Eagles-Packers Week 10 MNF Recap | Defenses Bail Out Playcallers on Both Sides

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Lowe's knows Sundays are for football. So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on LG and Bosch appliances, select Bounty and Swiffer cleaning products and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax and enjoy the game. Shop in store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL.

0:27Nick Shook:Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea or OSA in adults with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snore loudly or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability, and concentration issues, it may be due to OSA. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more at don'tsleep on osa.com. This information is provided by Lily, a medicine company. This is Tav Ramos from Inside American Soccer.

1:07And this summer, Topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They've got a new soccer-themed game you can play with your group, exclusive food and drink items. They've even installed full-size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, You can get the Topgolf Summer Fun Pass, which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit. Get yours now at topgolf.com slash fun pass.

1:38Nick Shook:For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tremphaya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tremphaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tremphaya, proper training is required. Tremphaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur.

2:19Nick Shook:Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremphayaRadio.com. Here it is. Spotted. Kicked. And it is no good. Not even close. It is not even close. It barely reaches the end zone and the game is over and the Philadelphia Eagles have escaped with a 10-7 win. Oh, what a fitting end to a bizarre night. The second time in week 10 that Nick Shook and I will discuss a 10-7 primetime finale. This one meant a little more than Broncos Raiders.

3:10Yes, Merrill Reese and Mike Quick on WIP sounded like they were disappointed by how bad that kick was. But the Eagles win. Those were the Eagles announcers talking about a missed Brandon McManus kick to end this game from 64 yards out. The Eagles are 7-2. And Nick, if we thought they won ugly early in the season, this was next level. but this game was a journey and that somehow felt like the perfect ending to this journey

3:44Nick Shook:you know we got the halftime and it was 0-0 it struck me we shouldn't be surprised by this at all these are the two teams that have the toughest time with figuring out a rhythm finding one the packers notoriously starting slow the eagles can't play a full game haven't really done it offensively all year of course this is how it was gonna go and of course it was gonna end up 10 to seven. And I think that I can explain Merrill Reese's, I don't know, dissatisfaction or lack of excitement there. The fact that why did we even have to go through this, these last few snaps, because Nick Sirianni's decision on fourth down when they were trying to put the game away.

4:20Okay, you're right. We got to start there. And that's why Shooki is the best because, you know, part of me wants to give credit. This Eagles defense looks different. Now you add Nolan Smith and you add Jalen Phillips and you add N 'Kobe Dean as a big time factor and they look different. We'll give them all the credit for that. But what was Nick Sirianni doing there? Break it down for us when he decides to go for it on fourth and six late in the game. What did you think about that decision? And give the listeners some context to that.

4:55Nick Shook:So, you know, the Packers have two timeouts left. All the Eagles need to do is get a first down. They don't get the first down. They successfully run the clock down far enough. to where I believe there was 26 seconds left on fourth and six. They come out of the huddle. They line up as if they're going to run a play. And you can even hear, you know, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman saying, I can't imagine they would run a play here. Everybody expects that they're just going to try and draw them off sides. No, they call a timeout because it ends up being a Kodak moment for them. They're trying to get a snapshot of what the defense is doing because apparently they intend to run a play, which they do.

5:24Nick Shook:And I don't know if it's an ego decision or what, but Nick Sirianni draws up a fade to A.J. Brown, which does not work. and suddenly the Packers had the ball at their own 35 with just enough time to try to get into field goal range. Just one of those classic two young coaches who've experienced a lot of success. I'm going to try to be the tough guy in this situation when I don't need to be. Yeah, shout out to the fans in the UK that we're hearing from in the chat. We love everyone that joins us on YouTube Live every Monday night. They're up at 4.30 in the morning. They only got to see one touchdown, but it was exciting.

5:55The call was crazy though, because all night long, Nick Sirianni was calling third and long runs. Bo Wolfe, you know, he's been talking about it on the All-PHLY podcast all season. He actually has measured it. He calls it the coward's run. And it's a run on third and 12 plus. And right now, the Eagles are in the mix for the highest percentages of runs on those play in the history of football. They refuse to try on third and long. And yet in that spot, fourth and six, and I just checked, it was 33 seconds left to start that play. I do think it was about ego. And it does remind me of the beginning of last season when Nick Sirianni couldn't get out of his own way in a win or a loss.

