 25-yard touchdown for his only score of the game. He has the second-highest odds of winning the MVP award behind Josh Allen. Barkley has extended his lead for most rushing yards against Derrick Henry, now having 92 more yards than him. The two are still the only two running backs to have over 1,000 rushing yards and have over 1,400 each. Saquon is one yard away from 1,500 through 12 games, his first time ever rushing for 1,400+ yards. He also is averaging the most yards per carry in his career at 6.1 and tied his career high for rushing touchdowns at 11.
Saquon has 1,766 total yards, an average of 147 per game. He has 13 total touchdowns, the second most of any season in his career, the most being his rookie season when he had 15. With five regular-season games left, he should be able to break his career high. He's rushed for over 100 yards in six of his last seven games and would have to average 100.2 yards per game for the rest of the season to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards. He must average 121.2 to break the all-time record of 2,105.
Can Anyone Stop Philly?
This team looks nearly unstoppable with their stubborn defense combined with the firepower they have offensively. They're on an eight-game win streak, which is the second longest active win streak in the NFL behind the Lions, who have won 10 straight. ironically enough, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the last team to beat the Eagles and Lions. With a win over Carolina the Birds can tie their longest win streak in Franchise history, they've won nine straight in three season before and won the Super Bowl or NFL Championship in two of the three seasons it was accomplished.
Looking at the rest of the season, Philadelphia could win out the rest and end up with the one seed in the NFC. They play the Panthers, which should be an easy win. They face the 9-3 Steelers at home, travel to Washington to play the Commanders, who they already beat quite comfortably this season, and then welcome the Giants and Cowboys to the Linc to close out the season, two games that should also be wins. The current one seed in the NFC, the Lions, are only one game ahead of Philadelphia and face the Packers in Detroit this week; the AFC two-seed Bills in Detroit, then go on the road against the Bears and Niners, should be two wins, and end the season back home against the 10-2 Vikings. It'll be a close race for the one seed to end the season.
Final Score: Eagles 24, Ravens 19
Dixon's Three Stars
1st Star- Zach Baun (13 Tackles, 0.5 Sacks, 1 TFL, 1 FF)
2nd Star- Saquon Barkley (23 Carries, 107 Yards, 1 Touchdown)
3rd Star- Quinyon Mitchell (4 Targets, 2 Receptions Allowed, 5 Yards, 2 Forced Incompletions, 0 Touchdowns)
Main Image via
Comments