Fighting until the end: Four takeaways from the Eagles 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers

I am genuinely speechless. In a game where the Eagles seemed to fumble every opportunity handed to them, they somehow pull off a win on the road against the Carolina Panthers, 21-18, to move to 2-3 on the season. The first three quarters of this football game were tough to watch, but this Eagles team came to life when needed late in the fourth.

Showing up when needed most:

Things were BAD for this Eagles offense for the majority of this game. Once again, Nick Sirianni’s play-calling was egregious, forcing screens and short passes instead of establishing a run game. Jalen Hurts looked out of his element, continuously throwing away passes and overthrowing his wideouts on numerous occasions.

Go ahead and style on 'em, @JalenHurts#PHIvsCAR | #FlyEaglesFly

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/zu51uNl3tb

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 10, 2021

Even with all of that, standing in the face of adversity, the Eagles did not give up. While so many bad things occurred, succeeding through all of that and not giving up is the most important takeaway from today’s game. It would’ve been so easy to walk away, but they refused to do so. Credit goes to Nick Sirianni and the culture he’s built because this isn’t the first game where this team fought until the end, no matter the situation.

The defense came to play:

The Eagles’ defense was phenomenal all game after an embarrassing showing against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. Jonathan Gannon switched things up, sending more blitzes while even showing glimpses of a dime defense. Javon Hargrave continues his dominant season, grabbing another sack while drawing attention so guys like Fletcher Cox could get to Sam Darnold.

Despite the great showing, there are still some significant issues. The most prominent is that Alex Singleton is just not the guy for the Eagles. While he can tackle, Singleton is incapable of covering any player in the NFL and committed two bone-headed penalties on top of that. Davion Taylor had his best showing yet, and hopefully, Jonathan Gannon will give him more snaps going forward.

Is the Eagles’ secondary good?

Why people ever doubted Darius Slay, even through this past week, is beyond me. Slay had arguably the best game of his NFL career today, pulling in two interceptions and being a crucial part of the change of events today. Steven Nelson was right behind Slay, grabbing the game-sealing interception with two minutes left.

https://t.co/7nhq9aeVBv pic.twitter.com/2GZRHMBKTY

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) October 10, 2021

No Carolina receiver finished over 42 yards, with D.J. Moore being smothered by Darius Slay for most of the game. This is on top of the Panthers being forced to throw the ball more since they were without Christian McCaffrey. 

DeVonta Smith is playing as advertised:

It shouldn’t surprise Eagles fans that a top draft selection is playing up to their potential, but here we are. Although he fumbled a reception, Smith still had a very productive game, having seven receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown before it was called back. DeVonta also had that incredible reception in the back of the endzone on the two-point conversion.

Quez Watkins had another long reception which has seemed like a guaranteed play every game this season. The rest of the Eagles’ wideouts were very quiet, with Jalen Reagor having a brutal showing, but hopefully, he can work his way out of this slump.

Philadelphia doesn’t have long to celebrate this win, having to go right back home and prepare for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Tom Brady is never an easy matchup, especially with how he continues to hold a vendetta from Super Bowl 52.

Mandatory Credit: The Sun News