The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

‘Constipated offense’: Kellen Moore’s Eagles scheme — or is it Nick Sirianni’s — still looks listless – Inquirer
Leave it to Lane Johnson to cut through the crap, so to speak. “We’re a constipated offense,” the Eagles right tackle said. “That’s what it [bleeping] feels like.” Johnson wasn’t alone in his sentiment as evidenced by the lukewarm response fans gave the Eagles throughout Sunday afternoon, even as they put the finishing touches on a 20-16 win over the Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia’s faithful are a demanding lot. But they know bad football when they see it, and when the offense went three-and-out on yet another opening drive — despite an extra week to finally get the starting script right — boos rained down on the Eagles on an otherwise clear day. It wasn’t just the first possession that lacked imagination and execution. The Eagles remained scoreless in the first quarter for the season and when they did manage a first down, they had to scratch and claw to get there.

Is Nick Sirianni okay? – BGN
Then he got into an argument with fans after “beating” the Browns 20-16. The same score the Raiders did. A closer margin of victory than the Giants had against them. The Eagles and Browns both averaged 2 points a possession on Sunday, the Eagles had two more possessions. The Eagles once again failed to score in the 1st quarter, their seventh straight game failing to do so. Deshaun Watson had one of his most efficient days as a passer as a Brown against you. You were tied with possibly the worst team in the league, certainly the most hopeless one, in the 4th quarter. You’re talking shit after that game? And then trying to spin it?

NFL Week 6: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game – ESPN
Did the Eagles do anything to change perceptions Sunday? No. The Eagles looked the same after their bye week. They’re still the only team to not score in the first quarter this season. The offense continued to fall short of its potential, even with receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith back from injury. And special teams had another blunder with a blocked field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown. The defense was able to pressure Cleveland’s anemic offense, but the Eagles were lucky they were playing the Browns on Sunday.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Browns game – PhillyVoice
5) The ‘Are You OK, Man?’ Award: Nick Sirianni. During the game, Sirianni got into it for a while with Browns CB Greg Newsome, which appeared to be some friendly trash talk initially (as shown on television), but seemed to turn a little nastier, as Newsome eventually had to be pulled away by a teammate. After the game, or at least after the victory was sealed, Sirianni got into it with fans behind the Eagles benches. And then during his postgame press conference, Sirianni brought his three kids with him to answer questions, a curious decision given his behavior during and after the game, and the narrow win over one of the worst teams in the NFL. Sirianni said that during the week some players encouraged him to be more emotional, like he was in 2022. I think that was bad advice.

A Complicated Win – Iggles Blitz
If the Eagles won 47-9, he would have bragging rights. Beating a bad Browns team by 4 points…shut up. That isn’t time to engage the fans the way he did. In the postgame press conference Sirianni brought his kids out with him. That wasn’t well received by the media. It looked awkward. You bring your kids when celebrating a big win or a key moment. Scraping by Cleveland was hardly a memorable event. Was this Operation Human Shield? Bring your kids and hope the questions aren’t as bad or that your answers aren’t as scrutinized. I don’t think Sirianni would do it for those reasons, but it sure wasn’t a good look. Sirianni needs to be himself, but he’s got to be careful to make sure what he’s doing is actually worthwhile. Yelling at fans was dumb. Bringing the kids out today was weird.

Roob’s Observations: Eagles escape with win over hapless Browns – NBCSP
6. The Eagles’ embarrassing 1st-quarter scoring issues continued. This is now the first time in franchise history they’ve failed to score a point in the first quarter through the first five weeks of a season. Overall, they’ve now gone seven straight games without a 1st-quarter point going back to Julio Jones’ 12-yard TD catch in the loss to Arizona last year in Week 17. It’s the first time they’ve gone seven straight games at any point without a 1st-quarter point since a stretch from Week 8 through Week 14 of 1994. Their last longer streak was an eight-game streak in 1936. Figuring out how to get off to faster starts was a priority during the bye week for Nick Sirianni and his staff in the self-scout process, but no answers yet. This offense just isn’t prepared when games begin, and until they get that figured out, they’re just going to keep making things difficult for themselves.

NFL Week 6 Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 20, Cleveland Browns 16 – PFF
Eagles receiver A.J. Brown was dominant in his return to the field after missing Weeks 2, 3 and 4 with a hamstring injury. Brown hauled in all six of his catchable targets — though he was targeted nine times on the day — for 117 yards, one touchdown and four first downs. The veteran receiver went a perfect 4-for-4 on contested targets, forced four missed tackles after the catch and came away with four plays of 15 or more yards. He finished the game with a 92.0 PFF grade on the first review.

2024 NFL Season, Week 6: What We Learned from Sunday’s games – NFL.com
What can Brown do for you? For the Eagles, A.J. Brown can do a lot. His return to the lineup provided Jalen Hurts with the trusted target he so desperately needed in recent weeks, finishing with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown caught against tight coverage (0.3 yards of separation, per Next Gen Stats) midway through the second quarter. The Eagles were clearly better with Brown and DeVonta Smith (three catches, 64 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown) back on the field, and when Hurts and the Eagles were aiming to seal the win, the QB turned to Brown for an incredible over-the-shoulder catch for a 40-yard gain. Philadelphia’s offense still isn’t an entirely smooth operation, but Sunday once again proved how important a top receiver (or two) can be, especially for a struggling operation.

