The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

NFL Week 8 Under Review: It’s Too Soon to Give Up on Anthony Richardson – The Ringer
For the first time this season, the Eagles look like contenders. Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are. After Nick Sirianni celebrated a win by barking at fans in Week 6, I was ready to bury this team. Even after a Week 7 win against the Giants, the offense left me questioning the Eagles’ ceiling. But on Sunday against the Bengals, the Eagles delivered their most impressive performance in quite some time, and now suddenly this team is set up to potentially be a contender in the NFC. When the Eagles hired Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator, the belief was that he could modernize the offense and add more easy buttons for quarterback Jalen Hurts. No one expected Moore to reinvent the wheel, but the scheme needed more variety and more answers. We finally saw some of those things against the Bengals. The Eagles ran a season-high 21 plays under center. Hurts targeted the middle of the field. Moore mixed in more play-action, and on those throws, Hurts went 6-for-7 for 142 yards. The Eagles had eight possessions, and they scored on seven of them—four touchdowns and three field goals. Based on EPA per drive, it was the seventh-best game by any offense this season. It was the Eagles’ best offensive performance in any game over the past three seasons.

Eagles vs. Bengals: 22 winners, 2 losers, 1 IDKs – BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles are 5-2 after beating the Cincinnati Bengals! Three wins in a row! Dare I say, the Eagles are … back?! Sure feels that way after that kind of complete performance going up against a quality team on the road. The quarterback played great, the offense had rhythm, and the defense made big plays. Multiple games this season have frustratingly felt like the 2023 Eagles all over again. Last week’s run-heavy approach was reminiscent of the 2021 Eagles. Beating the Bengals had more of a 2022 feel and makes one wonder if the 2024 Eagles might truly be for real.

NFL Week 8: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game – ESPN
Is it time to buy into this Eagles defense? It appears Vic Fangio’s group has arrived. After holding the Browns and Giants to a total of 12 points the past two weeks, questions remained about whether the Eagles’ defense could hold up against a more potent attack. They stabilized after a slow start against Cincinnati and came up with two huge, game-defining plays: A fourth-and-1 stick by CB Cooper DeJean on WR Ja’Marr Chase late in the third quarter that kept the Bengals short of the first-down marker, and a nice tip-drill interception from cornerback Isaiah Rodgers to safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on a quarterback Joe Burrow deep ball early in the fourth quarter — one of two takeaways on the day. If Philadelphia can continue to play this kind of complementary football, it’s going to be a tough team to beat.

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 9 edition – PhillyVoice
5) Eagles (5-2): The Eagles are really good at running the football. As such, opposing teams are wary of that. It should come as no surprise then that when they run play action, Jalen Hurts often has plenty of time to throw, and to wide open receivers. On Sunday against the Bengals, he was 6/7 for 142 yards and 1 TD when the Eagles ran play action against the Bengals. Here are those seven throws. The Eagles should take advantage of their great rushing attack and run more play action. #Analysis.

Getting Better – Iggles Blitz
Hurts was coming off an up and down showing against the Giants. When you evaluate, you go off what you have seen. Cosell saw Hurts fail to make good reads and decisions so he said what he said. I’m sure this week will be a different story. Hurts played his best game of the year in Cincinnati. QB is a weird position. You never know when the light will go on. Improvement isn’t always linear. Maybe the Bengals lack of a consistent pass rush is what it took to bring out the best in Hurts. Maybe Moore improved with his play-calling. Maybe Hurts just finally felt comfortable in the new offense and things clicked for him. There is probably a combination of things that led to Hurts strong showing. If Hurts can continue to build on what we saw Sunday, the Eagles are going to be a dangerous team.

