Opinion: Why Jim Schwartz made the right call on 4th and 3

By Michael Heilman

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday night in a 24-20 defeat. The Eagles had just taken a 20-17 lead with 3:13 left in the 4th quarter, giving Atlanta another shot to win the game.

After the Eagles defense stopped Atlanta three times, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz sent the blitz to go after Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. However, the plan backfired as Matt Ryan threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones what would end up being the game-winner. Yes, it was heartbreaking, but Jim Schwartz made the right call to send everyone. Had the Eagles defense got there a second or two early, Eagles fans would be singing a different tune. Instead, the Eagles are now 1-1 and will return home Sunday afternoon against the Detroit Lions at 1 pm from Lincoln Financial Field.

Jim Schwartz’s play call on 4th and 3 reminded me of another defensive coordinator who would have done the same thing and that’s Jim Johnson. The difference between the two is that Schwartz does not have a great secondary. Johnson, on the other hand, had Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, Michael Lewis, and Brian Dawkins, a secondary that no one could get by. Schwartz had Rasul Douglas go up against Jones, but the Falcons did a good job creating the room for Jones to run for a 70-yard game-winning touchdown.

There are only a few players in the NFL that can stop Julio Jones, Schwartz has no one. If Schwartz had is own version of a Dawkins, Taylor, Vincent and Lewis line, there would be no question that the Eagles would’ve won last night.

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