6:40He was always the story, just like it was a Nick Sirianni be normal for one week challenge. And he's back to failing that challenge. And I think you called it right there, Nick. I think he wanted to have a moment. And, you know, A.J. Brown basically didn't get a target all night after the first quarter. And he knew they were going to have one-on-one coverage. And that has been a successful play for them down the field. But not tonight when it's cold. And, you know, A.J. Brown wasn't in the mix. And he was not open on that play. And it was just a hope ball. And it was insane because the Packers, even though they had no timeouts, had 27 seconds to work with.

7:19And if they didn't mess up this screen pass where it looked like Josh Jacobs had all the room in the world and kind of had a strange path to him getting out in the formation, they could have had plenty of time. And it's all we would have been talking about Nick Sirianni when we should be talking about his defense. Just a strange man, Nick Sirianni. And I blame him, by the way, for all those third and 12 plus runs. All the Eagles fans in my mentions were like, no, Kevin Petula is the play caller. Okay, they've been doing that since the day Nick Sirianni got there. So it doesn't matter who the play caller is.

7:51They're doing it either way.

7:53Nick Shook:Yeah, they also did it on first and 25 tonight, a classic draw, and ended up clawing their way back to third and 11. So it's not the only time they'll do it. And then, okay, so that's typical of this game. And you mentioned how it's scoreless at halftime. One of the, I believe, 10 Monday Night Football games ever to be scoreless at halftime. That was according to Josh Dubow from the Associated. First in 2009. And that game was Browns Ravens at what is now known as Hines and Bank Field. Steelers, rather. Yes, with the crazy punt that just sticks in the mud. Oh, no, that too. Yes, yes. Stuck in Hines Field's turf.

8:32Nick Shook:Yes. Formerly known as Hines Field. And the turf kind of was a problem tonight, too. It always is at Lindenbo Field. Everyone's slipping around. It doesn't make for great football sometimes. when it's cold or if it's a little wet, which it was tonight. And the thing that strikes me about the fourth quarter where they finally started scoring, and we'll get to how that all happened, is Nick Sirianni, because he needed to, actually let Jalen Hurts throw a third and long in the fourth quarter because it was like, oh, we actually have to score some points to maybe win this game. You know what happened?

9:04He hits Devontae Smith for a catch. And then the very next drive, after the Packers fall down 10-0, nothing uh the Packers stopped trying to establish the run for once all night and they go very pass heavy and you know what happens the Packers finally score a touchdown this is what we talked about earlier this week like Matt LaFleur is just all about this running game instead of letting Jordan Love kind of run the show for this Packers team I'm not going to try to take away credit here

9:27Nick Shook:but I think that some context is important on that drive because there was one a key pass interference that gained them a big chunk of yards and two the Eagles with a 10 nothing lead in the fourth quarter were playing much softer zone and giving up things underneath so suddenly that passing game was going to open up because if you compare uh the the previous defensive situation versus that one when they were only up three nothing they were playing much tighter coverage trying to force you know a stop and force a punt or a turnover on downs and then they backed off once they realized all right we have a little bit of cushion to work with we're going to give them some cushion so i think that's also what helped open it up i don't even really have a problem with them trying to establish the run it's just that that it you don't get jordan love into a rhythm and against a team that looked so good in the pass rush tonight with the eagles defense a team that lacked pass rush many times this season.

10:10Nick Shook:One key addition at the trade deadline, the continued development of Jalex Hunt. Suddenly, you know, I've never really got comfortable. So it's kind of a double-edged sword with this offense right now. Okay, that's fair. And the design success rate for both teams was very low all night. They were in the low 30s. So that was part of it. And they were just missing a lot of passing plays. Question from the commenters. This is loaded. This is very loaded. Yes. Odds go down tonight. like the Broncos did on Thursday. It strikes me that could be from a Broncos fan. I'm going to say no, because the Eagles have proven to us, even though I'm starting to have my doubts this season about this offense, that if they can just get to the dance, the talent can overwhelm the opposition and they can figure it out.

10:59They have the backing of Super Bowl champs, whereas the Broncos, to me, this has been a terrible offense for the most part. or at least pass the game all season long.

11:09Nick Shook:Yes. Let's also consider the opponent. They played a Raiders defense that couldn't stop a nosebleed. This time they know the Eagles are playing the Packers. That also matters. That matters quite a bit. I was thinking watching this game though that whichever team loses, the fan base is going to be furious. And I think Packers fans are furious right now after a second straight loss at Lambeau. But I have a feeling like Eagles fans aren't going to be that happy either. And I was thinking watching this game and I don't want to be a prisoner of the moment. Man, those teams in the NFC West, they do seem more complete right now than the Eagles or the Packers.

