Game recap: Eagles beat Colts despite offensive struggles

Jeff Saturday’s first loss as an NFL head coach came at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles as they edged out the Colts in a 17-16 win at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Coming into this game, the Eagles suffered their first loss of the season and wanted to bounce back. They could not get a lead until the last minute of the game. Overcoming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit with 1:20 remaining in the game, Quarterback Jalen Hurts scored the game-winning touchdown on a 7-yard run to give Philly their only lead of the game and their 9th win of the season.

Here are some key points from the game:

Colts offense stagnant, while Eagles defense sores

To start the game, the Colts’ star running back Jonathan Taylor capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive by scoring a 1-yard touchdown which in that whole drive he had 49-yards as “the Iggles” struggled to stop the ground game.

However, from there the defence slowed Taylor down. Taylor only gained 35 yards on 15 carries in the final ten drives. Philly’s defence, despite some rough patches caused by the offence, played well in the red zone down the stretch, limiting Indianapolis to field goals.

Indy’s passing game also suffered after the opening drive, as they could only manage to generate one drive over 32 yards. While quarterback Matt Ryan did throw for 213 yards and completed 23 of his 32 passes, he did not get a touchdown as he got sacked by an improved Philly defence who took Ryan down four times.

The game was tightly contested, so with the chance to push their lead to a two-score game after getting down to the Eagles’ 5-yard line, the Colts fluffed their chance as they were unable to punch it in for TD.

While the Colts offence couldn’t deliver, the Eagles defence redeemed themselves after a week in which they had a bad roughing penalty against the Washington Commanders. After the opening drive they managed to keep the Colts out of the red zone and Brandon Graham emphasised the improvements they made as he had his first sack since Week 3 to help seal the comeback win for the NFC leaders.

Hurts to the rescue!

With the Eagles down and needing to do something to avoid their second consecutive loss, Hurts came up with the rushing touchdown to complete the comeback. On the day Hurts finished with 276 total yards (190 passing, 86 rushing) and two touchdowns to continue to make his case for MVP.

While Hurts weapons in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith struggled to make significant plays and it didn’t help that tight-end Dallas Goedert was out injured, Hurts made the most important plays and when they needed him to provide, he did. He gained a first down on a critical fourth-and-2 at the 9-yard line before scoring from seven yards out.

The Eagles had not trailed in the second half until last week, so they haven’t had many opportunities to go on a game-winning comeback drive. Last week, they failed in that spot. They took advantage of Sunday.

Are the Eagles in trouble?

This game highlighted the Eagles’ offensive flaws and how bad they can be, the Eagles were fortunate to leave Indianapolis with a win. As part of the offensive woes, Brown and Smith struggled against an improved defence. Here is something that can show how much the Colts improved.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore when lined up across from A.J. Brown on 19 of Brown’s 25 routes (76%). Brown managed only two of four targets for 35 yards versus Gilmore. Clearly Dallas Goedert’s presence was missed as backup tight-end Jack Stoll did nothing to help advance the offence. 

For a team that has Super Bowl aspirations, their defence looked great against the Colts and has looked elite, excluding last week. With the additions of Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph to the defence it can be expected that they can help combat the injuries that Nick Sirianni’s side has on the D-line. If Hurts can continue his form and his receivers do not have many off nights, this team could easily top the NFC as they have one of the easier schedules in the league.

Looking ahead

The Philadelphia Eagles (9-1) will head back home to host the Green Bay Packers (4-7) on Sunday Night Football, while the Indianapolis Colts (4-6-1) will host the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-7) on Monday Night Football.