Much has been said, and there is plenty that can be said, about Philadelphia’s failure to pull out a win against the Falcons on Monday night. Much of the attention has focused on the inexplicable decision to throw the ball (and risk an incomplete pass) on third down and 3 from the Atlanta 10 with under two minutes left in the game.
But the Eagles’ defense deserves scrutiny, and that was one of the topics discussed on PFT Live’s “Tuesdays with McCourty.” (Clip embedded in this caption.)
As Devin said, Philadelphia looked like it was playing a scout-team defense against an offense that needed to gain confidence through two-minute drills. They stayed too far from the ball. They allowed too many easy passes. They couldn’t make any runs against a quarterback with a history of cringing under pressure, without the mobility to escape it.
In our always unscripted, spontaneous conversation, we ran into a deeper question: Is this one of the risks of having a defensive coordinator in the booth instead of on the sideline? Devin mentioned that in overtime of Super Bowl 51, it seemed inevitable that the Patriots would drive down the field and score a game-winning touchdown. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia reprimanded his defensive players, telling them to stop watching the game and get ready to play.
Who was keeping the Eagles defense ready to play when everyone else thought the game was over? Some players may have been mentally withdrawn, thinking the game was over. Who was bringing them back?
McCourty specifically mentioned rookie cornerback Quinion Mitchell, who played for Toledo last year. Now, in just his second game of the NFL regular season, he had to find a way to be ready to go when the offense could potentially decide the win. Was there anyone on the sideline keeping Mitchell focused?
Whatever the reason, the defense was on fire from the start of the final drive, going from “Cousins is going to screw it up” to “Oh man, we’re going to score” in an instant as the Falcons pulled away from the Eagles after a tough stretch.
With so many coaching-related issues that plagued the Eagles during their late-season collapse in 2023, it’s fair to wonder whether the coaching staff was doing everything in its power to ensure the defensive players were able to finish the job in the unlikely event that the offense couldn’t finish the job.