Week 17 Wrap Up

 

This game was essentially over less than four minutes into the first quarter, when Andy Reid learned that Dallas fell to the lowly Lions and the Eagles were locked into the third playoff seed. With Atlanta eliminated from contention on Saturday night, the game became meaningless for both teams and the second string got a chance to show what they could do (which turned out to be quite a lot). The result was an exciting back-and-forth contest with big plays from everyone but the Falcon defense. In the end, the Eagles came out on the good side of a 24-17 decision. After finishing the tumultuous regular season with a 10-6 record and a division crown, the Eagles will begin their postseason next week when the reeling Giants roll into the Linc.

 

Post Game Positives

 

Punting/Coverage

The only area of the game that can be fairly assessed is special teams, and we saw another fine effort from Dirk Johnson and his coverage unit. Johnson put up a respectable 43.2-yard average on four punts, including a beauty which stuck Atlanta at their own 2 yard line. The always-dangerous Allen Rossum was not a factor at all; he only netted four yards on two returns and failed to take advantage of some missed tackles on the final punt of the game.

 

First Teamers

They weren’t on the field for very long, but everyone did their job as the Eagles won the first 3:21 by a score of 3-0. The defense stuffed a couple runs and tipped a pass to force a 3-and-out on the opening Atlanta drive. The offense got into position for a 41-yard field goal courtesy of a 29-yard gain after a screen by Brian Westbrook, sprung by Shawn Andrews. Reid only kept three defensive starters in after that, and fullback Thomas Tapeh was the only offensive player to stay in his original position. Sean Considine, who also stayed in, was a key contributor and nabbed a Matt Schaub pass in the fourth quarter.

 

Pride

Even though the Falcons were out of the playoffs before the season even started, Coach Mora could still dangle the carrot of a .500 record in front of his team. The Falcons did not let up all and were not afraid to hit or get hit. All the Eagles could play for was a healthy roster next week. Realistically, nobody would have blamed them if they phoned this game in. However, the Eagles’ JV squad gave the Atlanta starters a run for their money and then some. Everyone gave their best effort, and the play-calling was more aggressive than it has ever been. The Eagles gave the fans an exciting ball game and reason to stay out in the cold.

 

Night of the Living Dead

Remember all those guys who just kind of disappeared after September? Well, they were all back on the Linc’s mangled field Sunday evening. Jason Avant’s touchdown comes readily to mind. Most of all, we couldn’t be more proud of Joselio Hanson. When he was filling in earlier in the season, we picked on him almost as much as opposing offenses. Hanson got a bit of redemption during clean-up time, though, as he knocked away a touchdown from the hands of Roddy White early and provided good end zone coverage on Michael Jenkins in the final minutes. Among others to see significant time were Ryan Moats, Jerome McDougle, and Sam Rayburn.

 

Post Game Negatives

 

Correll Buckhalter sprains his knee

The theme for the Eagles this week was “don’t get hurt,” so there was cause for concern when Correll Buckhalter hobbled off late in the first quarter. Though it’s nothing serious, you have to wonder why Buckhalter, who finally looked comfortable in his role the last few weeks, was going to be used as a workhorse. It would have been a shame and a major setback to see Buckhalter take a more serious hit. Hopefully he won’t feel any ill effects next week.

 

Who Cares?

Let’s not get greedy here. Ignore the penalties, lapses in coverage, bad throws, and whatever else didn’t look good. Remember that the guys out there tonight are not the ones getting the majority of snaps in practice, nor will those units ever be on the field in a meaningful situation. Did the Eagles make mistakes? Yes. Were any of them unforgivable? No. This week, it didn’t matter if you won or lost, and frankly, it didn’t even matter how you played the game. The bottom line is that the Eagles get to host a playoff game next week!

 

Closing Remarks

If we had to choose one word to describe this game, it would be “relaxing.” A career day for Baskett? Outstanding. Eagles didn’t run the ball? Oh well. A sack from Juqua Thomas? Great. Missed field goal? Whatever. No matter what happened, Eagles fans could enjoy New Year’s Eve with the football game as a backdrop. If there’s one thing we can take from this game, it’s that if any starters go down in the future, we know we have competent depth players to fill in. With the postseason now in full focus, all eyes will be on Andy Reid and Jeff Garcia to see if the late-season turnaround can carry over into the playoffs. We’ll say it one more time for good measure: The Eagles are hosting a playoff game next week!

 

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