The match between 2 teams took place at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Eagles e Brownsreturning from a less than positive start to the season. At the end of a hard-fought, at times even ugly, match, it was the hosts who prevailed: thanks to the 20-16 final Philadelphia advances to 3-2 record and tries to get his season back on track as a possible contender; Clevelandinstead, with the defeat in Pennsylvania drops 1-5 recorddefinitively putting aside their playoff hopes.
The fortunes of the Eagles, the troubles of the Browns
“It’s always sunny in Philadelphia”. But in reality, for the Eaglesthese 2 weeks (thanks to the bye week) that accompanied them from the defeat against the Buccaneers to the match against the Browns were full of clouds, due to a anything but an exciting start to the season.
The fans loudly called for the firing of coach Nick Sirianni and reiterated this even during the first minutes of the game against the Browns; Philadelphia responded by taking home a game in which, despite the victory, the same errors from the first 4 regular season games were seen againwith Saquon Barkley used again with the dropper, Jalen Hurts who, despite the 264 yards gained on the throw and the 2 touchdowns, struggles to connect continuously with his receivers, the special team who commits another huge mistake that could have been fatal to the purposes of the final result. The luck of the Philadelphia Eagles was that DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown returned to play. Brown came back putting together crazy numbers: 116 yards gained with 6 receptions, in addition to the touchdown for the momentary 10-0; Smith, however, only needed 3 receptions to gain 64 yards and score the touchdown to make it 20-13 (with 45 receiving yards). Having both of his favorite targets available has been a godsend for Hurts’ stuttering start to the season.
In addition to the luck of having found the 2 WRs mentioned above, the Philadelphia Eagles also have to thank the calendar which, in this fluctuating moment of their season, put them ahead of the Cleveland Browns. For the sixth time in 6 regular season games, the Browns failed to score 20 points; and this time too we can’t help but point the finger at the offensive phase of the Ohio team. Coach Stefanski continues to want to call the plays from the sideline and to place his trust in Deshaun Watson who continues to make an incredible effort to lead this attack and he doesn’t seem to be in any condition, neither physically nor psychologically, to try to reverse the trend. The 16 points scored by the Browns came thanks to 3 field goals by Hopkins and a defensive touchdown by McLeod arrived just before the long break (thanks to Myles Garrett’s block on the field goal kicked by the home team’s kicker Elliott). For the rest, the attack was silent. A attackthat of the Browns, which also confirmed itself in Philadelphia worst in the NFLwith the OL still a negative protagonist: because Stefanski and Watson are the tip of the iceberg of a department that is sinking starting from the Offensive Line, which in Pennsylvania conceded 5 sacks to the opposing defense (reaching 31 sacks suffered in season); and it is logical that for Watson to constantly play under pressure is impossible. Then, as mentioned, he puts a lot of his effort into it, given that the Browns had the chance to tie the game with a good drive: 8 minutes from the end, with the score 20-13 for the Eagles, the Browns they regained possession of the oval; Watson, with the only real flash of his game, found Jeudy deep (35 yards receiving), bringing Cleveland into opposing territory; then, with another 2-3 successful choices, Watson brought his attack just 3 yards from the end zone; but here everything got stuck: 2 penalties for false starts (again, also in Philadelphia) and coach Stefanski who, considering how things were going and to avoid not putting points on the board 4 minutes from the end of the match, preferred relying on Hopkins’ field goal to make it 20-16, hoping to be able to receive the oval again before the end of the game. But the Browns never saw the oval again. Hurts played well on the final drive, burning minutes and finding AJ Brown with a 40-yard throw that allowed the Eagles to close the down and set the score at 20-16.
Reverse the routes
Now, after the 3 games played away from home, the Cleveland Browns will return to Huntington Bank Field for 2 divisional clashes: The Cincinnati Bengals will arrive on Sunday (October 20), the following week (October 27) it will be the Baltimore Ravens’ turn. Coach Stefanski seems intent on not changing the structure of his offensive department, keeping Deshaun Watson the starter. At the moment, numbers in hand, it’s a gamble, because winning the divisional clashes would be a good way to make the season less bitter for Browns fans; And with Watson as QB it remains unthinkable to find even just one victory in the next 2 games. The fact remains, however, that the next 2 weeks will be an important crossroads for the entire organization: in the event of 2 more defeats, in addition to Watson’s place, even coach Stefanski’s job would no longer be so safe.
The Eagles, on the other hand, must be happy with Sunday’s victory but must also realize that to get to the end of this season they cannot afford these performances. The W was key, but the way Philadelphia played didn’t differ much from the way it played in the 4 games before the bye week. Coach Sirianni will have to think about this and try to remedy it (rather than arguing with his fans). Because, as mentioned, you don’t meet the Browns every Sunday.
