Football Talks (Eagles-Raiders Recap)
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Jalen Hurts: Insane Bounce-Back Performance
Silas:
Now let’s talk about Jalen Hurts, because this was honestly an insane game from him, especially considering the adversity he’s faced recently.
He finished with 175 passing yards, going 12-for-15, with 3 passing touchdowns. That means he had as many touchdown passes as incompletions, which is crazy when you really think about it. He also finished with a 154.9 passer rating. That's the second game with a near perfect passer rating.
The deep balls looked great. The timing was there, the confidence was there, and the accuracy was there. This wasn’t just checkdowns or easy throws—he was pushing the ball downfield and doing it efficiently.
And the biggest part of this is that he did all of this in three quarters. He played so well that he didn’t even need to play in the fourth quarter. The offense scored 31 points in the first three quarters, and the game was completely in hand.
This is what Jalen Hurts does best. When there’s adversity, when people doubt him, he responds with efficient, winning football. He didn’t need crazy volume or flashy stats. He just played quarterback at a high level and took full control of the game. He does tremendous under pressure
Dallas Goedert Performance
Dallas Goedert did a very good job too. We can see that he just did really well that game. He had 6 receptions, 70 yards, and 2 touchdowns. In the red zone, he had 3 red-zone targets. It was just good to see that he was really able to get a lot of passes and gain a lot of yardage. He did a really good job last game.
In the past two games, he’s had 70-plus yards, and it’s just been good to see Jalen Hurts have Dallas Goedert as that really dependable guy he can always throw to. He also has 9 receiving touchdowns this year.
Saquon Barkley Performance
Although, when you look at Saquon Barkley, I was thinking he would do better this game, but he really didn’t do all that well. Every once in a while, like I said the other day, you could see the sparks of how he used to be and him being a good running back, but he still wasn’t as good as he should be compared to last season.
Kevin Patullo and Offensive Play Calling
Okay, and Silas here, just talking about something that was probably one of the biggest changes. If you’re not excluding Jalen Hurts having a crazy day, I think you have to think about Kevin Patullo’s play calling.
That first game, he had great play calling, but it was messed up due to the turnovers. But if you look at the second game, everything really came together. That was probably the best performance I’ve seen from him as a play caller.
Now, you could say it’s the play caller. For me, I think it’s a little bit of Kevin Patullo, and I’m going to give him credit for this game. But I also think it’s just the talented players around him.
You saw different things. You saw trick plays. You saw wide receivers actually going over the middle, which is a genius idea. You saw A.J. Brown in the slot, which is something they rarely do. You didn’t just see A.J. Brown running hitch routes and DeVonta Smith running hitch routes. You actually got your guys involved.
You used Dallas Goedert in great ways. The plays under center were huge, and the amount of success they were able to have was impressive.
Jalen Hurts Passing Performance
Even just going back to Jalen Hurts, he had 175 passing yards. For the average fan, they’re going to think that’s not a lot of passing yards and that you need more to have a good game.
I don’t think that for three reasons. Number one, he only had 15 attempts, and he made good use of those attempts, completing 12 of them with a 154 passer rating. Secondly, his yards per attempt was 11.7, which is higher than Tanner McKee’s.
Third, he only played three quarters. He did so well and scored 31 points in the first three quarters that he could sit out the fourth quarter. Imagine if he played the entire game—he probably would have had another 40 or 50 passing yards.
He played so effectively that he didn’t need to play the fourth quarter. Thinking otherwise is emotional and illogical.
Eagles Defensive Dominance
Now, looking at the Eagles defense, this was one of the biggest shutouts for sure. The Raiders are a terrible team, and I’m not denying that, but there was something different about this game.
Kenny Pickett had only 64 passing yards. Our tight end had more receiving yards than Kenny Pickett had passing yards. The Raiders had no red-zone trips. They had zero explosive plays of 20 yards or more, and their longest reception was 14 yards.
The Raiders never threatened. No chunk plays, no rhythm, no confidence. Their running game was terrible. Everything about the Raiders was terrible. Kenny Pickett played abysmally, with a passer rating under 50.
This is the second time the Eagles have held a quarterback—Justin Herbert and Kenny Pickett—to under a 70 passer rating. This defense is playing at a Super Bowl level.
Linebacker Play: Micah’s Breakdown
Micah, tell us about the linebacker performance. What did you see?
Yeah, it was incredible seeing the linebacker performance. Nakobe Dean had a lot of pressure plays and finished with 12 tackles. He made a lot of great plays, and it was good to see him come back alive and play so well.
Zack Baun had an interception, and the duo together was really impressive. Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun are an incredible pair, and you can see the success the defense has had because of them.
They aren’t the only guys playing well, but because of those two, the defense has been a lot better. You can see it in the sacks, tackles, and pressures they’ve had.
Defensive Line and Brandon Graham
Beyond that, the entire defense played lights out. They had four sacks in the game, two of them by Brandon Graham.
I’ll admit I was skeptical of Brandon Graham coming back. I thought it was a bad decision. I thought he looked overweight and not in the right physical shape. I didn’t think he could produce and thought he was more of a mentor-type player.
But this was honestly his breakout game. He looked like vintage Brandon Graham from before his injury. He played well, took snaps inside at defensive tackle, and made an impact.
The defensive line has played at a different level over the past two games, with 11 sacks total. Nolan Smith had a sack, and Mauro Ojomo and Jordan Davis are both having breakout seasons.
Hot Takes Recap
Micah, what was your hot take?
My hot take was that the Eagles would have eight sacks and sack Kenny Pickett eight times. I thought that since they sacked Justin Herbert seven times, they could do even more against the Raiders. Looking back, that was probably a little crazy, but four sacks is still really good.
Silas:
My hot take worked. I said Jalen Hurts would have a crazy comeback game, just not in the way you’d expect. He wouldn’t have insane passing yards, but he would play really well, and that’s exactly what happened.
What This Means Going Forward
What does this mean for the Eagles going forward? Sure, you beat a 2-win team, but it still matters. It builds confidence, establishes a working game plan, and gives Kevin Patullo more experience.
With an upcoming game against the Commanders, this is important. The Eagles have a Super Bowl-level defense and a complementary offense. If they can repeat this formula week after week, they can make a deep playoff run.
Final Thoughts
Mike, do you have anything else to say?
Yeah, it was good to see Jalen Hurts and the Eagles play well. Sure, the Raiders are a terrible team, but it was comforting to see improved play calling and a dominant defense. It’s nice to see the Eagles get a solid win.
Silas:
That concludes our recap of Raiders vs. Eagles. On Wednesday, we’ll have a guest post from a friend in Mississippi talking about the Patriots. For now, we’re excited to see what the Eagles can do against the Commanders on Saturday.
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