What Happened?
For the first time in his coaching career, Andy Reid beat the Indianapolis Colts behind a good showing from Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and some timely defense.
The Good:
Michael Vick actually outplayed Peyton Manning, completing 17 of 29 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball ten times for 74 yards and another touchdown.
DeSean Jackson played his first game since suffering a concussion and didn't look like he missed a step. He caught seven passes for 109 yards and a score, and he also ran three times for 20 yards.
LeSean McCoy started the game with a 62 yard run that led to a touchdown. He finished the day with 95 yards on 16 carries.
The defense as a unit was solid against the Colts. The Eagles sacked Peyton Manning three times and held Donald Brown and Javarris James to just 62 yards on the ground.
Asante Samuel intercepted Manning twice, including on the final offensive play for the Colts. He also held Pierre Garcon to just two catches for 15 yards.
In his first career start, Dimitri Patterson was matched up against Reggie Wayne for most of the day, and he played well. Wayne caught 11 passes, but only for 83 yards, and he didn't have a touchdown.
David Akers went 4/4 in field goal attempts.
The Bad:
The Eagles made it inside the Indianapolis 20 yard line five different times and only scored two touchdowns. They beat the Colts, but normally, teams can't beat Peyton Manning with field goals.
After that 62 yard run to start the game, LeSean McCoy only had 33 more yards on 15 carries.
Brent Celek didn't catch a single pass during the game, though he did have a touchdown catch called back because of a penalty.
The Ugly:
The Eagles were called for 14 penalties, costing them 125 yards. While most of them were legit calls, others weren't.
Really, that's about it.
The Breakdown:
Sure, some people were picking the Eagles to actually knock off the Colts before this game started, but do you really think anyone actually believed it? The Eagles did have some things going in their favor, mostly that Andy Reid has never lost a game after the bye week, and that Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson were both returning from injuries. However, the fact still remained: you do not bet against Peyton Manning. It just doesn't happen.
Well, this past Sunday, the Eagles came out and did something that they haven't done since the 1993 season: defeat the Indianapolis Colts. Andy Reid beat the Colts for the first time in his head coaching career, and more importantly, the Eagles moved to 5-3 on the season and actually look like one of the better teams in a very interesting NFC. Despite the close score at the end of the game, it wasn't that close, and should have been a blowout win for the Eagles. The only problem was that the offense couldn't do anything right once they got inside the 20 yard line.
The Eagles made it into the red zone five times during the course of the game, including on their first four offensive possessions. While the first drive ended with a touchdown, the next three weren't as successful, as David Akers had to come in a kick chip shot field goals. When you couple those four trips in with the one touchdown that the Colts scored in that same time frame, the Eagles could have been up 28-7 in the second quarter. Instead, thanks to missed chances, they only had a 16-7 lead, and Peyton Manning took that away with two scoring drives in the final two minutes of the half. Ten quick points by the Colts later, and Indianapolis had the lead at the half. Luckily, the Eagles came back to win the game, but it should have never come to that.
Is that nitpicking? Perhaps, but one of the biggest complaints about Kevin Kolb and hell, even Donovan McNabb was that they couldn't score touchdowns when they got into the red zone. Well, Michael Vick had five red zone trips, and only scored two touchdowns. It's not the quarterback that's necessarily the problem in this situation. It could be the play calling or the design of the offense, which falls back on Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg. They have to make sure that better calls get made once the offense gets down into the red zone. Most of the time, you can't beat Peyton Manning by kicking field goals. Had those two Indianapolis scoring drives come at the end of the fourth quarter, this would be a bigger issue this week, but it's not. It's still a problem that has been hurting the Eagles all season long, though. Something has to be done about it.
