Eagles vs Falcons: 15 winners, 12 losers and 2 IDKs

The Eagles are 1-0 after beating the Falcons! It’s time to give away winners, losers and IDKs.

EAGLES

Unbeaten. 20-0 is within reach.

JALEN HURTS

Jalen Hurts: franchise quarterback? He could be if he continues like this!

The Eagles second-year signalman posted 27/35 (77% completion) for 264 yards (7.5 average), three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 126.4 passer rating. He also had seven points for 62 yards. This is a good thing.

As we said before the game, it’s not like the Falcons have a very formidable defense. And this is just a game.

But, man, hard not to be encouraged by Hurts’ prospects after this one. Discover this historical context:

As evidenced by its very high completion percentage, Hurts was mostly precise. He did a great job handling the Eagles’ two-minute drill before the end of the first half, using his mobility to avoid pressure and move the chains. He capped this departure with a ball by throwing a diving Dallas Goedert against his body. Such an impressive throw. Seeing Hurts’ touchdown to Jalen Reagor again, he stood up and made a perfect pass despite the pressure that immediately hit him.

We’ll go into more detail about Hurts’ performances at Bleeding Green Nation this week. So far, congratulations from the world to him for having a great game.

Before leaving him completely, however, some criticism: He had a few off-target shots, including a Zach Ertz completion that should have been deemed incomplete with the ball hitting the ground. He also invited pressure by breaking the pocket too early on more than one game. Hopefully these are things the 23-year-old can work on.

NICK SIRIANNI

Great start for the Eagles rookie head coach! The Falcons ultimately had no response to Sirianni’s call to play. The team seemed ready to play and brought a lot of energy.

My favorite part of Sirianni’s early days, however, was his aggressiveness. The Eagles didn’t convert any of their fourth down attempts, but those weren’t nearly as much bad decisions as poor player execution. Hurts broke the pocket and invited pressure from Grady Jarret on the first. Hurts’ reluctance caused a botched handover to prevent the Eagles from scoring a first run on their second down.

Although these tries were unsuccessful, the Eagles made succeeded when a Falcons penalty on an extra point try allowed Philly to try a two-run conversion from the 1-yard line. Such a no-brainer to go in this situation, especially with the possibility of making it a two-possession game. But not all coaches always do the obvious. Sirianni adopted the Eagles’ analysis very early on.

DEVONTA SMITH

He is the truth. Smith caught six of his eight targets for 71 yards. Those six receptions tied the Eagles rookie record for catches on an NFL debut (DeSean Jackson also had six in 2008). There was a point in the game when Hurts completed four straight assists to Smith. It was encouraging to see. Smith can open up and the Eagles shouldn’t hesitate to feed him. Legit WR1.

JONATHAN GANNON

The Eagles’ defense got off to an unsuccessful start, allowing the Falcons to enter goal-to-go territory in two consecutive practices. But while they bent, they did not break. Gannon’s unity ultimately didn’t allow a touchdown in the game, which is pretty good the last time I checked. Not bad for his first game in the NFL as a defensive coordinator.

SANDING MILES

There were times in the game where I considered putting Sanders in the “IDK” section. He recklessly bounced off an outward run before DeVonta’s touchdown that set up a 3rd-4 instead of probably taking a first down if he stayed the course. Sanders left meat on the bone in other earlier races and he was clearly supplanted as a two-minute comeback. But Sanders finally finished with 15 carries for 74 yards and four receptions for 39 yards. Difficult to score 113 total yards of attack plus a two-point conversion. Sanders also had that key flash pickup to allow Hurts to find Smith for a first try on a 3rd and 9. And, hey, no drops!

KENNY GAINWELL

Nine carries for 37 yards (4.1 average) and one touchdown as a runner. Two receptions for six yards as a wide receiver. These aren’t the most eye-catching numbers you’ll ever see, but it was an encouraging start for the Day 3 rookie. Already being trustworthy as a two-minute return is a big deal.

EAGLES OFFENSIVE LINE

They deserve to be sounded for manner too many penalties (especially the pre-snap variety) but overall the offensive line was a strength. The Eagles gave up a sack and it was on a play where Hurts held the ball and shot it from behind. The Philly blockers led the way with 173 total rushing yards (5.6 on average), one rushing touchdown and a two-point score. Jason Kelce played a highlight where he blocked several defenders. Jordan Mailata, who recently became a multimillionaire, completely wiped out a defender when touching Reagor’s screen. This unit could allow the Eagles to exceed expectations in 2021.

