Quinyon Mitchell, Darius Slay, and Isaiah Rodgers were asked about the rookie CB’s upcoming home debut on Monday Night Football against veteran QB Kirk Cousins.
It’s already time for another Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations, and this week we address Jalen Hurts’ interceptions, a record-setting defensive streak the Eagles would love to end and an answer to a pressing question about Zack Baun.
And lots of other stuff that will answer questions you never knew you had.
1. I may be in the minority on this one, but I’m not concerned with Jalen Hurts and interceptions. Yeah, I know he threw 15 of ‘em last year and two bad ones Friday night against the Packers. But last year was such a mess I automatically toss a lot of the negatives out the window just because by December this became an impossible place to excel. It seemed like as things were falling apart around him, Hurts started trying to do too much to overcome all the dysfunction on offense, especially with the uninspired play calling and clumsy coaching communication. This was not an atmosphere for quarterbacks to be at their best. And even with that, Hurts had a seven-game stretch from Miami through the second Dallas game where he threw three INTs (and 12 touchdowns) in the span of 232 passes. During that stretch – from Week 7 through Week 14, so nearly half the season – he had the 4th-best interception ratio in the league. Going into last year, Hurts had the 8th-best interception ratio in NFL history (minimum 1,000 attempts) with one INT every 55 attempts. He’s now down to 26thon that list with one every 45. If he keeps throwing them, at some point it’ll become a cause for concern. I just think he’s better than that. He reverted into some old habits in the opener, trying to do too much, and they were too really ugly INTs. But I don’t think that’s ultimately who he’ll be as a quarterback.
2. Over the last 30 years, the Eagles have won their season opener 17 times and reached the playoffs 13 of those seasons. The only exceptions are 2011 and 2012 – Andy Reid’s last two seasons – 2014, when they went 10-6 under Chip Kelly but missed the postseason, and 2016, Doug Pederson’s first season. The 13 times they’ve lost their opener over the last 30 years they’ve reached the playoffs five times – 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2010. So when they win their opener they reach the playoffs 76 percent of the time and when they lose it they reach the playoffs 38 percent of the time. Exactly half as often.
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3. As terrific as Saquon Barkley looked Friday night in São Paulo, and he looked really, really good, the real test comes Monday night against the Falcons. Barkley had 132 scrimmage yards against the Packers, but he hasn’t had consecutive games with 132 scrimmage yards in five years. The last five times he’s netted 132 scrimmage yards, he’s averaged 47 scrimmage yards the next game. Some of that is just being on the Giants. He wasn't getting much help. Now he’s in an offense loaded with talent with a play caller that seems to have a terrific sense of how to get the most out of him. But it will be interesting to see if Barkley can string together a number of big games here because if there are any lingering questions about where he is that would sure answer them convincingly. Barkley had 132 scrimmage yards eight times in his first 18 career games and then eight in his next 56 games. Last time he did it in back-to-back games was Week 15 and 16 of 2019, with 143 vs. the Dolphins and a career-high 279 in Washington. From what I saw vs. the Packers? Barkley looks as good as ever. Fast, physical, powerful, sharp. If he can stay healthy and play consistently at this level, he’s going to look like one heck of a bargain at $12.6 million per year.
4. The Eagles have gone 28 consecutive games without intercepting more than one pass, the longest streak in franchise history. The previous high was 22 straight games from September 1983 through October 1984. They’ve only had three other streaks half as long. Last time they picked off two passes in a game was Nov. 27, 2022, in a 40-33 win over the Packers at the Linc, when Reed Blankenship and Josiah Scott each intercepted Aaron Rodgers. It was the first career interception for both of them. The next-longest current streak belongs to the Rams, with 19 straight, then the Eagles’ opponent Monday night, the Falcons, with 17 straight. The Eagles’ streak of 28 games without two or more INTs is 5th-longest in NFL history. The Raiders have the longest streak ever with 40 straight games over the 2003 through 2006 seasons with one or fewer INTs. That streak ended when Nnamdi Asomugha picked off Browns quarterback Charlie Frye twice at Oakland Coliseum. The Browns won 24-21.
