Eagles-Commanders Film Review: Multiple defensive standouts from the NFC Championship Game

This was a good, not great, defensive performance. The Eagles had a few issues but they played well overall and forced some crucial turnovers in key situations against the Washington Commanders.

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Defense

I’ve had such a blast watching Jalen Carter play football this year. Add this play to the highlight reel. I know it doesn’t do anything, but just a reminder that Carter weighed in at 323lbs at the combine. How many guys 300+ can jump over a running back like this? He’s an insane athlete. I thought Oren Burks had another strong performance. He was good at avoiding blockers in the second level and got downhill in the run game quickly. Nakobe Dean was having a great season, but Oren Burks has stepped up after that unfortunate injury. It’s good to see the ‘next man up’ mentality working.

The Eagles’ defense had a weird start in this game. Washington went on a very long first drive and converted a few big 3rd and 4th downs. If not for a cowardly punt by Dan Quinn on 4th and short, I think they could have scored, too. In the game preview, I pointed out that Washington often targeted the flats when these two teams played earlier in the season. I said this after the Week 11 matchup.

I do expect other teams to target the Eagles in the flat … we saw the Eagles have some issues with motion and covering the flat in this one.

Unfortunately, the Eagles had the same issue in this one. There were too many occasions when the defensive back or linebacker responsible for the flat played too far inside. This led to some easy completions on 3rd and 4th down. Here are a couple of examples from Washington’s first drive. I saw this far too often. I know that Andy Reid will have seen this, too. Expect the Chiefs to target the flats early on in the Super Bowl. The first example looks like a clear miscommunication, too.

I got a bit of criticism (rightly so) for a comment online when I called the Eagles’ turnovers a little bit lucky. That was unfair of me. I still think that no matter how much you coach something, turnovers will always be a little bit lucky. However, the Eagles clearly prioritize punching the ball out, and it’s awesome to see. It is clearly something they prioritize a lot. My point online was that I don’t think the Eagles’ defense played that well in the first three-quarters of this game, and I believe the fumbles made the performance seem better than it was. Maybe I have high expectations for this defense, but I thought that Washington was moving the ball pretty well in this game. This is a fantastic play by Zack Baun and Cooper DeJean, who do well to rally to the football and cause the fumble. Both are exceptional athletes!

This was a fantastic rep of team defense. The Eagles don’t fall for the play-action bootleg and stay disciplined. The route distribution and communication are excellent. Oren Burks is supposed to be in coverage, but he recognizes that the receiving running past him will run into Cooper DeJean’s area, so he takes off and sacks Jayden Daniels. This play is all about instincts. It’s tough to coach when a defender should leave his coverage zone and get after the quarterback, and we see a lot of defenders do this poorly every week, but this is an example of when you should leave your zone and get after the quarterback. Credit to Oren Burks for having the instincts to make this play.

This was the worst play of the game for the Eagles’ defense. It’s just a simple slant route, and it can’t turn into a long touchdown. There are just a lot of individual errors. This isn’t a schematic issue at all. Darius Slay is playing with outside leverage as he knows he has inside help, but Zack Baun is a beat slow, and it’s a great throw and catch by Daniels and Terry McLaurin. However, Slay has to make the tackle rather than just leave McLaurin to Baun. Baun takes a bad angle and misses the tackle. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Reed Blankenship takes a poor angle and can’t prevent the touchdown. Lastly, this isn’t a mistake, but look at the difference in the reaction between Quinyon Mitchell and the receiver Mitchell is covering. The receiver sees this happen and gets out in front of the receiver. Mitchell relies on his teammates to make a play and doesn’t rally to the football. It’s a minor coaching point, but rallying to the football on every snap is important.

Is this… Cover 2?! Did Vic Fangio call Cover 2?! Jayden Daniels was as surprised as I was! Fangio rarely ever calls Cover 2, but it was cool to see him mix it up and go for it. I won’t be stunned if we see it against the Chiefs, as they excel in the short passing game. Washington throws a lot of short throws, which is another sign that Fangio will mix up his game plan every week. This is excellent coverage, but the play is made by Milton Williams, who shoves the left guard back into Daniels’s lap. Williams is going to get a serious paycheck this off-season!