11:46We have a long way to go and the Packers have the difficult task of having to win this division, the NFC North, where the Eagles kind of know they're going to win their division. And after next week's game against the Lions, really looking forward to that, they have a pretty soft schedule down the stretch. So that's an advantage for the Eagles. And ultimately, I'm not shocked. Were you shocked that the Eagles won this game? because when this got weird and ugly, and even when it was 0-0, I was like, now the Eagles are going to win this just because it's kind of what they do in the end, even though it's not great.

12:15They've proven to us that they can win these types of games, and they did it tonight with some really great defense.

12:21Nick Shook:There's probably two or three reasons why I thought that the Eagles were going to win this game when it was 3-0. Okay. Number one, the Packers couldn't stop making the small mistakes, whether it's an illegal formation penalty that wipes out a big gain in the fourth quarter or them trying to down a punt at the one-yard line, but they step on the goal line and it results in a touchback. There's a number of, you know, drops. Jordan Love, you know, putting a couple of really nice on-target passes that get dropped. They just couldn't get the little things right. And that's kind of been indicative of who the Packers have been all season.

12:49Nick Shook:Just look at that Panthers loss for an example. It's also because the Eagles defense, which I know we're going to dive further into, they just looked a lot better tonight than they have proportions of this season. And it's the pedigree. It's the fact that you have Saquon Barkley back there, And all you have to do is get him the ball in space once or twice where he has to make one man miss. And it can completely flip your offensive momentum, which is exactly what happened on their lone touchdown drive tonight. So it felt like that was inevitable, even though the game was pretty ugly. OK, let's let's make it time for who's delivered by Uber Eats.

13:21And let's talk about that touchdown drive. It's three nothing in the fourth quarter. And yes, it's a two play sequence starting with a Saquon Barkley spin move. And yeah, if you're watching on YouTube, you'll be able to see at this point, it's a third and seven. Another time, hey, it's good to throw the ball on third and long occasionally. Saquon looked like he could get tackled in the open field. Instead, he puts the spin move on. He goes down the field. And it does remind you that sometimes just their talent ultimately overwhelms the opposition, even if the coaching is even. And the Packers, without Tucker Craft, without Jaden Reed, and with Josh Jacobs not being as explosive, maybe don't have those type of playmakers.

14:05So the very next play, we got the first touchdown of the night.

14:10Nick Shook:Jahan Dotson in motion. Hurts, fakes, looks, steps up. He is floating the football. It is for Devontae Smith. Touchdown! He got it. He took it away from the defender. He took it out of the hands of Evan Williams. Devontae Smith from Jalen Hurts. Oh, that's a great call there by Merrill Reese. And like Devontae Smith with the ball in the air is one of the best wide receivers in football. It's just, he's so strong. It kind of defies logic. It does. And I can't be the first person to think this year, man, like Devontae Smith has been as valuable to this team, if not more so than A.J. Brown has been.

14:54He has really been excellent this year, even if the numbers don't look that different than his normal seasons.

14:59Nick Shook:Yeah. When you're examining the two off a physical profile alone, you think I'm throwing my jump balls to AJ Brown. But that's what makes Devonta Smith special is that he is this very, you know, slender, skinny guy. He's slight in frame, but he plays much bigger than that. And it's been his reputation throughout his career with the Eagles. And tonight it was a huge reason why they were able to even put 10 points on the board. You know, that completing a long pass on third down, like you said, to Smith later in the game was key. That toss there. I mean, look, Evan Williams had a really good game tonight at safety.

15:29Nick Shook:He was all over the field. That was probably the one low light of his game. And it's because he was facing a guy as special as Devonta Smith. Simple as that. Yeah. Devonta Smith finishes with four catches for 69 yards, which in this game is a huge total. Neither team topped 300 yards. And yeah, A.J. Brown ends up getting 13 yards on three targets. It's only one incompletion. A question for me, am I still a shadow Eagles fan? I would say yes, but I just haven't been loyal. I've picked against them too many times in big spots, including tonight. So I feel like a dope for trusting the Packers, thinking that like, here's the thing that no one expects they're going to do is win this game after losing to the Panthers.

16:11And just too many times they've been frustrating. Whereas in the end, I do appreciate that Jalen Hurts makes good decisions. I really do think there is something to it. Even if he's very careful, he tends to do exactly enough. And yeah, that was a huge drive. And he did make a few more good plays the rest of the game. That was Who Delivered presented by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, get game day meals on Uber Eats, the official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. I probably should have given it to Jalen Phillips. Let's talk about Jalen Phillips' night. It almost feels, you know, a little braggy.