With that being said, the offense still had a good game on Sunday. LeSean McCoy started things off with a 62 yard run on the first play of the game that set the tone for the offense in the first half. McCoy only finished with 95 yards, but that run helped take the wind out of the Colts' sails early. Michael Vick returned from injury and looked no worse for wear. He did have a few throws that were almost intercepted, but close doesn't count in the NFL. Vick looked comfortable in the pocket, and when he had to run, he did. Several times in the second half, Vick turned what would have been a poor play into a good one using his legs, and it's thanks to him that the Eagles were able to kill about six and a half minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter with a nine point lead. There were times when it seemed like Vick was just toying with the Indianapolis defense, and it was fun to watch.
DeSean Jackson also made his return from a concussion and looked great, recording his third 100 yard receiving game of the season while catching Vick's touchdown pass in the first quarter. Jackson was also instrumental on the last drive for the Eagles, picking up a first down on a well timed reverse that took 40 seconds off the clock. It doesn't look like Jackson showed any ill effects from his concussion, and if he can keep playing like he did on Sunday, then the Eagles are going to have a good offense for the rest of the season.
Of course, someone had to stop Peyton Manning, and the defense was up to the task. Asante Samuel intercepted Manning twice, and the defensive line put a lot of pressure on Manning, sacking him three times and hurrying his throws throughout the game. During one stretch, Manning completed just three of 14 passes, showing how much of a difference the Philadelphia pass rush made. The Colts couldn't get anything going on the ground either, as Donald Brown managed just 50 yards on 12 carries, forcing the game onto Manning's shoulders. While that's something that Manning is used to, he couldn't finish things against the Eagles. He almost did, though, with some help from the officials.
I normally won't get into officiating, because I know how hard it can be to make a close call. The referees are out on the field, making snap judgments in the blink of an eye, without the benefit of replay most of the time. They can be wrong. The call on the play where Austin Collie got hurt was a bit weak, considering Collie was knocked into Kurt Coleman, who was trying to lead with his shoulder, but ended up hitting Collie helmet to helmet. Fortunately, the NFL didn't fine either Coleman or Quintin Mikell for the hits on Collie, who hopefully will be back on the field before too long. The kicker about that entire situation was that Coleman wouldn't have even been in the game had Nate Allen not gotten hurt earlier on. Allen is likely going to miss this upcoming game with a neck sprain. Allen has looked good so far this year, so I'm hoping this is only going to be a one week type injury.
The one call that I did have a problem with was the call late in the fourth quarter. With the Colts facing a fourth and 18, with the game essentially on the line, Trent Cole managed to strip Peyton Manning, and the Eagles recovered. The only problem was that, in reaching around Manning's body to knock the ball loose, Cole brushed his arm against Manning's helmet. Cole was called for a 15 yard personal foul for hitting the quarterback's helmet, and the drive continued. The Colts would score later on to make it a 26-24 game, but they wouldn't get another chance. Now, by the letter of the law, the penalty was correct. You can't hit a quarterback in the helmet. However, it was a weak call, considering that Cole was going for the ball, and wasn't even trying to hit Manning in the head. It's not like he launched himself at Manning, or hit him after the play. He brushed his arm against the back of his helmet while trying to knock the ball loose. I'm not sure how you can change that rule, but something should be done about it. The only problem is that I don't know if anything can be done. Quarterbacks do have to be protected, and if you take that rule away, they'll be getting knocked around a lot more. I'm just glad that the call didn't cost the Eagles the game.
I said during my midseason recap that a 4-3 record was where I saw the Eagles before the season started. Well, after Week 9, I had the Eagles at 4-4. I didn't think there was any way that the Eagles would beat the Colts, but they did it, and now they're sitting at 5-3, with just the Giants ahead of them in the NFC East. Things aren't going to get any easier for the Eagles the rest of the way, as five of their last eight games are against divisional opponents, and the other three are against the Bears, Texans and Vikings, three teams fighting for their seasons right now. Beating the Colts certainly gave this team more confidence, and they should continue to perform well as the season goes along. As long as they don't play down to the level of their opponents, the Eagles will be fine and might even make the playoffs. Next week, the Eagles are headed down to Washington to take on Donovan McNabb on Monday Night Football. McNabb got his in Philadelphia, and now, it's time for the Eagles to get a little payback.
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