At a 1981 Philadelphia sportswriters banquet, Mike Schmidt summed up the life of a local athlete thus: “Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day.” Pretty good! And now, thanks to the internet making it easier for sports fans to complain about things, everyone gets to experience how local fans react to thrilling Philadelphia victories.
The Eagles’ 34-28 win over the Vikings was the second time this week they had one of these games. Last Sunday, the Eagles jumped out to a 16-0 lead on the Patriots and held on for a 25-20 win. It was unbearable. “Oh man,” I said, multiple times. “They’re totally going to lose.” Last night was not quite as frustrating as Week 1, but at least the Eagles had an early lead in that one. Last night they made things simpler by playing frustrating football right from the jump.
The first half was a slog, as every Thursday football game is required to be by law. The second half was thrilling. Each team scored three touchdowns. The Eagles had a 27-7 lead at one point. And, yes, the Vikings came back a bit toward the end and had the ball down just six points, but they were at their own 17-yard line with seven seconds to play. The Eagles were not going to lose this game once they got up big in the third quarter.
And, oh my goodness, it felt terrible. Holy cow. It started right away, when Jalen Hurts was hit approximately 37 times on the game’s first three drives. Sometimes Hurts took a shot after a run. Sometimes it was just a sack. He underthrew DeVonta Smith on what could’ve been a long touchdown and the Eagles ended up settling for a field goal. He also threw an interception. The defense forced a fumble one play later, but then the Eagles missed a field goal.
The second quarter saw the Eagles give up two third-down conversions to the Vikings, who took the lead on a Kirk Cousins–to–T.J. Hockenson touchdown. The season was over! The Eagles trailed 7-3! What followed was a 16-play drive that featured 13 runs, and the Eagles never trailed again. Justin Jefferson fumbled over the pylon on the next drive, and the Eagles ended up getting a 61-yard field goal from Jake Elliott at the gun. “That first half sucked,” a friend told me. “One of the worst in recent memory.” They led 13-7.
There was more. The Vikings kept scoring in the second half, and cut it to six points. The Eagles had a 15-play, 44-yard drive that ended with a punt. Last year the Eagles had great starts, then struggled in the second half of games. This year they’re coming out of the gate shitty, keeping fans in meltdown mode for three hours. Even the pre-game flag is pathetic!
Come on! If you gave that flag to a car dealer, he’d close up shop rather than fly one that small. What happened to the giant flag that smothered Brandon Weeden a decade ago??? Are smaller flags some sort of rule for player safety??? Is this why Hurts is looking spotty—he’s not inspired enough by America???
The Eagles are 2-0. They play again on Monday the 25th. I will be complaining about them until then.
