What happened?
Kevin Kolb made his first start since Week 1 against the Packers and passed for 253 yards and a touchdown, while the Philadelphia defense forced five turnovers as the Eagles held on for their third road victory of the season.
The Good:
Starting in place of Michael Vick, Kevin Kolb looked very good out there. He completed 21of 21 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown.
LeSean McCoy played with a broken rib and it didn't look like it bothered him that much. He carried the ball 18 times for 92 yards and a touchdown and also caught five passes for 46 yards.
Jeremy Maclin caught six passes for 95 yards.
Brent Celek was happy to see Kolb back under center, as he caught three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
The defense took advantage of mistakes by San Francisco, forcing five turnovers and sacking Alex Smith twice.
Quintin Mikell returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Dimitri Patterson and Trevard Lindley each intercepted their first passes of the season. For Lindley, it was his first career interception.
The Bad:
DeSean Jackson was shut down for the second straight week, catching just two passes for 24 yards.
The offensive line gave up four sacks of Kevin Kolb.
The defense, while good at forcing turnovers, had some trouble with Alex Smith throughout the game. Smith threw for over 300 yards and had three touchdowns, and almost guided the 49ers to an improbable comeback late in the game.
Micahel Crabtree and Vernon Davis each had over 100 yards receiving for San Francisco.
The kickoff coverage team for the Eagles was horrible. Ted Ginn Jr. averaged over 36 yards per return, and his 61 yard return late in the fourth quarter allowed the 49ers a chance to continue their comeback.
The Ugly:
Nothing to see here. If San Francisco had tied the game on their last drive, then the defense would have been here. They stepped up and made a big play, though.
The Breakdown:
Coming off of a bad showing against Washington, the Eagles had to travel across the country to San Francisco without their starting quarterback, best cornerback and play a team that was better than their 0-4 record showed. Luckily for the Eagles, Kevin Kolb was the starting quarterback for the Eagles when the season started, and on Sunday night, he showed why the Eagles were willing to trade Donovan McNabb away, as he passed for over 250 yards and led the Eagles to a much needed win against San Francisco.
After playing for three quarters last week and not doing much, Kolb looked much more comfortable under center this week. He wasn't staring down receivers as much, and was able to move in the pocket, which, considering the state of the Philadelphia offensive line, is a very good thing. The offensive line still didn't look great, giving up four more sacks, but they at least kept Kolb from getting hurt this time out, so that's a good thing.
Kolb also had help from some of his favorite targets. Jeremy Maclin had a solid game, going for almost 100 yards in receptions, and LeSean McCoy had over 130 combined yards and a touchdown late in the second quarter. Brent Celek even got in on the act, catching his second touchdown pass in as many weeks from Kolb. Celek and Kolb were going to be a tandem this year, but Kolb's injury, and subsequent benching for Michael Vick, have put that on hold for now. Celek is the one feeling the pinch, as he only has two touchdown catches and hasn't had a game with over 50 yards receiving this season. As someone that was supposed to have a breakout season this year, things have been a little disappointing for Celek, but there's still plenty of time for him to break out of this early season funk. If the Eagles could stay with one person at quarterback, I'm sure that would help him.
So far this year, DeSean Jackson has been hit or miss, and Sunday night, he missed again. For the third time this season, Jackson was held to 30 receiving yards or less as he caught just two passes for 24 yards. Despite having back to back 100 yard receiving games against the Lions and Jaguars, Jackson hasn't been the true number one receiver that the Eagles need. He's been either very good or a non factor in each game. This was the first time this season that Jackson had been shut down and the Eagles had won, and that's more than likely because Jeremy Maclin stepped up and had a good game. Jackson is a vital part of the Philadelphia offense, and without him, the Eagles are not going to get the job done when they need to. It doesn't matter if it's Michael Vick or Kevin Kolb throwing him the ball. Jackson needs to catch it and make plays. It's what he does best, and he better start doing it every week.
You have to love the way that the defense was going after the ball against the 49ers. Alex Smith was only sacked twice, but on one of them, Brandon Graham forced a fumble that Qunitin Mikell returned for a touchdown. Frank Gore also lost two fumbles at midfield that ended two San Francisco drives, and Smith was intercepted twice in key moments of the game. Without Asante Samuel in the secondary, the Eagles did seem to struggle a bit in coverage though. Michael Crabtree had his best game of the season for the 49ers, going over 100 receiving yards and catching a touchdown, and Philadelphia still showed that they can't cover elite NFL tight ends, as Vernon Davis burned them for 104 yards and a touchdown as well. All of the turnovers that the Eagles got were great, but they still didn't show that killer instinct that the great Philadelphia defenses have had. Alex Smith had to talk Mike Singletary out of benching him in the fourth quarter, and then he came out and threw two touchdown passes to give the 49ers a shot. Jim Johnson's best defenses would have forced Singletary to bench Smith, not give him another chance at life. That's what this team is missing right now on that side of the ball. They're missing that Brian Dawkins or Hugh Douglas type of player that can show up and make that big play to kill a drive before it even gets started. Can Trent Cole and Stewart Bradley make plays? You bet they can, but they haven't made The Play yet this year. When you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
So, the Eagles are now 3-2 on the season, tied for first place with the Redskins and Giants. It's a good spot to be in, but there are still way too many questions to be answered before anyone should be sold on this team. Aside from the game against the Jaguars, the Eagles have yet to play a complete game on offense and defense. Detroit almost came back against the Eagles in Week 2, and now the 49ers almost did the same. It's taken some balancing acts to get to this point, and the season is only a quarter of the way finished. Next week, things will be interesting, because the 4-1 Atlanta Falcons are coming to Philadelphia. This is going to be a real test for the Eagles and whoever is starting at quarterback. Let's see what this team can really do.
No comments:
Post a Comment