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The Eagles aren’t the same
I’m probably not the guy to call it a Super Bowl loss hangover but the 2023 season hasn’t given much ammo to those who want to avoid such clichés. Even when they’ve won games, so much about the Eagles of this year has left plenty to be desired despite retaining a large chunk of their core on both sides of the ball.
At times this season, I’ve simplified the equation for this team: the Eagles have a great record because they have some of the best players. As some areas of the roster regressed, the wins kept coming because they had high-caliber stars at premium positions. That’s all well and good … when those players operate at their peak. Week 14 was a reminder of what happens when those guys play a tick below expectation.
A.J. Brown’s end-of-game stat line looks fantastic; you’ll take it for fantasy football. But there’s no denying Stephon Gilmore got the better of that one-on-one matchup in critical portions of the game. Brown and DeVonta Smith both had downfield misses that some will chart as drops, others as missed throws by the quarterback. Whatever your eye beholds on those plays, they’re missed opportunities. The kind of whiffs we don’t associate with this team.
All three of Brown, Smith and Jalen Hurts fumbled the ball to crush a potential momentum-boosting drive.
The Eagles, usually so brash and dripping with confidence, didn’t play with that attitude in this game. Even head coach Nick Sirianni, usually the king of such adjectives, didn’t excuse that energy. I’m not one for the body language psychology but there’s something about this Eagles team that seems to know they aren’t all the way there right now.
Hurts isn’t playing at the same level he did in 2022. That’s just an objective fact. The film is the film and the stats don’t lie in this case. The running game is not even a ghost of what it was last year, but it at least carries some recognition of the once-living…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/caredont-care-eagles-fantasy-superstars-arent-at-their-best-in-week-14–revealing-a-cold-truth-053636940.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-11 05:36:36
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