The studs and duds of a Week 9 victory.

Philly fans, our beloved Philadelphia Eagles remain undefeated as they advance to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. The Eagles head out on a short week to Texas to face off against the Houston Texans. Heading into this game, the Birds were 14 point favorite against a team with a record of 1-5-1, and at the time, that seemed to be a good line.

However, the Texans tried their best to play spoiler and pull off an upset win and finally hand Philadelphia their first season loss but ultimately fell short as the Eagles won 29-17. From the start of this game, Houston relied heavily upon their star running back Dameon Pierce and quarterback Davis Mills to get some form of offense moving. They found them successful in matching touchdown for a touchdown and having the score tied up heading into the half.

With some help of bad plays, Houston hung around this game longer than they should've, but the Eagles' did what they do best, and that is a shift to another gear on both sides of the ball and crush any hopes of an upset. We had some studs, and we had some duds in this win; let's get into them.

Studs.

Javon Hargrave, DT

It has been a mostly quiet season for Hargrave, but throughout the past few games, he has been on a tear and at times, seems almost unstoppable, with Week 9 being no different. Hargrave finished this game with 7 total tackles, 3 quarterback hits, 3 tackles for a loss, and added 3 sacks onto his resume. He was violent from the snap and Houston just did not have an answer for him.

Dallas Goedert, TE

For some reason, broadcasters and the national media keep saying that Goedert should be considered one of the top tight ends in the league. We here at FPF are going to help them out with a news flash, Dallas Goedert is very much one of the best tight ends in the league, ranking second in both total yards and yards per reception. He added to that against Houston, racking up 100 total yards and 1 touchdown.

Jalen Hurts, QB

On 27 total pass attempts, Hurts had 243 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and no picks while completing 77% of passes and a rating once again over 100. He is no longer just a fun thought of being an MVP, he is making strides to be seriously considered. It just can not be stated enough how much Jalen has grown as a passer.

C.J Gardner-Johnson, S (second half)

One of the newest aqusitions to the Eagles, C.J Gardner-Johnson, has been a absolute ball hawk in the last few weeks. Now being up to a league high 5 interceptions, CJGJ is proving his worth more and more and is cementing the fact that Howie Roseman owns the Saints. He had some struggles in this game, but his read on offenses are amongst the league as he finished Week 9 with 3 total tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception.

Jason Kelce, C

We will keep it simple, Kelce has been one of the best centers in the NFL for a long time now and even at 34 years of age, he is still proving and now paving a way, into the hall of fame.

Duds.

Jordan Mailata, T

I am not sure if Mailata was 100% in this game, but he certainly did not seem it. The 'Body Guard 2.0' had a rough game against the Texans, allowing multiple pressures and a few sacks. It's not like Jordan to consistently get beat in a game, but Jerry Hughes and Houston's defensive line just had his number.

The entire defense (1st half)

If anyone had flashbacks of the Miami Dolphins game in 2019, you are not alone. This defense truely looked like they were caught sleeping, allowing Davis Mills to complete 8 of his first 9 passes, Pierce to have over 100 yards rushing, poor tackling, and having blown coverages. I will give them credit for tightening up in the second half, but this has been a concern, particularly in rush defense and tackling, that against a formidable team is going to cause issues.

Special Teams

Minus the defense sleeping in Week 9, if the Eagles' have a weakness in their armor, it is special teams. THis is one of these things that is head scratching that the front office did not make much of an attempt to fix. From Jake Elliot missing a field goal to Britain Covey not being even remotely a threat in kick returns, this special team unit, left uncheck, is going to cost this team a win.

Marcus Epps & C.J Garnder-Johson (1st half), S

Safety had been the concern throughout the off season and even in the first couple of games, but both Epps and CJGJ had settled in nicely and made big time plays and have played solid. Playing solid was not the case in against the Texans. From taking bad angles, missed tackles, and some blown coverages - It was not this safety duo's game.

K'Von Wallace, S

I really did like the Wallace draft pick when the Birds made it and even saw some flashes last year and preseason. However, I can now say with confidence, he is just not a good player. To be really honest, it looks like Wallace struggles everytime he is out on the field. I would say it is a safe bet he will not be on this roster next year.

Who did we miss? Let us know in the comments below!