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Kerr's Takeaway: One Under Appreciated Reason the Eagles Beat the Commanders
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- Kerr's Takeaway: One Under Appreciated Reason the Eagles Beat the Commanders
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Special teams doesn't get discussed much in today's NFL, even though the third phase of the game is just as critical as the offense and defense.
In an era where fantasy football consumes the majority of football fans, Darius Cooper 's four special teams tackles aren't going to be recognized. Neither will Braden Mann 's four punts inside the 20-yard line.
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The Eagles are 1-0 because of Jalen Hurts and Dallas Goedert . The same goes for Zack Baun and Moro Ojomo .
They also are 1-0 because of how efficient their special teams were on Sunday. Michael Clay's unit deserved an A+ because of how they were able to alter the game, making the plays that determine the difference in football games.
The Eagles were nearly flawless on special teams, while the Washington Commanders made enouugh mistakes on that unit that cost them a win.
Look at everything the Eagles were able to do on special teams.
-- Braden Mann averaged 51.6 yards per punt (44.0 net yards). 57.1% of Mann's punts ended inside the 20, which led to the Commanders having a opponent starting field position of -20.3. Want to know why the Commanders had a stretch of 14 plays for 23 yards in the first half? Look at where Mann's punts ended up.
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-- Jalen Carter blocked a PAT attempt by Drew Stevens that kept the game at 14-9 heading into halftime. The Coammnders ended up having to go for two at some point in the fourth quarter because of that PAT block -- which ended up occurring with 1:01 to play and teh eagles holding onto a 24-22 lead. Without that PAT block, the Commanders are kicking an extra point to tie the game when they scored with 1:01 to play.
-- Jake Elliott hit his lone field goal attempt (35 yards) and all three of his extra points. That's five points for the Eagles. Drew Stevens missed a 54-yard field goal, a massive 3-point swing taht would have given the Commanders the lead with 1:01 left on that Antonio Williams touchdown.
-- Darius Cooper had four tackles, three solo, on kick and punt coverage. Cooper prevented two massive returns for Washington in the second quarter, getting Rachaad White at the 32 and 33 yard line after deep kicks by Elliott. The Eagles kickoff coverage was shaky, but Cooper made two plays to put out the fire.
-- Britain Covey averaged 9.3 yards per punt return and took care of the football. Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley were solid on kick returns, as tehhe pair combined to average 25.0 yards per kick return.
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The Eagles special teams did enough to ensure a victory over the Commanders on Sunday. Special teams usually fall under the microscope when a kicker misses a kick or there is a poor snap. Notice Jake Elliott nor Rocco Underwood had neoither, and Underwood was making his NFL debut as the long snapper?
Finally, the Eagles made a crucial stop on a 2-point conversion to sela the game. In the box score, 2-point conversions count as special teams -- so Moro Ojomo's tackle on John Bates to preserve the win goes down as a conversion stop.
The Commanders lost a maximum of six points on special teams on Sunday. The Eagles didn't lose any.
Special teams certainly mattered in Week 1, and the Eagles did enough in that phase of the game to get to 1-0. There are things Philadelphia has to clean up, but the Eagels didn't beat themselves in that department.
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Michael Clay's unit deserves a pat on the back.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as Kerr's Takeaway: One Under Appreciated Reason the Eagles Beat the Commanders .
