Philadelphia Eagles: Postgame observations from win over Falcons

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 behind an efficient day on offense and a defense that played at a championship level.

For the first time since 2009, the Philadelphia Eagles have won a playoff game after defeating the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 to move onto the NFC Championship game for the first time in nine years. It was also the Eagles first playoff win in Philadelphia since January of 2007.

Saturday`s win was an all-around team effort that ended with a defensive stop on fourth and goal from the two-yard line. The Eagles are now one win away from reaching their first Super Bowl in 13 years, and they will get a chance to do that at their home next Sunday night.

There is so much to break down from this game, so let’s get right at it. Here are my Eagles-Falcons postgame observations:

• Regardless of what you hear this week, Nick Foles played very well. Yes, he had some misses high early on, but he settled in and played better than anyone thought he was going to play. Foles completed over 75 percent of his passes and was extremely efficient all night long. The Eagles needed Foles to put them in a position to win and that is exactly what he did.
• Continuing on Foles, Eagles coach Doug Pederson drew up a fantastic game plan to put his quarterback in a position to succeed. There were many timing throws that Foles was hitting in rhythm and they used the run-pass option a lot and Foles was money on those plays. The RPO’s were something Foles ran a lot under Chip Kelly and the Eagles were able to implement them to help out their quarterback in this game.
• Pederson really did call a fantastic game. Aside from putting Foles in the best position to succeed, he put in some new wrinkles into the offense that helped them keep the ball moving. Those run plays to Nelson Agholor were huge gains that helped set the Eagles up for later scores. Pederson had two weeks to prepare and used every bit of that time to improve the offense.
• When Pederson was first hired, many thought he would just be another Andy Reid. Well on Saturday, we learned that is not true at all. Reid was known for abandoning the run and going pass heavy in big games. Pederson did no such thing and stuck with the run for a final total of 31 pass plays and 32 run plays. That is truly what you call balance right there.
• Aside from his fumble, Jay Ajayi was very good early on in the game. He ran it right down the Falcons throat in the first quarter and the Eagles offensive line established their dominance from that point on. Ajayi did not play much the rest of the game, and a reason for that could be because LeGarrette Blount has been here before and won’t be as likely to make a big mistake.
• On Blount`s touchdown run on fourth and goal, Trey Burton deserves most, if not all, of the credit for that score. He had a fantastic lead block by taking out his guy from down low that allowed for Blount’s score to look so easy. That is just an example of how well everyone did in run blocking on Saturday night.
• The Eagles offensive line was excellent on Saturday night. Run blocking was excellent and they kept Foles pretty clean in the pocket. They only gave up one sack the whole night, and on that sack, Foles may have held onto the ball for a bit too long.
• Jason Kelce continues to show why he is one of the best centers in the league. On Ajayi’s long catch and run on 3rd and 7, Kelce was out there as the lead blocker and had a huge role in that play going for as many yards as it did.
• The Eagles fumbled the ball four times on Saturday night, and luckily only lost two. And I say luckily because it could have been a lot worse had Blount not fell on that bobbled handoff and Foles had not dived on the fumble down by the goal line. The Eagles were lucky to escape with a win given their carelessness at times with the football.
• If the Eagles don’t turn the football over, they probably blow out Atlanta. The offense was moving all game long and it was those miscues that slowed them down. The Falcons had 10 points and all of them came off of turnovers. The Eagles need to take better care of the football next week, and if they do, then their chances of going to the Super Bowl go way up.
• With all of this talk about the offense, let’s give a lot of love to the defense. They gave up only 10 points to last year’s MVP Matt Ryan and contained one of the game’s best receivers in Julio Jones. And as I said in the last point, all of the points for the Falcons came off of turnovers and their one touchdown was on a short field after some questionable penalties. Hats off to the defense for a stellar performance.
• The Eagles’ offense was a big reason why they got home field advantage, but in the postseason, their defense is going to be a big reason why they win and move on. The old saying is defense wins championships and this defense has the look of one that can win a championship in just a few weeks.
• Jalen Mills played out of his mind on Saturday night. He has grown so much over the past two years and the now seasoned veteran held his opponents to only one catch and made the biggest play of the game (the season) on the Falcons fourth and goal play as he broke up the pass to Jones.
• Before the last play, I had a feeling the Falcons would go with a sprint out, but I don’t know why they actually did it. Steve Sarkisian has had a rough year as a play-caller, but that last play is something you call in college, not the NFL. He cut the field in half and once Ryan was pressured, there was really no chance in them completing that pass. Bad play call, but nonetheless great defense to get the stop and win the game for the Eagles.
• How about Jake Elliott? The guy misses a 33-yard extra point and then nails a huge 53-yard kick right before half to give the Eagles momentum. I have never seen a kicker who nails kicks from beyond 40-yards so well, but struggles to hit them when he is in the 30-yard range. Would the Eagles bring back Caleb Sturgis to handle extra points and leave the long kicks to Elliott? Probably not. Elliott said those short kicks he thinks too much, he’s just got to stop thinking about those short kicks and kick them like they are 50-yarders.
• Thanks to a tipped punt by Bryan Braman, the Eagles were able to get good field position to try and move into field goal range right before half. On that drive, Foles overthrew Zach Ertz, but the ball was kicked by Atlanta and Torrey Smith made the “Immaculate Reception 2.0.” After that with seven seconds left, Foles hit Alshon Jeffery along the sideline with one second remaining to set up the field goal attempt.  The play they ran was the exact same play they ran against the New York Giants to set up Elliott’s 61-yarder and on Saturday it worked to perfection.
• Whoever says home-field advantage means nothing is absolutely wrong. The crowd on Saturday night was electric and no one sat down the entire game. They had a huge impact in the Eagles winning that game and if the Eagles win next week, the crowd will be a huge reason why.
• To all the doubters out there, keep sleeping. Pretty much the entire national media picked against the Eagles and it looks like they will be picking against the Eagles once again next week, which is fine. You saw how the Eagles responded being underdogs, and they will be even more motivated next week with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Next: 3 takeaways from Eagles win over Falcons

We’ll see you next Sunday 6:40 PM for the NFC Championship Game. Eagles win, and they are heading back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2005. It is going to be an exciting week all around the Delaware Valley and the lead up to this game couldn’t be any more exciting.