OFFENSIVE LINE IS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND EAGLES POINTS MACHINE!
The Eagles OL could easily be worth a few extra wins this season: and here’s why:
Even after last night’s 24-7 of the Vikes, any realistic Philly sports fan will admit that in the NFC East you don’t need to be great, you just need to be better than the other three teams.
And the Birds are now 2-0, tied for first with the Giants.
In the aftermath of Dak Prescott’s thumb injury, the 2022 Eagles are natural favorites to win the division and make the playoffs. However, playoff rankings are based on a team’s record, so Nick Sirianni will want to maximize the Eagles’ chances of winning games outside the division too.
The 38-35 win over the Lions came about through multiple factors, but a key one was the offensive line’s domination of the trenches. Behind that OL, Jalen Hurts had all the time in the world to set and throw, and this level of performance could certainly see the Iggles win a couple of games they would otherwise lose. By that, we mean that with even an average line, some games would be lost that will instead be won this season. And, with reference to the past weekend’s games in Detroit and elsewhere, we’ll show why we make this case.
Hurts piled up positive plays with arm and legs
You know what it’s like when you get a new toy, you just want to play with it again and again. The Philly QB took full advantage of having AJ Brown in his receiving corps, hitting the former Titan ten times for 155 yards. When he tucked the ball and ran, Hurts picked up another 90 yards on 17 carries in addition to 95 on 13 from Miles Sanders. When your QB has that kind of time to hit his preferred target, and to see holes where he can move the ball on the ground, it opens up a world of options and means you can control games. This, by the way, will really pay off later in the season when attrition starts to hit.
The Bengals make a clear cautionary tale
When you have a quarterback as good as Joe Burrow, allied to some key downfield targets, you can end up in the Super Bowl against the odds, as Cincy did. When you have an O-line as rotten as the Bengals do, you invite the opposition to blitz, like the Steelers did on the weekend. Many bettors will use Cloudbet’s Bitcoin betting with its record-high parlay limits to bet against the defending AFC champions this season because, for one thing, Burrow is not going to have time for plays to develop and for another, he won’t be there all season if this continues. Cincy added help on the line in free agency and the draft; it looks like they need some more in a hurry.
The Dolphins addressed a need, and it paid off
Tua Tagovailoa was sacked three times in the season opener, but given the aggression of the Patriots blitz that’s not as bad as it sounds. He did have time to throw for 270 yards and was able to spread the ball around, hitting nine different receivers to raise his career record against the Pats to 4-0. By no means is the Dolphins O-line complete, but the addition of Terron Armstead and Connor Williams has made an immediate impact. The final score of 20-7 heavily flattered New England, and although adding Tyreek Hill is going to help any QB, don’t underestimate the part that line played in an improved Tua performance.
