Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
It’s no mystery that Hardman has had some great games against the 49ers.
He isn’t the main focus but can make explosive plays “against the grain” using their aggressiveness against them.
That’s all Andy.
Yep, that's the best example of what I was trying to say.
And I do believe this is going to play out similar to the 49ers game earlier this year. Close and competitive early while both teams play through the emotions, while the far superior coaching staff and QB pull away in the second half.
Originally Posted by Shields68:
Probably a lot like stopping the Ravens. A little better OLine, a little worse QB, Barkley v Henry...it really comes down to stopping the run game and getting them into have to pass situations.
Philly is the mirror image of Baltimore...I do think Baltimore's coaching staff is better though. [Reply]
Mentioned it a month ago when it became apparent that Watson was returning - this is the exact type of matchup where his difference can really show.
Instead of staring down the barrel of consistent Nazeeh Johnson vs. AJ Brown or Devonta Smith matchups... now that isn't the case. Game changer. The onus is on Hurts again to make exceptional throws, which to his credit he did two years ago. [Reply]
Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19:
Mentioned it a month ago when it became apparent that Watson was returning - this is the exact type of matchup where his difference can really show.
Instead of staring down the barrel of consistent Nazeeh Johnson vs. AJ Brown or Devonta Smith matchups... now that isn't the case. Game changer. The onus is on Hurts again to make exceptional throws, which to his credit he did two years ago.
Hurts was great in that Super Bowl, but I will detract a bit here.
He hit 2 deep shots to Brown and Smith. Smith was a complete blown coverage. Brown had decent coverage, but McDuffie lost the ball in the lights or something. It was a weird play that probably shouldn’t have been completed.
Goedert made some miraculous catches in that game as well.
All of that combined was half or more of Hurts’s passing production in the game.
I have a really hard time seeing all that be repeated, when Hurts hasn’t proven to be a consistent passer. [Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
Hurts was great in that Super Bowl, but I will detract a bit here.
He hit 2 deep shots to Brown and Smith. Smith was a complete blown coverage. Brown had decent coverage, but McDuffie lost the ball in the lights or something. It was a weird play that probably shouldn’t have been completed.
Goedert made some miraculous catches in that game as well.
All of that combined was half or more of Hurts’s passing production in the game.
I have a really hard time seeing all that be repeated, when Hurts hasn’t proven to be a consistent passer.
Philly's passing game ranks near the bottom of the league. They rely on Saquon. We stop Saquon, we win. If we cut him loose, we are done. Just stack the box and stop this guy at all costs. If Hurts beats us in the air and we lose, so be it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
Hurts was great in that Super Bowl, but I will detract a bit here.
He hit 2 deep shots to Brown and Smith. Smith was a complete blown coverage. Brown had decent coverage, but McDuffie lost the ball in the lights or something. It was a weird play that probably shouldn’t have been completed.
Goedert made some miraculous catches in that game as well.
All of that combined was half or more of Hurts’s passing production in the game.
I have a really hard time seeing all that be repeated, when Hurts hasn’t proven to be a consistent passer.
I keep thinking back to that MNF matchup last year where we really had their OL/Hurts in hell and if we can replicate that... nighty night.
Now, if our offense stinks, they'll still be in it. But for the reasons we've already discussed this morning, I don't foresee that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
Turnovers are key. Eagles are +10 (10-0) in turnover differential with all 3 games remaining close for awhile at least (Commanders got out of hand late obviously).
Chiefs are -1 (0-1).
The Bills recovering all 5 fumbles is just ridiculous luck. Chiefs also should have had at least 1 pick against the Bills and Texans (Reid got banged up running into Watson who would’ve had an easy one).
Interesting thing is that the Eagles were only slightly better at taking the ball away than the Chiefs during the regular season. Eagles had 26, Chiefs had 20. Eagles gave it away 15 times, Chiefs gave it away 14 times.
10 in 3 games is a huge number for a team that averaged around 1 and a half per game during the regular season. Especially, when you consider that the playoff teams should be better competition than what they faced on average during the year.
If turnover differential is even or leans Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Eagles will be in trouble.
I got scolded for this in the game thread, but folks looking to win this by turning the ball over need to look elsewhere.
If they happen, it'll be a happy accident.
The Chiefs have forced only 20 turnovers in 19 games this entire season. And SIX of those came in a single game (Cleveland) with 11 of them coming in 3 games.
More than half their turnovers this year came in 3 games. In 8 of those games they didn't force a single turnover. You mention the Eagles forcing 10 in those last 3 playoff games -- we forced 10 in a 3 game stretch as well against Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Houston. Then we kinda went back to not doing it again.
Don't go into this game expecting the Chiefs defense to force turnovers. It's not what they do. It's not what they've done for several seasons. If they get them -- bully.
But that cannot be your focus because you're likely to be disappointed. I don't expect the Eagles to go forcing a ton either, but ultimately that means that turnovers are unlikely to be key.
Both teams control the ball well. Neither team is great at forcing turnovers. This isn't gonna be a high turnover game. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I got scolded for this in the game thread, but folks looking to win this by turning the ball over need to look elsewhere.
If they happen, it'll be a happy accident.
The Chiefs have forced only 20 turnovers in 19 games this entire season. And SIX of those came in a single game (Cleveland) with 11 of them coming in 3 games.
More than half their turnovers this year came in 3 games. In 8 of those games they didn't force a single turnover.
Don't go into this game expecting the Chiefs defense to force turnovers. It's not what they do. It's not what they've done for several seasons. If they get them -- bully.
But that cannot be your focus because you're likely to be disappointed.
I’m actually saying the exact opposite.
The Eagles didn’t take the ball away all that much more often than the Chiefs during the regular season, but now have 10 takeaways in the postseason.
I think that comes back to reality in the Super Bowl. I don’t expect the Chiefs to randomly get a 5 turnover game here.
The Eagles have won a couple close games in the postseason with huge advantages on turnovers. I don’t expect THAT to continue. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RedinTexas:
I was thinking a couple days ago that we'll see some variations of Corn Dog. I can't imagine that the Eagles won't be ready for that particular play this time around, but that would make them uniquely vulnerable to deception. They might be so keyed on stopping that particular variation of the play that it leaves them defenseless in some other way.
It's definitely gonna be in their heads and that's a powerful mental advantage to have because if they don't pay attention to it it could screw them again and how would they react to that? And if they over do it Andy could make them pay and then they'll be in a rock and a hard place. Confusing young guys like Mitchell and Dejean, and a backup like Burks is gonna be important. [Reply]