The Eagles’ defense was flat-out terrible at the end of the first half. I haven’t got a clue what they were doing. Last week, I defended Fangio against the Rams and said that the defense didn’t play Prevent at the end of the game. This week, I can’t defend some of these calls. I’ve got no idea what they were trying to do here, but they allowed Daniels to pick up 19 yards easily and get out of bounds. Washington’s drive began at their 30-yard line with 39 seconds of the half remaining. With 2 seconds left, Washington was kicking a 42-yard field goal. They gained 46 yards in 37 seconds and didn’t even use a timeout. That’s rough.

The Eagles must treat the end of the half like any other situation. If the Chiefs get the ball at the end of the half, or the end of the game, needing a field goal… I will be incredibly nervous. Gulp.

Nolan Smith has been lights out in the playoffs. He has progressed so much in his second season. I’m so happy for him. He’s become a good pass rusher and an outstanding run defender who plays nearly all of the snaps. This was a great rep where he takes on the pulling guard (who weighs about 82 lbs more than him) and still makes the tackle.

Speaking of EDGE defenders, I didn’t clip up anything for Jalyx Hunt this week, but he had a good game. He showed some promise rushing the quarterback and was good against the run. Hunt played 42 snaps!

Whatever your opinion of Jordan Davis, you must admit that we haven’t seen him do this often! Wow! That is a fantastic rep. Imagine being a quarterback and seeing Jordan Davis bearing down on you?! That has to be terrifying. I wouldn’t want him landing on me, either… that’s gotta hurt. Jordan Davis hasn’t taken a step forward this year, and he probably played less than many of us expected. However, if he can start adding this type of pass rush to his arsenal, then good luck to opposing offensive lineman!

I am such a huge fan of Jayden Daniels. Sadly, he’s going to be fantastic. Washington’s first touchdown was an obvious error by the defense. There’s no error here. That’s not much you can do. Sometimes, you have to say fair play.

I have already criticized the Eagles’ defense a couple of times in this one. I have one more thing to complain about. Before Austin Ekeler’s fumble, Washington was driving down the field and the score was only 34-23 at that point. Washington was moving as the Eagles kept sending 5 pass rushers, playing man coverage, and leaving Reed Blankenship in one-on-one coverage with Zach Ertz. Ertz wrecked him—more than once. Ertz had 11 (!) catches for 104 (!) yards in this game. Some of that came in garbage time, but it’s still a little concerning.

Luckily, Oren Burks ruined this Washington drive by forcing a big fumble. I love this, so much! You can tell that he’s been coached to do this. Moro Ojomo forces the short throw with a good pass rush, and Ekeler falls as he makes the catch. Rather than touch Ekeler while he is on the floor, which would cause him to be ruled down, Burks slows down so he hits him as he gets onto his feet. This is a great time to cause a fumble, and Burks does just that! This was a massive play in the game.

I’ve already mentioned Nolan Smith, but I had to show this one on 4th down. Zach Ertz is coming open on the deep over, so this was a critical pass rush. This is on 4th down, so Daniels has to hold the football, and Smith takes advantage by lining up very wide and bending the edge. The game was basically over anyway, but this play sealed it. What a fantastic play!

I haven’t mentioned Quinyon Mitchell yet (except for his play on the long touchdown). Do you know why? It’s because he gave nothing up. He was like a veteran that opposing quarterbacks don’t even bother looking at anymore. He struggled a little against Washington last time but was lights out in this game. To top off an excellent performance, he makes this ridiculous interception at the end of game. What an incredible play. The Eagles have a young superstar at cornerback. Cornerback is one of the hardest positions to play as a rookie, and the Eagles have two exceptional young talents who have played lights out this year. This secondary should be great for a while!

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