A position coach who deserves lofty praise, recalling 4th and 26 exactly 21 years ago today and the worst pass in Eagles history.
We kick into playoff mode with this weekend’s edition of Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations.
As long as the Eagles keep winning, we’ll keep observing.
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1. Doug Nussmeier deserves so much credit for the job he’s done in his first year as Eagles quarterbacks coach. Nussmeier, who was also with Kellen Moore with the Cowboys and Chargers, replaced Alex Tanney after last season and has gotten three quarterbacks ready to play at a high level, which is a rarity. This is the first time in Eagles history three different starting QBs have had a game with a 100 passer rating in the same season and only the seventh time that’s happened with any NFL team in the last 25 years. Before he got hurt, Jalen Hurts had just finished the 2nd-best 11-game stretch in franchise history (behind Nick Foles in 2013). Then Kenny Pickett puts up 26 points in relief of Hurts in Washington and 27 points before he got hurt vs. Dallas. Then Tanner McKee - who’s never played a snap in the NFL - goes out and throws four TDs and no interceptions in five quarters against the Cowboys and Giants. Getting one quarterback ready to win a football game is hard enough. Getting two ready is impressive. Getting three ready - in the span of just a few weeks - is astonishing. Nussmeier has a terrific relationship with Hurts and the other QBs, and if Kellen Moore does get a head coaching job he’d be the obvious choice to replace him as offensive coordinator.
2. If Moore does get a head coaching job, it would be a big loss for an offense that really started rolling after the bye, averaging almost 31 points per game from the first Giants game through the second Cowboys game. It’s not that Moore is an offensive genius or an innovative madman. I thought he did a decent job in his first year as play caller and offensive coordinator, although there were too many games where it took the offense a while to get into a rhythm. But if Moore leaves, now Jalen Hurts is working with his sixth play caller in six years - Doug Pederson in 2020, Nick Sirianni at the start of 2021, Shane Steichen the rest of 2021 and 2022, Brian Johnson in 2023, Moore in 2024 and the new guy in 2025. On top of a different play caller each year in college. Hurts has been vocal about how hard it is to play in a new offense and a new scheme year after year, and it’s not easy to learn a new system and get used to a new play caller year after year. The one time Hurts had the same play caller for a second year the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. And it wasn’t really until after the bye this year that Hurts and Moore started to click. If Moore gets a head coaching offer, good for him. But not so good for Hurts.
3. When you think Eagles-Packers in the postseason, you think 4th and 26, and a few things beyond the obvious stand out from the Eagles’ 2003 conference semifinal overtime win at the Linc on Jan. 11, 2004. First, Donovan McNabb almost got the first down on 3rd-and-26, but his pass sailed just inches past the reach of tight end Chad Lewis, who may have jumped for the ball a tad early. Second, on 4th and 26, the Eagles barely got the play off. The play clock went from 0:01 down to 0:00 an instant after Hank Fraley snapped the ball to McNabb. Third, Darren Sharper absolutely crushed Freddie Mitchell in the back after he caught the ball, but FredEx was tough hanging on. And fourth, terrific job by umpire Steve Wilson, who raced in and immediately spotted the ball at the Packers’ 46-yard-line, safely beyond the sticks. One of the greatest, wildest, most improbable, ridiculous plays ever.
4. It’s not ideal that A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith have both missed practice time this week. Brown was limited Wednesday and out Thursday with a lingering knee issue, and Smith sat out Friday with back tightness. Both will play Sunday, but if they’re anything less than 100 percent that could really handicap this offense. There just isn’t anybody else. Hurts completed 113 passes for 1,619 yards and 11 touchdowns to Brown and Smith this year. Hurts’ numbers to the Eagles’ other WRs: 12-for-122 to Jahan Dotson, 7-for-34 to Britain Covey (who’s on IR), 6-for-30 and a TD to Parris Campbell (who’s on the practice squad), 2-for-14 and a TD to Johnny Wilson, 2-for-0 to Ainias Smith and 1-for-0 to John Ross. That’s an average of 13 yards per game to receivers other than Smith and Brown. The Eagles seem confident Smith and Brown are both healthy enough to play at a high level, but it is a little scary because they can't afford to lose either one.
