The Other Birds: Which Underrated Eagles Players Surprised in Week 2?
The Philadelphia Eagles escaped with a win on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. While the Super Bowl LIX rematch didn’t bring the fireworks that many expected, the Eagles handed Patrick Mahomes a third consecutive loss for the first time in his NFL career.
Despite lighting up Kansas City’s defense in Super Bowl LIX, Philadelphia’s offense struggled mightily in Week 2. Yet Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley did just enough to escape with a victory over the Chiefs and improve their record to 2-0.
While Philadelphia’s struggling offense is the main topic of discussion in the City of Brotherly Love, I wanted to shed light on the underrated showings from Week 2. It’s easy to talk about the big name players, but the other guys also need love.
In my latest installment of “The Other Birds,” I highlighted three players that stood out to me with their impressive performances in Week 2.
Adoree’ Jackson
After a rough regular season debut against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, Eagles CB Adoree’ Jackson was an easy target for criticism. The veteran CB allowed five receptions on seven targets for 103 yards and a passer rating of 113.7, according to Pro Football Focus.
While many were quick to call for Jackson to be benched ahead of Week 2, he bounced back against the Chiefs. It’s easy to dismiss Jackson’s performance because he was defending Tyquan Thornton instead of CeeDee Lamb, yet I truly believe he improved and Eagles DC Vic Fangio had a much better plan in place to help him succeed.
1) In Week 2, Jackson allowed three receptions on five targets for 26 yards and a passer rating of 73.8, according to PFF. It was a drastically better performance than he had against the Cowboys in the regular season opener.
On the first two plays below, Jackson allowed two receptions after surrendering a significant cushion at the line of scrimmage. While this is sometimes okay if a player can close the gap after the catch, Jackson whiffed on a tackle attempt against Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown.
Yet he made up for that mistake on the second completion that he “allowed” to Brown. Jackson actually deflected this pass, but it somehow still ended up in Brown’s hands. That would prove to be the final reception that Jackson allowed in a bounce back showing.
2) Jackson was also targeted on two “out and up” routes in one-on-one coverage against Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton. While Thornton was able to beat Philadelphia’s secondary deep for a touchdown late in the game, Jackson held his own on these two targets.
Jackson was tested by Mahomes against Thornton twice on the same route concept, once on each side of the field. Yet the soon-to-be 30-year-old CB was able to stay with Thornton down the sideline each time.
Kylen Granson
Despite this only being the second edition of “The Other Birds,” Eagles TE Kylen Granson has already made the list twice. After an impressive performance as an emergency FB last week, Granson made this week’s list for a completely different reason.
Starting TE Dallas Goedert was out due to a knee injury, which forced Granson to move up the depth chart to TE2. Yet his most impressive contributions against the Chiefs were on special teams.
After recording one tackle on special teams last week, Granson recorded three special teams tackles against the Chiefs. Granson is currently tied for second in the NFL with four tackles on special teams this season, according to PFF.
Usually when a player has their role increased on offense or defense, you’ll see them take a step back on special teams. Granson did quite the opposite in Week 2, as he made several stops for Philadelphia’s special teams unit on the road in Kansas City.
Braden Mann
I was rightfully criticized for not including Eagles P Braden Mann in last week’s edition of “The Other Birds”. Mann had an impressive performance against the Cowboys, as he pinned them inside their own 20-yard line on two of his three punts in Week 1.
Yet Mann followed up that performance with another gem against the Chiefs. While Eagles HC Nick Sirianni made an uncharacteristic decision to punt from midfield, Mann made it look like the right move. Mann punted the ball right into the corner where it went out of bounds at the nine-yard line.
On another punt, Mann hit an absolute bomb that was officially registered as a 70-yard punt. Yet Philadelphia’s poor coverage on the play allowed a decent return. Mann punted from the 15-yard line and it was finally gathered by Kansas City’s returner at the six-yard line.
Therefore, Mann’s “70-yard” punt actually traveled a total of 79 yards in the air. That’s simply absurd and definitely earned him a spot on this week’s edition of “The Other Birds.”