In their 34-29 win over the Packers in Week 1, the Eagles were sloppy at times. They turned the ball over three times, but fortunately, they were able to still get the job done, and the Eagles (1-0) were the only team in Week 1 to lose the turnover battle and still win.
Last season, Philadelphia struggled in the turnover department; they were -11, which was one reason the team floundered in 2023.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, whose team hosts the Falcons (0-1) on Monday Night, wants the team to do a better job protecting the football.
“But the thing that — we can’t be in the negative of the turnover — we’re the only team in the NFL this week that lost the turnover battle and won the game. 1-10,” Sirianni said on Thursday. “We’re the only team that won. That’s not sustainable. That’s not sustainable. So, protecting the football, taking the football away, the details. The details. We missed too many tackles. You guys heard me say that. We talked about it with the team. We reinforced it today. We’ll be doing drills out there when you guys are out there to get ready to tackle better.
“So, really, the biggest emphasis is the details. You want to be the best in the world at something; it’s about doing the basics better. It doesn’t have to be real fancy. Who tackles better? Who gets off blocks better? Who blocks better? Who takes care of the football better? Who catches the ball better with their fundamentals? That’s football, and that’s football when I was growing up at Southwestern High School, that’s football wherever, in college, at Washington & Jefferson College where my brother is a coach, and that’s football in the NFL.”
Against Green Bay, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw two bad interceptions, which he must clean up. The third turnover was a miscommunication between Hurts and center Cam Jurgens, which led to a Packers’ fumble recovery.
Sirianni is right; if the Eagles want to have success in 2024, they must protect the football.
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