Considering the schedule the Eagles have faced getting to 6-4 is not something to get too excited about, but tonight’s game was easily the best this season. Shellacking the Giants was fun, but showing that we could win a close game and not rely on big play after big play is more meaningful. I have been critical of the coaching staff plenty of times, but they deserve a lot of praise for tonight. On offense they got serious about running the ball, and it opened up the field for McNabb’s receivers. On defense, with the back seven in tatters they aggressively attacked the line of scrimmage rather than trying to sit in coverage. This meant giving up two big plays, but otherwise shutting down the running game and making Cutler rush his throws to receivers that we could not have covered anyway. I will take that trade-off any day.
A good scheme is worthless by itself, but the players executed well also. I have also been very critical of the offensive line, but they were outstanding in opening up holes for McCoy and giving McNabb a chance to let routes develop. McNabb actually threw to his guys instead of around them, and the rest of the skill players did what they do week in and week out. Three turnovers are a serious problem, but on the drives that did not end that way the offense was moving fairly effortlessly. The defense made no game-changing plays, no turnovers or sacks that I noticed. But they ensured that the Bears offense would have to run through a struggling Cutler and applied enough pressure to keep him off balance all night long. The scary part: I thought the team played a great all-around game, yet they still only barely beat a very average team. What is it going to take if we make it to the playoffs and face New Orleans or Minnesota?
Elsewhere in the NFL it was also a crazy day, with lots of unexpectedly competitive contests. Unfortunately, the other three games I cared about all went the wrong way in the last minutes: Pittsburgh lost, Dallas won, and the Giants won. Pittsburgh losing to Kansas City is a bit like Philadelphia’s loss to Oakland a few weeks ago, something that should never have happened. Even with Cincinnati losing to another terrible team this week, the Steelers are not going to win their division without a lot of luck. If Roethlisberger is seriously injured and Polamalu stays out more than another game or two you can forget about them pulling a wildcard spot. How about that Matthew Stafford coming back to throw a touchdown pass on the untimed last play while obviously in some serious pain?
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the NFL RedZone channel when there is not a game I especially care about going on. Being able to follow the storyline and drama of a single game and understanding the context for each play is nice, but not having commercial breaks every five minutes is so nice and this way I get a general idea of what has happened throughout the league. I was able to watch those essential last minutes of all three of the aforementioned close games even though they were basically simultaneous.
EDIT: Last night I forgot about the sack when Trent Cole lined up like the middle linebacker and flew through the “A” gap to drop Cutler for a significant loss. Also, I believe the game ended on an interception when an incompletion would have been just as good.