HARGRAVE JAVON

Arguably the best player in the Eagles training camp, Hargrave carried over his summer success to Week 1. Hargrave was disruptive throughout the game and the numbers materialized later in the game. He finished with two sacks (both of which forced turnovers on downs), two tackles for a loss and three quarterback hits. Hargrave is on a path to have a career season. His presence was a big reason the Falcons couldn’t get their passing attack to click the way they wanted.

HASSAN CHIMNEY

I didn’t expect to put Ridgeway on this list after looking invisible all summer and starting this game with two penalties. But he finished with a sack, a loss tackle and three quarterback hits. He also forced an intentional land call on Matt Ryan who was very close to being a fumble recovered by Hargrave. It’s good to see not only the Eagles’ defensive tackles succeed, but their depth as well.

ARRYN SIPOSS

Siposs averaged 47.3 yards on four punts and three of them were down in the 10-yard line. After an encouraging preseason, Siposs is establishing himself as the bettor of the Eagles franchise.

HOWIE ROSEMAN

We certainly blame him when things go wrong for the Eagles, so it’s fair to credit him when things go right. I don’t want to overreact to a game, of course, but the early returns from Sirianni and Hurts are obviously encouraging. It is important to nail these large pieces of picture. The heavy investment in the trenches paid off today and a number of draft picks performed well. A good look for the Eagles general manager.

EAGLE FANS

It had been too long a time since the Eagles had played such an enjoyable game. The world’s best fans (now who flatters?) Were late for a performance like this. That 26-point margin of victory was the Eagles’ biggest since… their 38-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the 2018 NFC Championship game. Wow.

GOOD WAVES

They are real.

BGN RADIO

The post-match team did a great job in their early days! Find out what Eytan Shander, Jess Taylor and Raichele Privette had to say after the game.

THE FALCON

Don’t try to take anything away from the Eagles’ victory because they played well. But, boy, I don’t think the Falcons are very good.

EARLY EAGLES RUN DEFENSE

The Birds were slashed to the ground from the start. You will usually live with this instead of getting killed multiple times in the air. But certainly an area to watch for moving forward. Too many wide tracks for running backs. Too many sloppy tackles.

ERIC WILSON

So, we saw why the Vikings didn’t make Wilson’s re-signing a priority. The addition of free agent missed a number of tackles. He ended up with nine made tackles but there were too many mistakes. And that’s not surprising considering he missed 17 tackles last year. Teams should look to run towards him.

AVONTE MADDOX

Maddox took a few breaths and gave up a few holds. Not encouraged that the Eagles cornerback is a strong position.

SAFETY DEPTH

The Eagles entered the game with three sound safeties on the 53-man roster with Rodney McLeod out. Then Marcus Epps suffered a concussion during the Falcons’ first practice. Not ideal. The Eagles obviously managed to qualify with the arrival of K’Von Wallace, but it would be ideal to get McLeod back as soon as possible. The Eagles may also need to promote Elijah Riley from the practice squad or temporarily elevate him to strengthen that position.

BOSTON SCOTT

Scott didn’t do anything wrong; it’s about him being a loser by omission. He did not receive a single touch. He is the third running back behind Sanders and Gainwell.

GREG WARD

Same boat as Greg Ward. The former Eagles starting receiver clearly has no role in this offense.

GENARD AVERY

Much too much played for my understanding. The most remarkable thing I saw him do was fall when no one else was around to allow Mike Davis a big run.

CARSON WENTZ

The former Eagles quarterback is 0-1.

They lost to the Chargers and Ryan Fitzpatrick is injured.

They lost Thursday night.

They lost Sunday night.

QUEZ WATKINS

Watkins saw three targets on the Hurts’ first three passes and caught them all on 23 yards… and they weren’t targeted the rest of the game. Rather strange. He blew a block on a screen pass to Reagor and didn’t show much juice as a kick returner with two tries for just 40 yards. (I’d love to see Jason Huntley, who’s on the practice squad, return kicks instead.)

JALEN REAGOR

Some might argue that Reagor should be in the winner’s section. Uh. He recorded 8.2 yards per reception. His longest take of the day came on a game where the block was set up perfectly for him and he stayed intact. To his credit, his speed allowed him to run no one caught up with him. I would always love to see more impact, especially before the game is already decided. And Reagor certainly didn’t inspire as a punt returner with four returns for just 19 yards.