Roob's Observations: Eagles win a wild one in New Orleans
They were missing 40 percent of their offensive line, including all-pro Lane Johnson. DeVonta Smith was out of the game along with A.J. Brown. Nick Sirianni was making bizarre call after bizarre call.
And then Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert – really, the Eagles' only remaining weapons – refused to let the Eagles lose.
Barkley's 65-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and Dallas Goedert's 61-yard catch down to the 4-yard-line late in the fourth quarter helped the Eagles beat the Saints 15-12 after the Saints took the lead moments earlier.
They haven't played a complete game yet, but the Eagles are somehow 2-1.
Wow.
It's never easy with this team, is it?
Here's our 10 Instant Observations on a huge road win in the conference:
4. Can someone explain to me what on Earth Nick Sirianni was thinking on 4th-and-1 with 15 seconds in the first half left and the ball on the Saints' 14-yard-line? Saquon Barkley got stuffed trying to find room around left end, the Saints got the ball and took a knee, and the Eagles went into the locker room without a point. Down 3-0? You kick the field goal because if you get the first down the odds that you're getting more than a field goal anyway are minimal. So you're taking this 4th-down risk for what? Even if you get the first down, now you've got 10 seconds left with the ball at the 13, and I'm sure Sirianni will say they wanted a fresh set of downs to take one shot at the end zone before kicking a field goal if they didn't get the touchdown. Realistically, the way this game was going, points were at a premium and you take three and have something positive heading into the locker room after a miserable offensive first half. While we're at it ... 4th-and-5 from the Saints' 35 in the middle of the third quarter ... still trailing 3-0 ... Jake Elliott has made seven of his last eight field goal attempts from 53 yards and out ... they go for it and Hurts gets sacked. On that field, a 53-yarder is a layup. Being aggressive is great. Being wrong isn't. And Sirianni's in-game decisions are growing more and more baffling.
5. We've all been wondering when we'll start to see Dallas Goedert become a big part of the offense, and, wow, 10 catches for 170 yards isn't too shabby. Goedert was a big focus of the offense early, but once DeVonta Smith went out and joined A.J. Brown on the sidelines, he was just huge. He had catches of 22, 30, 43 and 61 yards and that's insane. He's been in the league eight years and had two of the four-longest catches of his career Sunday. Those 170 yards are most by any Eagles tight end in 59 years – since Pete Retzlaff had 204 in a game in 1965 at Franklin Field. Even Zach Ertz never had a 170-yard game. That was such a big-time performance by a guy the Eagles desperately needed. The key thing is when the Eagles are back at full strength, Goedert needs to remain a big part of this offense. He had 69 yards the first two games and he's just too good to play such a small role on this team. He's still a stud, and when he had to make plays he made plays. Huge clutch performance.
7. Nakobe Dean stuffed Alvin Kamara for no gain on the first play of the game, and just like that, the Eagles' run defense looked better than it did in either of the first two games. The Saints kept trying to get Kamara going. That was the gameplan. And you can't blame them after the Eagles allowed 6 1⁄2 yards per carry the first two games. But the Eagles did a tremendous job shutting down Kamara. There wasn't anything new scheme-wise, although we certainly saw a lot less Bryce Huff on running downs (or any downs). They were just more disciplined, more physical, more gap sound and got numbers to the ball. In the first two games, backs were slipping past the first level and then the Eagles were missing tackles in the second level. Sunday, the d-line only let a few runs get past the first level, and when they did, the Eagles' linebackers and d-backs tackled really well. Honestly, they looked like a completely different defense and to play that way against a back like Kamara – who brought an NFL-best 5.7 rushing average into the game – was remarkable. He finished with 26 carries for 87 yards for a 3.3 average with a long gainer of 16 yards, and he really just wasn't a factor. The Saints kept hammering it, and the Eagles kept stuffing him.
