Defense, decision making and Cooper DeJean

PHILADELPHIA – No style points were won in South Philadelphia, but a football game ended as the Eagles beat the struggling Cleveland Browns 20-16.

Nick Sirianni's team has stayed afloat en route to 3-2 on the season, but many of the offensive issues remain even after a bye week focused on “details.”

The returns from receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith paid off as they each recorded a touchdown and Brown topped 100 yards on the afternoon (6 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown) while Lane Johnson slowed some of the protection issues.

However, the slow starts continued and some new injuries emerged, with tight end Dallas Goedert (hamstring), cornerback Darius Slay (knee) and left tackle Jordan Mailata (hamstring) sidelined due to their injuries.

Here is the stock market of week 6:

THE COPS:

COOPER DEJEAN – The Eagles finally pulled the trigger on DeJean coming out of the starting position, and it paid immediate dividends against a struggling offense. The freshman was quick on the ball several times in the home, including early in the game, which helped set the tone.

DeJean gave Vic Fangio's defense some oomph with his blitzing abilities even out of the slot. He was credited with 0.5 sacks, but also allowed Deshaun Watson to run into a shared sack by Milton Williams and Thomas Booker while the Browns were near their own goal line. which leads us in…

PASS RUSH – Philadelphia came into the game with a total of six sacks in four games and finished with five sacks and 10 quarterback hits against Watson, who has a penchant for holding on to the football and had a broken offensive line that has typically lost starting center Nick Harris himself a substitute who sustained a leg injury early in the game. Harris was eventually taken away in an air raid.

You might wonder how much you can really take from this situation, but you can only play who's on the schedule, and the Eagles took their chance and took advantage. Along with the effort from Williams/Booker and DeJean, who shared his sack with Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat and Jalen Carter also came home.

Carter paced the team with three of the QB hits, while Sweat added two of them.

JALEN HURTS' DECISION MAKING – Before Sunday's game, Hurts' 27 turnovers were the most in football since the start of the 2023 season. He has had seven turnovers this season (four picks, three fumbles) and has had a turnover in nine consecutive games since Sunday.

This ended with a clean game in terms of ball security against the Browns. This is important because the main theme of Hurts' turnovers is late throws in the passing game and the loss of his basic techniques as he tries to either navigate or escape the pocket.

THE BEARS:

NICK SIRIANNI'S BEHAVIOR – The Eagles head coach almost mocked the fans after the win. The coach heard a lot of boos and a few faint calls of “Fire Nick” on Sunday, but they didn’t cause much of a stir.

When asked about the situation afterwards, Sirianni said he was “just excited to get a win.”

When pressed further about being the old-school animated Sirianni, the coach said some players told him during the break week, “We need you back, Nick.” … If I want the guys to celebrate after big games and be themselves, then I should probably do that myself.

“I was having fun and I kind of got the feedback from the guys: ‘We need you back, Nick,” Sirianni said. “We need your energy, your focus. I inherited that from some of the players, and when I'm active and having fun, I think that has an impact on the rest of the football team.”

“If I want the boys to celebrate after big performances and be themselves, then I should probably do that myself, right? And there are times for that and there are times for that not to be the case.”

I feel like I'm a coach who's already on the hot seat and has come to the conclusion that he's doing his best when he goes out, and that kind of feeling is more trouble than it's worth , instead of saying something like “Off to New York” and quickly dismissing the self-inflicted controversy.

NAKOBE DEAN IN THE ROOM – Most defensive players have had positive days and Dean has a team-high 12 tackles, but his ability to move in space is often exposed by opposing playmakers.

STARTS SLOWLY: The Eagles have been ugly starters since last season. This season, their first drives in five games consisted of 16 plays for 12 yards with three three-and-outs, an interception and a first down.

Philadelphia is also still the only team in the NFL that hasn't scored in the first quarter, and the Eagles haven't done so in a total of seven games since last season.

Sirianni dismissed the idea that the Eagles didn't get off to a fast start, pointing out that the defense “got off to a fast start” against the Browns and it's all about the offense, something that will be fixed.

“I don’t want that to cross their minds,” Sirianni said.

The obvious way to avoid this is to achieve tangible success on offense in the first 15 minutes.

EAGLES ON SI: Eagles cheered by goal-line stand, return of star receiver in 20-16 win vs. Braune