5. You know who does a fantastic job? Jemel Singleton. He’s now in his fourth year as Eagles running backs coach, one of five assistants who’ve been with Nick Sirianni since the start. His first year, Miles Sanders averaged 5.5 yards per carry, 2nd-best among running backs (behind Rashaad Penny). His second year, Sanders was fifth in the NFL with 1,269 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns and made his only Pro Bowl. Last year D’Andre Swift was fifth in the NFL with 1,049 yards and made his only Pro Bowl. And this year, he’s got Saquon Barkley looking like it’s 2018 again. It’s not all Singleton. You could probably put Lorenzo Booker behind this offensive line and he’d look good. But he’s got a chance of coaching a different Pro Bowl running back three straight seasons, and that speaks volumes.
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6. Kirk Cousins has lost his last two starts against the Eagles – Week 2 of 2022 and Week 2 of 2023, both times with the Vikings – but he’s generally played very well against the Eagles, with 26 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 101.3 passer rating – 8th-highest all-time vs. the Eagles (minimum 100 attempts), behind Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Milt Plum (from Woodbury High School), Andy Dalton and Kyler Murray. Cousins is one of only four QBs with three career four-TD games against the Eagles (along with Eli Manning, Sonny Jurgensen and Boomer Esiason), and his 67 percent completion percentage is 9th-highest against the Eagles. He’s had seven games vs. the Eagles with a passer rating over 100, and only Tony Romo has had more (Billy Kilmer, Jim Hart, Eli Manning and Dak Prescott have also had seven). Cousins is now 36 and coming off an Achilles injury and doesn’t look 100 percent healthy, and the Eagles should be able to get some pressure on him and hound him into some turnovers and mistakes. But if they don’t – and it’s been a while since they pressured anybody – he can light ‘em up.
7A. Dave Zangaro and I were wondering on a recent Eagle Eye podcast whether the Eagles knew exactly what they had in Zack Baun when they signed him in March on the first day of free agency. Did they sign him expecting him to do what he did with the Saints and play edge? Or did they somehow have an idea he could successfully convert to off-ball linebacker? Vic Fangio cleared that up Wednesday, when he said that based on a very limited number of linebacker snaps with the Saints, he projected that Baun could be a full-time off-ball backer. “When I watched his play in New Orleans, on occasion he would end up as an inside linebacker. Not very often. And from those few plays, I thought he could do it. Was I going to bet my life savings on it? No, but I had a good feeling that he could do it. And he can. And I think he’ll just keep getting better and better.” This is really incredible and speaks volumes about Fangio’s ability to look at a player and understand his strengths and weaknesses and how they would fit into a position change as well as how he would fit in his scheme. And the fact that the Eagles signed him in the opening hours of free agency tells you how bad Fangio wanted Baun and how convincing he was getting Howie Roseman to sign him. A few more weeks of Baun playing the way he did Friday and it's time to start thinking long-term contract.
7B. Baun has as many sacks over the Eagles’ last seven games as all Eagles edge rushers combined.
8. Josh Sweat doesn’t have a sack in his last nine games. He had 15 in his previous 17 games.
9. Saquon Barkley’s 132 scrimmage yards in the Eagles’ opener are 6th-most by a player in his first game as an Eagle and 3rd-most by a running back. We started wondering who had the most scrimmage yards by a player in his first two games as an Eagle. The answer is Charlie Garner, who had 111 rushing yards on just 16 carries and two touchdowns plus a 28-yard catch for 139 scrimmage yards in his first NFL game, the Eagles’ 40-8 upset win over the nine-point favorite 49ers at Candlestick in Week 5 of the 1994 season. A week later, Garner ran 28 times for 122 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards for 135 scrimmage yards and a two-game total of 274 yards. The closest anybody has come since is Darren Sproles with 263 – 85 vs. the Jaguars (71 rushing, 14 receiving) and 178 in Indy (26 rushing, 152 receiving). So Barkley needs 142 yards Monday night against the Falcons to tie and 143 to break Garner’s 30-year-old record. The NFL record for scrimmage yards by a player in his first two games with a team is an otherworldly 445 yards by the Lions’ Billy Sims as a rookie in 1980 (217 vs. Rams in NFL debut, 228 vs. Packers a week later).
10. In the win over the Packers, the Eagles became only the eighth team in NFL history to allow 7.5 yards per rushing attempt and finish minus-two in turnover margin and win a game. Teams that allow 7 ½ yards per run and are minus-2 are 8-65 overall.
