Enemy Reaction 2023: Philadelphia Eagles

At last! I can dust off the Enemy Reaction cobwebs. The Seattle Seahawks pulled off the 20-17 upset over the Philadelphia Eagles for their first win since mid-November. Seattle remains undefeated against Philadelphia under Pete Carroll, and you never know if we see a postseason rematch in January.

Throughout the year I’ve made reference to our own game threads being a bit... contentious, in virtually every Enemy Reaction I’ve done this season. The same applied to Monday night, but be honest with yourself: this was a dog of a game to watch until the 4th quarter went totally off the rails.

We don’t hold a candle to Eagles fans. This was an all-timer even by Philadelphia sports fan standards. Sit back and enjoy the masterpiece that is the Bleeding Green Nation meltdown. They may have overtaken Niners Nation atop the Enemy Reaction meltdown leaderboard almost entirely because of this game, and I left a lot of stuff on the cutting room floor.

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Jalen Hurts runs it in on the opening drive (7-0 PHI)

Jason Kelce called for false start on attempted tush push (10-0 PHI)

Kenneth Walker ties it up, with Drew Lock and Colby Parkinson leading the charge (10-10)

Jalen Hurts tush-pushed into the end zone (17-10 PHI)

James Bradberry commits pass interference on DK Metcalf (17-10 PHI)

Pete Carroll blows 2nd timeout of the drive, resulting in Eagles successfully challenging a sack (17-13 PHI)

Julian Love picks off Jalen Hurts in the end zone (17-13 PHI)

DK Metcalf makes an incredible catch in double coverage (17-13 PHI)

Drew Lock finds Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the go-ahead touchdown! (20-17 SEA)

Julian “Calls game on the City of Brotherly” Love! Seahawks win!! (20-17 SEA FINAL)

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Bonus Reactions from...

Dallas Cowboys (Retake the NFC East lead)

Denver Broncos (Drew Lock!)

Detroit Lions (would’ve clinched a playoff spot with a Seahawks loss)

San Francisco 49ers (on the cusp of the No. 1 seed, therefore rooting for the Seahawks)

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Post-Game: This was the worst sort of loss (Marcus Hayes, Philadelphia Inquirer)

They won’t if Jalen Hurts continues to play poorly. It didn’t help Patricia’s cause that Hurts threw two fourth-quarter interceptions on deep passes that were wholly unnecessary; the first, midway through the period, deep to Quez Watkins, cost the Eagles a chance to burn clock and add points. Hurts had been sick, but he played badly.

It also didn’t help that penalties from veterans hindered the Eagles’ efforts all night.

Three weeks ago, these Eagles looked like a title contender. Now? They look like a fading pretender.

No excuses. This was the worst sort of loss. Last-minute. Last-gasp. Lasting effect.

They lost to a Seahawks team that had scored fewer than 17 points in three of its last four games, losing all four. They lost to Lock, who was making his second straight appearance in place of Pro Bowl starter Geno Smith, who has a groin injury. It was only Lock’s fifth start in the past two seasons. It was Lock’s first win in those starts.

Post-Game: Should Jalen Hurts have even played? (Reuben Frank, NBC Sports Philadelphia)

If Jalen Hurts was so sick that he couldn’t function as a passer, he should not have been playing. Period. Hurts is a gamer. He’s incredibly tough. Nobody is questioning that. But we saw him miss open guys like he rarely does. He passed for 143 yards against the NFL’s 26th-ranked pass defense. In the second half, he was 8-for-14 for 64 yards and two interceptions. He didn’t complete a pass longer than 18 yards. Hey, I saw every training camp practice and Marcus Mariota did not have a good summer. But he’s a functional NFL quarterback and he’s healthy and if Hurts was so compromised that he was just a shell of his usual self, Mariota should have been out there. Look at what the Seahawks did. They started Lock over Geno Smith because Geno wasn’t 100 percent, and he got them a win. I’ll take Hurts at 60 percent over Mariota. But it sure didn’t look like Hurts was 60 percent.

Post-Game Video: “They’re not a playoff team, except they’re in the playoffs” (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

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Enemy Preaction: Tennessee Titans

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That was spicy as hell, wasn’t it?

The Seahawks still have playoff life with three weeks to go, but they can’t let themselves have an instant letdown against a banged up Tennessee Titans team that may be without Will Levis due to injury. All of the joy we had on Monday could be instantly undone on Christmas Eve. Seattle has lost five straight road games for the first time since 2009, and in order to make the playoffs, they’ll likely have to win their last two away trips to return to the postseason.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Hawks!