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5. A big concern for me going into Sunday is the Eagles’ inability to generate pressure late in the season. They had 36 sacks the first 12 games, which was 6th-most in the NFL. Then they had just five the last five games, 2nd-fewest in the league and the fewest they’ve ever had the last five games of a season. With Brandon Graham out, Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith have been the Eagles’ only effective edge rushers. Jordan Love was only sacked seven times the last 10 games, so it’s a challenging matchup for the Eagles. Love has had mixed success vs. the blitz - awful early in the year, better later in the year - but Vic Fangio may have no choice but to send extra rushers his way to try and upset his rhythm and timing.
6. As we head into the postseason, it’s interesting to note that Hurts is one of the most experienced young playoff quarterbacks in NFL history. He’s only 26 but has already played in five playoff games and thrown 165 postseason passes. Only nine quarterbacks have played in more playoff games before their 27th birthday and only 10 have thrown more passes. And Hurts doesn’t turn 27 until next summer. Only 12 quarterbacks in NFL history have been a playoff starter in four of their first five seasons, a group that includes Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Josh Allen and Donovan McNabb. Hurts’ postseason interception ratio - one every 82 attempts - is 8th-best in NFL history, and he’s thrown 137 consecutive postseason passes without an interception. That's the 11th-longest streak ever recorded. It’s not ideal that he hasn’t played in a few weeks, but he’s an experienced, savvy postseason quarterback making his fifth straight postseason appearance. He’ll be fine.
7. I will always maintain that Michael Vick’s pass to Riley Cooper at the end of the 2010 Eagles-Packers wild-card game at the Linc was the worst pass in Eagles history. And I loved watching Vick play while he was here, but let’s set the scene. The Packers were up 21-10 late in the fourth quarter, but Vick’s one-yard keeper brought the Eagles within five points at 21-16 with 4:02 left. The defense forced a quick 3-and-out - Keenan Clayton sacked Aaron Rodgers on third down - and the Eagles got the ball back down five with 1:48 left. A couple quick completions gave the Eagles a 1st-and-10 on the Packers’ 27-yard-line with 44 seconds left. Four shots at winning the game. No reason to force anything on an early down. Now, Cooper developed into a decent receiver in 2013 and 2014, but in 2010 he was a rookie 5th-round pick who caught just seven passes all year. Yet on first down, Vick tried to squeeze a pass to Cooper in the deep left corner of the end zone while he was covered by Packers corner Tramon Williams, who made the Pro Bowl that year after picking off six passes in the regular season. It was no contest. Williams had great position in front of Cooper and made the easiest interception of his life. Ballgame. There was no reason for Vick to throw anything less than a sure thing on first down. If nobody was open, throw the ball into the 50th row and take your chances with three more downs. He made a high-risk 4th-down desperation throw on first down. It didn’t make sense then and it doesn’t make sense now.
8. The only player on the Eagles’ roster who’s ever had a postseason interception for the Eagles is James Bradberry, who’s on Injured Reserve and hasn’t played all year. He picked off Daniel Jones in the 2022 conference semifinal against the Giants at the Linc. That’s the only INT the Eagles have in their last six postseason games. Their last postseason INT before Bradberry’s is Cre’von LeBlanc’s off Drew Brees at the Superdome in the 2018 conference semifinal. So they have two INTs in their last nine postseason games.
9. What do Sua Opeta, Derek Barnett, Jalen Reagor, Steven Nelson, Greg Ward, Anthony Harris and Ryan Kerrigan have in common? Things change quickly in the NFL. All were starters in Nick Sirianni’s first playoff game just three years ago. The only players who started vs. the Bucs in 2021 who’ll start Sunday vs. the Packers are Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith on offense and just Darius Slay on defense.
10. How about a shout-out for Keith Jackson, the Eagles’ 1st-round pick in 1988 and one of the greatest postseason tight ends in NFL history. Jackson only played in three playoff games as an Eagle - losses in 1988, 1989 and 1990 - but caught 15 passes for 305 yards. His 102 yards per game and 20.3 yards per catch are both 2nd-highest in Eagles postseason history, behind Jeremy Maclin (110 per game, 21.9 per catch). Including his games with the Dolphins and Packers, Jackson had 51 passes for 834 yards in the playoffs and ranks fourth in NFL history among tight ends in yards and seventh in catches and his 16.4 average is highest (minimum 30 catches). His four 100-yard games are second-most among tight ends (behind Travis Kelce’s eight), and his two as an Eagle are tied with DeVonta Smith and Fred Barnett for most by an Eagle.
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