When people talk about trap games, games like the Eagles’ date with the Titans on Sunday come to mind.
A two-win team coming to town a few days before a Thanksgiving trip to play the Cowboys, who are tied with the Eagles for the lead in the NFC East, certainly has the potential to be overlooked. The Eagles weren’t looking ahead, though.
Things stayed close into the third quarter, but a pair of fumbles by the Titans and bushels of pressure from the Eagles defense helped them pull away for a 43-24 win that felt like it was headed Philly’s way from the opening kickoff. That’s when Josh Huff went 107 yards for a touchdown and the Eagles never really looked back.
There were a pair of bad Mark Sanchez interceptions, but Titans running back Bishop Sankey fumbled on the next play to hand the ball right back and Sanchez had plenty of good throws over the course of the day on his way to a line of 30-of-43 and 307 yards. LeSean McCoy chipped in with 130 yards and the Eagles might have reached 50 if their red zone work was a bit sharper. That will have to change, as will the turnovers and the habit of giving up big passing plays, once the caliber of competition rises again.
The Eagles sacked Zach Mettenberger five times, but the Titans got back into the game in the second quarter on the back of two long gains on passes to Justin Hunter and Delanie Walker. The Titans had no running game to speak of, however, and the pass rush was clearly too much for the Titans line to handle all afternoon.
Even with the flaws in mind, it was a big step in the right direction after last week’s debacle against the Packers. Beating the Cowboys and grabbing control of the division next week would be an even bigger one.