Eagles Stock Market: 2023 Begins with a Dud

PHILADELPHIA - In the irony of all ironies, the Eagles will still need a win in Week 18 (or a Dallas loss at Washington) when they host the New York Giants to clinch the NFC East and the No. 1 seed in the conference.

The Giants, meanwhile, can sit back and relax if they see fit after clinching a playoff berth by blowing out Indianapolis on Sunday. New York can't move out of the No. 6 seed no matter what so the decision to rest or at least drastically limit players like Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley is a logical path.

On the field, Philadelphia fell to 0-2 without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and 13-3 on the season, losing 20-10 in easily the worst performance of the season for Nick Sirianni's team.

Backup Gardner Minshew was hurried into oblivion without star right tackle Lane Johnson and the Eagles' defense faltered early before adjusting a bit.

THE BULLS

SACK KINGS - The Eagles weren't great in the first half in any aspect but the pass rush wasn't bad, recording three takedowns of Andy Dalton during the first 30 minutes, before reaching 68 on the season by the end of the game, setting the franchise's single-season record.

Among the sacks was Brandon Graham's 10th, the first time the veteran has hit double digits in his brilliant career. BG, who also added No. 11 later, is also the fourth Eagles player to hit 10 this season, making the 2022-23 Philadelphia defense the first in history with four players recording 10 or more sacks. They are now just four sacks short of the NFL record of 72 by Chicago in 1984.

DEVONTA SMITH - Skinny Batman had his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game, snaring nine receptions or 115 yards. On an offense that was limping all day, Smith and A.J. Brown, who had a 78-yard TD reception, reminded you that if the quarterback is playing well, the Eagles are still a handful.

THE BEARS

Gardner Minshew's accuracy - The Eagles' backup QB was spooked early by a ferocious pass rush by the Saints and never settled down when it came to delivering the football.

Minshew was basically wild high anytime things got muddy and his pick-six to Marcus Lattimore in the fourth quarter sealed the Eagles' fate.

Minshew just didn't have it and was not in sync leading an offense that was a three-and-out machine in the first half, not even securing a first down until 12 seconds remaining until halftime.

Overall, the numbers weren't terrible but Minshew was like an average starting pitcher who didn't have his best stuff against the Saints.

He finished with serviceable numbers, 18 of 32 for 274 yards with a TD and an interception with an 82.0 passer rating but that didn't tell the story of four three-and-outs to open the game and the egregious pick-6 to Marcus Lattimore that sealed it for NOLA.

"We just couldn’t get rolling," Minshew said. "It is one of those things that you try and get that first, first-down and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot and getting in our own way. They are a good defense, too. There is not much room for error when you play a team like that. We didn’t do enough to win.”

Jack Driscoll - Driscoll isn't Lane Johnson at right tackle but neither is any of the other options, As a whole, the Philadelphia offensive line struggled to try to slow down the pass rush and accumulated six penalties, and Driscoll certainty was a part of that.

The Eagles' offense simply wasn't as physical as it typically is but there is no path to that without the All-Pro Johnson in the lineup.

Turnovers - The Eagles’ recent problems with ball security are well-documented, turning it over seven times over the last two games coming and 14 times in the last seven games before New Orleans. Sunday, it was only one but it was a big one, the 12-yard return by Lattimore for a TD that foiled any opportunity of an Eagles' comeback.

Pancakes - A dominating Landon Dickerson pancake block that sprung Kenny Gainwell for a 28-yard TD run in the third quarter was called back to too much domination evidently, although Jordan Mailata could have been called and perhaps the officials just got the number wrong.

Mailata, though, spoke after the game, however, and noted that the officials did call it on Dickerson, saying "I guess they've never seen a (bleeping) pancake before."

Injuries - It was a scary scene when Josh Sweat was carted off very slowly after suffering a neck injury in the first quarter.

The rangy DE was sent to a local hospital as a precaution and did have movement in all his extremities. The good news is that Sweat is set to be released Sunday night and that is obviously a very good sign.

-John McMullen is a contributor to PhillyVoice.com and covers the Eagles and the NFL for Sports Illustrated and JAKIB Sports. He’s also the co-host of “Birds 365,” a daily streaming show covering the Eagles and the NFL, and the host of “Extending the Play” on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com

Follow John on Twitter: @JFMcMullen

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