Spadaro: Inside Jalen Hurts’ brilliant performance and more from Sunday’s win – PE.com
1. Jalen Hurts: A brilliant performance. Hurts accounted for four touchdowns – 3 on the ground and one on a 45-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith that, according to Next Gen Stats, traveled a career-long 59.3 yards in the air – was extremely accurate throwing the football, ran when he had chances, and was just … about … perfect. His level of comfort in the offense clearly is rising as it all evolves together. He has gone three games without a giveaway and the Eagles are 3-0 in those games, during which Hurts has completed 42 of 59 passes (71.2 percent) for 614 yards, 4 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He has also rushed for 92 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in those wins over Cleveland, New York, and Cincinnati. “Jalen puts the work in. That’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough – how much he loves football, how much time he puts into this game, and that’s what you want from one of your leaders on this team,” Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. “We were able to look at some of the things we were inefficient at, things that we’re good at. He just puts so much work into it. You’re the product of how you practice. I know you guys only get to see a portion of practice, but he’s been practicing his butt off. I don’t know if the ball on Thursday – the long practice – I’m not sure the ball hit the ground. It’s the work. There is no secret to success. It’s your habits, it’s your work ethic. Same things it took to win this game is the same thing it takes next game. It takes what it takes.” One noticeable difference with the scheme of the offense is the increase in Hurts taking snaps under center the last two weeks. Hurts said it is something he is comfortable doing and that it makes a difference in the offense.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts earns new nickname: ‘Jalen Two Shoes’ – NBCSP
It’s fair to say that the Philadelphia Eagles looked pretty good on Sunday — even when their quarterback wore mismatching cleats. It was a fourth quarter moment that caused the Birds to burn a time out. But, while the Birds were up by seven points against the Cincinnati Bengals, one of Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts’ green Air Jordan 4 PEs came off during a run down the sideline. But, Hurts told reporters after the game that he had tied the laces so tightly that he couldn’t easily slip the cleat back on and was forced to burn a timeout to find a substitute shoe. “I hate that we had to burn a time out on that one. I tied it up so tight, I could not take the knot off. So, I had to go ‘Jalen Two-Shoes’ for a bit,” joked the quarterback after the game. Still, in returning to the field in a pair of mismatched cleats — he changed into a single white Jordan 11 — Hurts was able to help set the team up for a field goal. “Got some points, so, that was cool,” he said.

Why your NFL team won, lost in Week 8 – PFF
Why the Eagles won: Jalen Hurts looks more comfortable in the offense as the weeks go by. He earned an 89.7 overall grade against the Bengals, completing 16-of-20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown while adding three rushing touchdowns. His connection with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith was key too, with the two star receivers catching 11 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Why the Bengals lost: It’s clear that the Bengals offense struggles without Tee Higgins, but the defense has been a non-factor when it comes to rushing the passer. The Bengals generated just four total pressures on 20 dropbacks, and their inability to put Hurts under duress meant the Eagles offense played within its desired rhythm.

Jaguars vs Packers: Winners and losers from Week 8 – Big Cat Country
Even if the Jaguars had won on Sunday, it might have all been for naught given the rash of injuries the team incurred. Both starting guards, Ezra Cleveland and Brandon Scherff, left the game due to injuries. Starting receivers Christian Kirk (out for the year with a broken collarbone), Thomas (chest, potential to miss four weeks) and Gabe Davis (shoulder) all got banged up. Starting corner Ronald Darby also was injured as was starting safety Andre Cisco. All of these injuries are awful in their own ways. In the shortest term, the Kirk injury might be the worst given that he was a potential trade candidate in the past weeks. Now the Jags are most likely in no position to offload the veteran. The guard injuries are scary as the pair have had their injury troubles in recent years and with the Jags as maligned as they are offensively, having your two interior starters hurt does Lawrence no favors. The team may get Travis Etienne and Cam Robinson back soon, but at what cost? With these players hurt, the slim chances of the Jags doing literally anything with the remainder of the year go down to almost zero.

Fantasy football waiver wire advice: The 8 best pickups for Week 9 – SB Nation
Parker Washington, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars. Veteran slot man Christian Kirk broke his collarbone on Sunday, a brutal blow following a 2023 season-ending core injury. Though Kirk’s rapport with Trevor Lawrence will be hard to replicate, second-year wideout Parker Washington can be expected to replace nearly all of Kirk’s snaps. Washington showed his explosiveness on a 96-yard punt return touchdown in Week 7 and caught 4 balls for 46 yards in Week 8. “P Dub” plays bigger than his size and should carve out a sizable role in Jacksonville’s offense with Brian Thomas Jr. (chest/ribs) also likely to miss time. Float a trade offer to whoever has Evan Engram in your league, too.

