The Eagles stand at 7-2 after dismantling the Cowboys in Texas, 34-6. That thrashing now has the Birds holding down the second seed in the NFC playoff picture. That 2-2 start heading into a bye feels like lightyears ago and even the staunchest of Eagles skeptics, which I’ve been at times this season, now have to reckon with this team looking like an actual contender.
Ahead of a huge NFC East matchup with Washington on Thursday Night Football, here are five Eagles thoughts currently racking around in my brain…
A.J. Brown continues to dominate
The Eagles are 6-0 when A.J. Brown suits up this season and 1-2 when he’s sidelined. During his entire Philadelphia career, the Birds are 31-9 when he’s in the lineup (via StatMuse). He has a transformative presence.
Brown added 109 receiving yards against Dallas, his third 100-yard game of the season. In a three-year stint full of explosive highlights, Brown pulled off another one, tracking this 44-yard deep ball catch on Sunday:
That drive then saw the Eagles go up 28-6 to shut down any lingering thoughts of a Cowboys comeback, fully sinking Dallas’ season while the Birds resemble true Super Bowl contenders for the first time in the 2024 season.
Brown missing three games hurts his overall counting stats, as he’s just 20th in receiving yards this season with 553. He is, however, fourth in receiving yards per game and remains first in yards per route run (via RotoWire, minimum 100 routes run). If he plays the remainder of the season and racks up 14 total games, his numbers may even out if he keeps up this torrid pace and put himself in conversation for his first-ever First-Team All-Pro selection. It would be deserved. When healthy, he’s been the sport’s best wideout in 2024.
Brandon Graham makes an impact in his final season
Brandon Graham picked up a half-sack against the Cowboys on Sunday. Graham is now up to 11.5 career sacks against Dallas in his 15-year career, by far the most he has over any team.
Graham and Jalen Carter, who were first-round draft picks for the Eagles 13 years apart, took down Dallas quarterback Trey Lance in the fourth quarter.
Lance is the sixth Dallas quarterback that Graham has sacked in his career, joining a group of Tony Romo, Matt Cassel, Dak Prescott, Ben DiNucci and Andy Dalton.
Graham, at 36 years old and in what’s been billed as his final season, continues to be the Eagles’ most consistent edge rusher.
Zack Baun is the Eagles’ best linebacker since Jeremiah Trotter Sr.
Nigel Bradham was quite good during the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl season. Mychal Kendricks and Jordan Hicks had strong performances at times. This lofty take says more about the state of the linebacker position for the Eagles’ defense for the past two decades than anything, sure. I’ve seen enough from Zack Baun in 2024 to declare that he’s having the best Eagles linebacker season since Jeremiah Trotter Sr.
Pro Bowl nods aren’t the end-all, be-all, but they’re a decent indicator of success. The Eagles haven’t had a Pro Bowl off-ball linebacker since Trotter Sr. in 2005. The position had seen greats previously in franchise history like Chuck Bednarik, Bill Bergey and Seth Joyner. Rather controversially, the position has become wholly devalued for the organization. Baun is on pace to be named a Pro Bowler in 2024.
Baun has 87 combined tackles, two sacks and three forced fumbles this year. He’s the only player to hit all three of those markers this season (via Stathead). He’s just everywhere on the field and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has completely revitalized his career from a hybrid pass-rusher in New Orleans to a stud top linebacker here in Philadelphia.
Kenny Pickett: Human victory cigar
He’ll never be The Guy in Philly, but Kenny Pickett grew up an Eagles fan as a New Jersey native. That Eagles fan got to see the field as a quarterback at AT&T Stadium as the Birds beat the snot out of Dallas during the blowout win once some starters left the game. That’s pretty cool, right?
Jerry Jones melts down after Cowboys’ loss
How about them Cowboys?
A frustrated Jerry Jones had some comments about the sun impacting play at AT&T Stadium: “By the way, we know where the sun is going to be when we decide to flip the coin or not. We do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium.”
Why not put up curtains over the… pic.twitter.com/28skNrZYBq
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 11, 2024
Sorry, Jer! You can only blame yourself for constructing this universe’s version of the Death Star.
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