Spadaro: A.J. Brown stars, Brandon Graham makes history, and 5 other takeaways from the 20-16 win over the Browns – PE.com
3. Brandon Graham’s big play … if you didn’t notice. Third down, 1 yard to go at the Philadelphia 29-yard line early in the third quarter. The crowd at Lincoln Financial Field, still stunned from a blocked field goal that Browns safety Rodney McLeod returned for a touchdown at the end of the first half to tie the game, 10-10, was uneasy for good reason. Cleveland was driving with the football. Quarterback Jameis Winston, in for starter Deshaun Watson, handed off to wide receiver Cedric Tillman on a jet sweep right to left in the Browns’ formation. Defensive end Brandon Graham read the play and tackled Tillman for a 5-yard loss. Dustin Hopkins then pushed his 52-yard field goal wide right. Huge. Graham played another outstanding outing, 5 total tackles, including 4 solos, in the 200th regular-season game of his Eagles career. His achievement was recognized in the stadium, and the fans responded with thunderous applause in the first quarter. “All love, baby,” Graham said. “I appreciate the fans so much. On that play, we saw that Jameis was in the game and usually in that situation he keeps it on the sneak. My job is to play the edge and so when the ball came my way, I was right there to make the play. It felt great to help our defense and help to get this win today.”

Browns, Eagles Winners & Losers: Offense fails again in Week 6 – Dawgs By Nature
S Rodney McLeod – A one-man wrecking crew today. The second game in a row he has played well. Early in the game, he stopped TE Dallas Goedert short on a third-and-five. On the Eagles’ next possession, QB Jalen Hurts was forced out of the pocket and took off into the second level. It was McLeod there with an open-field tackle or else Hurts would still be running. In the second quarter, he nailed DeVonta Smith who had beaten CB Denzel Ward across the middle for a 13-yard gain. Facing a third-and-13 midway into the third stanza, Hurts hit Barkley who appeared to have a path as McLeod took him down after just a seven-yard gain and a punt. McLeod made a valiant effort to stop Brown from scoring after CB Greg Newsome misjudged a pick play which left the receiver wide open. The touchdown scamper featured a timely bounce right into McLeod’s hands, then he judged his downfield blocking like a champ. Led all Cleveland defenders in tackles with eight. Even when starting safety Juan Thornhill is healthy enough to return, why would the Browns take out McLeod the way he is playing?

Commanders Vs. Ravens – Studs and Duds – Hogs Haven
Jayden Daniels – Going against the best defense he’s seen as a pro, Daniels did all he could to keep Washington in this game. He was an efficient 24-35 (including two drops) for 269 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 22 rushing yards. He did throw a pass that should have been an easy interception, but luckily it was dropped.

Jerry Jones says Dallas Cowboys will not be moving on from head coach Mike McCarthy – Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys have some soul-searching to do to say the least, but that Mike McCarthy’s job status is now a serious question is hardly a shocking development. Jones willfully entered this season with McCarthy sitting in a contract year which ultimately meant what is happening… that at all intense points, this question would be brought up. Even if the Cowboys did move on from McCarthy, their options for an interim are pretty thin. Special teams coordinator John Fassel has actually served as an interim before as he did so for the the Rams after Jeff Fisher was fired in 2016. Mike Zimmer obviously has a ton of head coaching experience, but this is his first season with the team. Ultimately this is going to remain a question for the duration of the season if things don’t get better. Whether or not Jerry’s answer changes will remain to be seen.

‘Kudos & Wet Willies’: Winners and losers from Giants-Bengals – Big Blue View
Daniel Jones — There were plays to be made against the less-than-stellar Cincinnati defense that didn’t get made. There was also one ugly, costly red zone interception on a ball Jones tried to throw away while getting hit by ex-Giant B.J. Hill that can’t happen. Jones was 22 of 41 for 205 yards with an interception. Having Malik Nabers would have helped, sure. And head coach Brian Daboll fell on his sword by taking the blame for the poor offensive showing. A lot of it, though, had to do with the quarterback. It was this kind of night for Jones. Even if this pass went to Jones’ first read, it’s a bad look. The Giants are now 1-14 in prime time games started by Jones. Before Sunday, Jones had played four consecutive solid games. He couldn’t make it five in a row.

Haason Reddick hires Drew Rosenhaus, meeting set with Jets for Monday – PFT
There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for Haason Reddick and the Jets. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Reddick has hired Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha as his new agents and that Rosenhaus plans to meet with the Jets ahead of Monday night’s game against the Bills in a bid to resolve the veteran edge rusher’s holdout. The move comes shortly after CAA terminated its relationship with Reddick and a day after a report indicated Reddick turned down a new deal with the Jets that was “all but worked out” earlier in the season.

Lions sack leader Aidan Hutchinson suffers fractured tibia and fibula in Week 6 – SB Nation
MONDAY UPDATE: The Lions released an update on Monday morning announcing that Hutchinson underwent successful surgery on Sunday night to repair a fractured tibia and a fractured fibula. That means he broke both bones in his lower leg. The Lions do no yet have a timeline for his return to play, but he is out for the rest of the 2024 season.