5 Positive Eagles Takeaways From Week 1!
The Eagles kicked off the 2023 season yesterday against the New England Patriots. It was odd to me that the Super Bowl runner-up was playing an away game for their first game but oh well. Last season ended in heartbreak as the Kansas City Chiefs beat our beloved Birds to win the Lombardi Trophy. This season, it’s an Eagles revenge tour.
As a die-hard Eagles fan for as long as I can remember, I have seen many ups and downs. Losing last year’s Super Bowl was a top 5 heartbreak moment in my Eagles fandom career. Us Eagles fans always focus on a lot of the negative things… The reason is because we have had our hearts broken so many times in the past. From losing the Super Bowl in 1980 to the 3 straight NFC Championship losses…(I am still not over losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship. We could have definitely beaten the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl in 2002/2003.) Losing to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship while being favorites was also tough. But then we have 2017 which made all of those previous wounds immediately heal.
Doesn’t it feel good to have a Super Bowl championship under our belts? Now, we can stop hearing Cowboys fans, Washington fans, and Giant fans saying we are ringless!
Moving forward… The Eagles are favored to win the NFC this year and head back to the Super Bowl. The offense will look basically the same even though we have a new offensive coordinator. We lost a starting O-Lineman to free agency and our running back room is completely different but other than that, it’s the same.
The defense on the other hand will look different. Our young guys need to step up this year (especially at the linebacker position) and our safeties need to play above their potential. We have a new defensive coordinator as well but I don’t see a ton of change in scheme this year.
I am going to put together the 5 positive Eagles takeaways each week. I will not focus on the negative because you can get that stuff everywhere else.
Let’s stay positive here!
Darius Slay
Darius Slay #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles returns an interception for a touchdown while Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots chases after him during the first quarter Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
He is called Big Play Slay for a reason. The guy seems to be in the right place at the right time. He took an interception back 70 yards for the first Eagles score of the season.
MAJOR SLAY@bigplay24slay | #PHIvsNE | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/7ySEudBDdH
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 10, 2023Jalen Carter
Jalen Carter #98 of the Philadelphia Eagles sacks Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Jalen Carter is everything we thought he would be and more. He is just a force at the Defensive Tackle position. He was moving the Pats O-line at will and even got his first career sack.
The rook came up big on his first career sack@breadmanjalen | #FlyEaglesFly
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 11, 2023
📺: #MINvsPHI on 9/14 on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/qbuIppbOC5Jordan Davis
Fletcher Cox #91 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Last year, first-round pick Jordan Davis was not very good. Well, I can’t say that… He didn’t stand out and was injured for a while.
He looked pretty darn good yesterday lining up next to Fletcher Cox for most of the game. Not many teams will be able to run against the Eagles when he is out there.
Kenny Gainwell
Christian Gonzalez #6 of the New England Patriots tackles Kenneth Gainwell #14 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter of an NFL football game at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
It looks like Gainwell will take over as the workhorse back for the Eagles after Miles Sanders’s departure. He seemed to be under control and was definitely the primary focus in the 1st quarter. I would love to see more of D’Andre Swift though. One carry is not enough.
A Win Is A Win
Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with Jake Elliott #4 of the Philadelphia Eagles after Elliott’s field goal during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Was it pretty, no? The first quarter was very good. The 2nd quarter was not so good. The 2nd half was a little better.
All in all, it was game 1 of 17 games. It was an away game with lots of rain… The offense did not play in the pre-season… and THEY WON!
They are 1-0. Moving on to Minnesota this Thursday at home. Let’s go Birds!
Bringing home the W#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Rf51GkDZMo
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 11, 2023