16:51Just say it with me, Shook.

16:54Nick Shook:Howie did it again. See, we did it. Good job. It almost feels a little showy. It's like, oh, I'm Howie Roseman. I'm going to make a trade for like a third round pick. And then that guy's going to show up a few days later in prime time and basically win us the game. Tell me about Jalen Phillips' night. Yeah, I mean, first off, the trade made perfect sense. They lacked, you know, edge-rushing talent. They lacked a difference maker since they had all these departures in the offseason, Josh Swett being one of them. You can go back two years, Hasan Raddick, right? And it was the biggest weakness on their defense and perhaps on their entire team, say for when their offense struggled, right?

17:29Nick Shook:So you go make that trade for Jalen Phillips on surface, ton of sense. But then you don't really expect a guy to have such an impact in his first game with his new team. He gets to halftime. he has three pressures and he's already jumping off of the screen to me which is why i looked up his pressures at halftime he finishes with a total of seven he was he faced three double teams he had one quick pressure he was all over the place there was he didn't get a run stuff according to next gen stats but i'll tell you what he shook off a block and made a key run stop of josh jacobs as if he was a human brick wall he shut that run down so quickly he was a massive difference maker he was in on the fumble that was caused late in this game that essentially, you know, backed the Packers into a corner that they ultimately couldn't get out of.

18:14Nick Shook:This, if you can get this type of production, it opens up everything up front because like I said, Jalex Hunt continues to develop. He's had a nice little run of games here going back to the Minnesota game. But if you have Phillips on the opposite side, opens up everything else for all those other guys in the defensive line. And suddenly a group that you thought might be weak improves because you have a better player at the top of that list. Yeah, Jalex Hunt actually played fewer snaps tonight, 43 snaps to Jalen Phillips, who played 53. And it felt like Nolan Smith was always out there, but really they used him at the very beginning of the game when they needed it, and at the very end of the game when they needed it.

18:52And he ended up with a sack and a quarterback hit. And it just makes you realize watching tonight, oh, this defense, which to me was the bigger problem in the first five or six weeks, even though the offense is getting all the attention, is now I think safely moving into being the bigger problem. It actually was the defensive decline from league's best to eh. When last year, the offense kind of was eh in the regular season. And so that wasn't that different. and suddenly you're watching tonight and Jihad Campbell's like playing a lot less now because N 'Kobe Dean is out there almost every step and N 'Kobe Dean had an awesome night tonight.

19:34He was super active and you add Jalen Phillips. Hey, PFF gave him even another pressure there. They give him eight and it's very funny how they love these guys. Brandon Graham is one of them. Eagles always think that guys that get a lot of pressures but not a lot of sacks are like undervalued. Brandon Graham was the poster boy for that. And now they actually have Brandon Graham back, who did get a hurry in one of his brief snaps tonight. And they have Nolan Smith back, who's been gone for almost the entire season. Like, it's a different defense than it was before. And you have Quinion Mitchell out there making huge plays.

20:12And I'm glad you mentioned the Jalen Phillips, you know, help on that Reed Blankenship forced fumble. That comes in the fourth quarter, fourth and two. tell the listeners about that sequence because that's really the stop of the game. I know we kind of end up getting sidetracked by what happened, but ultimately Jordan Love gets the ball like inside his own 20 with a chance over two minutes to go and drive the length of the field and potentially just get a game tying field goal. And it winds up sputtering out around midfield.

20:44Nick Shook:Yeah. All the momentum is in the Packers favor when they get the ball back because they just went from being down 10-0 and having little hope to getting a quick stop defensively and getting the ball back with enough time to put together a drive as long as they could throw the football and Love comes out and throws it well he hits Christian Watson for like a gain of 25 to start on third down there to continue that drive and then suddenly their offense sputters and they're still only at their own 35 and then they hit Luke Musgrave for nine yards and it's like oh it's so close to a first down and it comes up short and then there's that fourth and one and that's where the game again turns in the favor of the Eagles when they get the pressure they're able to kind of close all the gaps force a fumble on Josh Jacobs and the rest is history yeah it it was kind of typical of a night where just everything LaFleur was trying didn't work well and there was a funny shot early of him looking at the surface tablet and being frustrated and seeing like oh why didn't Jordan Love see those open receivers?