A Tre Brown vs. Josh Jobe cornerback competition could be brewing – Field Gulls
With rookie Nehemiah Pritchett out due to his own injury, practice squad cornerback Josh Jobe was Brown’s replacement. Jobe recorded his first career interception, becoming the first player to pick Josh Allen off this season. He also gave up three catches (on five targets) for 81 yards, committing a holding penalty in the process. Still, Jobe has generally had good moments in two games, and now there’s a real story developing. At Monday’s press conference, Macdonald revealed that Brown’s starting spot is no longer set in stone.

Vote for Jayden Daniels as NFL Rookie of the Week for his play against the Chicago Bears – Hogs Haven
Well, no one will have to listen to Chicago Bears fans complain about Caleb Williams not getting the Rookie of the Week award for his game against the Commanders because Williams isn’t one of the nominees this week. The winning quarterback of that game, Jayden Daniels, is nominated, however, and you can vote for him. Despite facing a week-long battle to overcome a rib injury suffered on the first play of last week’s game against the Panthers that obviously caused him discomfort at times during Sunday’s home game against the Bears, Daniels put up another incredible performance this week. The Commanders quarterback threw for 326 yards and a game-winning touchdown — a pass that traveled 66 yards in the air. He also ran the ball 8 times for 52 yards (6.5 yards per carry). Those 387 scrimmage yards comprised the bulk of the 481 total yards that Washington’s offense put up against the Bears defense that ranked in the top-10 by DVOA prior to this game (but which fell to 11th once Jayden Daniels and the Commanders offense were through with them).

Cowboys day after thoughts: Loss to San Francisco frustrating, but passion absent these days – Blogging The Boys
Whether the Cowboys are paying him or not, and they clearly are, Prescott plays the quarterback position where the glory and blame are both different. He is a big reason why the team is in the funk that they are and acting carelessly with the football is one of the primary reasons. Prescott has had a few interesting moments in terms of public discussion since training camp. While in Oxnard he noted that fans needed to let go of the failures of last year and said that it probably hurt the team more than it did anyone else. Following the loss to the Baltimore Ravens he challenged people to “jump off” (as in to stop supporting) the team if they wanted to at that moment in time. Consider that since then they are a .500 team with the two wins coming against two poor teams and the two losses coming in rather embarrassing fashion. Maybe the toll of being a Cowboys quarterback is, in fact, taking a toll. Whatever the case, this season has hardly been Dak Prescott’s finest one with a star on his helmet. This is not helping that the cast around him is bad, or that the contractual situation with him reached the point that it did, and it is all existing in one horrible universe that we are trapped in.

Giants-Steelers ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’: Winners and losers from Monday Night Football – Big Blue View
Daniel Jones — I can hear many BBV readers screaming that Jones deserves a ‘Wet Willie’. I am going to respectfully disagree, though I understand the viewpoint. Jones did a lot of good things on Monday night. He played with toughness. He played with passion. He threw for 264 yards. He made a number of excellent throws, including a couple that created explosive plays. He had a would-be touchdown pass to Chris Manhertz taken off the board by a ticky-tack illegal shift call on Malik Nabers. And yet, all of the things that drive you crazy about Jones and will ultimately lead to the Giants moving on from the quarterback at season’s end were also in evidence. Jones missed a third-down throw to Darius Slayton that could have been a big play. He didn’t properly set the protection before a T.J. Watt strip-sack, hanging right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor out to dry. He sailed a game-ending interception over Devin Singletary’s head when he seemed to get overanxious in the pocket. Jones, in my view, did a number of things he deserves credit for on Monday. In the end, though, like it has been too often for Jones over his Giants career, he couldn’t do enough to get his team a victory.