The Eagles played the worst team of all the NFC East opponents. It is not a surprise they won. The Falcons are terrible.
Having said that I was very impressed with the Eagles offensive line. They are a good unit, I think the best in the NFC East, especially run blocking. They also have a strong defense, although the Falcons weak offensive line did not really test them. And if we are being honest, Hurts played way better than anyone expected. He was poised, accurate, elusive, and he made good decisions. Again, it was the Falcons.
After week 1, which is way too early, I think it is the Eagles and Cowboys at the top of the division and then the WFT, followed by the Giants.
The Cowboys have a strong offense but holes in the offensive line. They pass block very well but run blocking they are hampered by weakness at C and LG, as well as LT where Tyron Smith has lost lateral mobility. They will be a passing team until the OL gets stronger. On defense, they are weak at DT, even with Gallimore, and just average at CB. Safety is still up in the air, but certainly better than last year. The problems the Cowboys defense has are not going to get better with experience. They need new players. Micah Parsons plays the wrong position for maximum impact in the Cowboys defense, but he could help stopping the run. The CBs and DTs are who they are. I do think they will beat the Eagles because the Cowboys are stronger on the OL than the Falcons and they are stronger on the DL than the Falcons, with the exception of Grady Jarrett.
The Eagles have a strong OL, and a lot of speed and quickness on offense. Both of their TEs can block and are an advantage in the running game. The Eagles offense runs a lot of misdirection and option stuff, the kind of plays that often fool the Cowboys defense. Their offense depends on Hurts. If he has time like Atlanta gave him he is good enough to put up a lot of points. On defense the Eagles have a very good DL, although I think Cox is aging. They have strong CBs too. Exactly the opposite of Dallas. What impressed me about the Eagles is how they got stronger at the end of the game. That is a bad sign for the Cowboys. The trait of a winner is to dominate at the end of games and close them out. Of course the Eagles were playing the Falcons. As I watched them beat the Falcons, I asked myself, would the Dallas defense have dominated the Falcons in the 4th quarters like the Eagles did? I am not so sure. One last point, As teams get more game film to study they will figure out the Eagles offense and that will be a greater test for Hurts. Until then, their offense looks really well designed and takes advantage of the strength os their skill players and offensive line strengths.
The WFT. I didn't get to see that game so I cannot really evaluate them. The Chargers are going to be a surprisingly good team this year. Not better than the Bucs but certainly better than the Falcons. Without Fitzpatrick I don't see their offense doing much even with the weapons they have.
The Giants will only go as far as Danny Dimes will take them. At times he looks like a really good QB. He has a strong arm, and he can run surprisingly well. But he is prone to stupid plays and choking up the football. The Bigger problem with the Giants is their offensive line. They are very inconsistent and poor run blockers. I am not a big fan of Saquon Barkley and I think he is overrated. He is a one trick RB. He has speed in the open field. Once he gets going to can simply outrun the defense. But getting going is the problem. He seems slow to pick the hole to run through and allows pursuit to catch up to him. If he gets an open hole and picks it quickly, he can outrun the pursuit and the defense for a big gain. But that did not happen against the Broncos. The Giants have 3 really good receivers and two very good TEs. If Danny Dimes can figure it out, and the OL can block, the Giants could surprise a lot of people. On defense, they are strong in the middle and Black Martinez can tackle sideline to sideline. They have 2 really good CBs and decent safeties. The defense is going to win games for the Giants if they gel.
None of these teams are anywhere near the caliber of the top teams in the NFL. I know the Cowboys went toe to toe with the Bucs, but like we have seen so many times recently, when the game was on the line the Cowboys imply failed. Couldn't get pressure, couldn't cover, couldn't get the opposing offense off the field. IMO, this is a testament to the weaknesses at the LOS. I know, I know, it was Tom Brady, the GOAT. But who are the QBs the Cowboys will face in the playoffs? Does anyone thing they would have better luck stopping Mahomes or Rodgers?
