Falcon Report

Did Falcons Win or Eagles Lose the Game? Shannon Sharpe Weighed In

Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles got blamed for blowing the game against the Atlanta Falcons, but Shannon Sharpe saw it differently.

CJ Errickson

Shannon Sharpe seemed to give the Atlanta Falcons more credit against the Philadelphia Eagles than most.
Shannon Sharpe seemed to give the Atlanta Falcons more credit against the Philadelphia Eagles than most. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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It seems to be a matter of who did what in the Atlanta Falcons' 22-21 victory on Monday Night over the Philadelphia Eagles. While the Eagles led most of the game, some say that head coach Nick Sirianni’s team created more self-inflicted detriment than the Falcons actually ‘won the game.’

On ESPN’s First Take, analyst and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe offered his two cents on the riveting primetime affair.

“The Falcons did what they wanted to do," said Sharpe on ESPN. "They ran the ball at will; Kirk Cousins had all day to throw the football. Vic Fangio really wants to play two-shell defense but couldn’t really play it last night because he was getting gashed in the run, so he had to drop down the safety. Now, they have to play one-on-one on the outside.”

‘Unc’ was correct in the above statements, as offensive coordinator Zac Robinson got the unit to average 5.4 yards rushing and 12.1 yards receiving on the night. 

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Additionally, the pass protection was strong, as they only allowed Cousins to be sacked once on the night—even running back Bijan Robinson got in on the action.

Essentially, the Falcons were able to be unpredictable in their offensive attack compared to their Week 1 outing. In the end, Sharpe said the Eagles secondary was less than ideal because of Atlanta’s potent rushing attack. 

“I’m not sold on that (Eagles) defense. I’ve never been sold on the back end; now they can’t stop the run, and now they can’t consistently generate pressure. I’ve known Fangio for a long time. If you go back and study Fangio in San Francisco (49ers) he had Patrick Willis – a Hall of Famer, Navorro Bowman, Justin Smith, and Aldon Smith. Yeah, you can play Cover 2 because you have those guys generating pressure up front. But now, he does not have that; he is going to have to dig deep.” Sharpe said.

However, his closing statement sums up the Week 2 clash in probably the simplest form. 

"The Philadelphia Eagles did not lose this game the Atlanta Falcons took it."

- Shannon Sharpe

Head coach Raheem Morris knows what his team is capable of, and Monday night was perhaps just a glimpse of the type of team they are in this new era.  

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CJ Errickson

CJ ERRICKSON