The Philadelphia Eagles entered Week 4 with a very tenuous 3-0 record, all three wins requiring comebacks from deficits of 10 or more points. The San Francisco 49ers, coming off three consecutive trips to the conference title game, just showed the world why the Birds don’t belong among the class of the NFC just yet.
Philly’s fourth-quarter magic finally wore off on Sunday, as the offense failed to cross the goal line for the go-ahead score despite two shots from San Francisco’s 1-yard line. Despite barely missing out on a golden opportunity to steal another victory, though, the Eagles’ 26-21 loss created a lot more questions than it answered.
For starters, what’s going on with an offense that entered the week ranked fifth in yards and second in scoring?
None of the Eagles’ 21 points against the 49ers came from an offensive play. In fact, only one possession made it into San Francisco territory. Up until that drive, which began with 6:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, the offense had just five first downs. To make matters worse, the unit was responsible for four turnovers.
First and foremost, we have to look at an offensive line that was down three starters and displaced another.
The patchwork group isn’t opening any holes for reigning rushing champion LeSean McCoy, who has run for 39 yards on 29 carries over the past two games for a pitiful 1.4 average. And despite the fact that he’s been sacked just once in the same span, the unit has struggled to protect quarterback Nick Foles, who has taken a beating.
The good news is the line receives some reinforcements next week with the return of right tackle Lane Johnson from a four-game suspension. That should solidify both his spot and right guard, as Todd Herremans slides back over to his normal spot.
Then again, All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce are much further away. Mathis is on short-term injured reserve and will not be eligible to return until Week 10 at the earliest. Jeff McLane for The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Jason Kelce is out six to eight weeks, though there’s no official timetable from the team.
The Eagles are just going to make do with what they have until then.
In McCoy’s case, his struggles are almost entirely a result of what’s happening in the trenches. According Zachary Rodgers for ESPN.com, Philadelphia backs averaged a league-best 3.6 yards before contact per rush in 2013. Obviously, that hasn’t been the case this season.
Foles, on the other hand, has missed opportunities to hit on some big plays just about every week, which has been the impetus for some of the Eagles’ slow starts. Once again on Sunday, the third-year signal-caller was just off the mark on several deep passes in San Francisco, overthrowing several receivers who were open by NFL standards.
Foles’ weapons haven’t been entirely reliable either. Wide receiver Riley Cooper and tight end Zach Ertz both lost fumbles against the Niners. At times, dropped passes have conspired against the Eagles as well.
For a variety of reasons, the offense hasn’t been firing on all cylinders all season, regardless of the unit’s standing in league rankings. That being said, the club’s defense hasn’t exactly been unimpeachable either.
It’s hard to fault defensive coordinator Bill Davis’ unit for any part of the loss in San Francisco. The defense held the 49ers to 26 points despite being on the field for over 42 minutes. Heck, safety Malcolm Jenkins was responsible for seven of the Eagles’ 21 points thanks to his pick-six.
There are issues on that side of the ball too, however. To begin with, Philadelphia’s run defense was a bit of a letdown this week, allowing 218 yards on the ground off of 42 attempts for a healthy 5.2 average. The Indianapolis Colts also found success in the run game in Week 2, carrying 38 times for 169 yards and a 4.4 average.
The run defense was supposed to be the unit’s strength, finishing fourth in the NFL in yards per attempt allowed in 2013, but lately, Philadelphia looks quite vulnerable in that phase.
That spells bad news for a secondary that entered the week ranked 30th in passing yards surrendered—this after coming in dead last in the same category a year ago. Jenkins has turned out to be a great addition to the defensive backfield, but it hasn’t made cornerbacks Cary Williams or Bradley Fletcher any less immune to surrendering completions in bunches.
On the bright side, the Eagles recorded four sacks of Colin Kaepernick on Sunday. On the other hand, that was after going two straight weeks without getting to the quarterback.
You could take that as a sign Philadelphia’s pass rush is getting into the swing of things, but more likely it was a result of Kaepernick’s penchant for holding on to the football too long.
Again, it’s difficult to blame the defense for any part of Sunday’s loss, yet the issues are there. Some may be rectified by the eventual return of Mychal Kendricks from a heel injury, although there’s no indication from the team or reporters of when that might be.
About the only thing that has gone totally right for the Eagles this season is special teams, which scored touchdowns on a blocked punt and punt return against the 49ers. That’s in addition to a kick return for touchdown, a blocked field goal and a 51-yard game-winning field goal already this season.
As we saw in San Francisco, though, the Eagles can’t win games with stellar special teams alone. The offense at least needs to show up. The defense isn’t going to steal many victories.
Optimists will be quick to point out Philadelphia is 3-1 despite the loss, and even if the Dallas Cowboys win their game, it will be no worse than tied for first in the NFC East on Monday morning. It’s nowhere near time to write this team off, not after one loss, no matter how brutal.
Still, what’s clear and has been for a while is the Eagles have quite a few holes to plug right now. At best, the loss to the 49ers might’ve been evidence the Birds simply do not belong among the ranks of the elite yet—at worst, a sign the ship is beginning to take on water.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1vn0gct
via IFTTT September 28, 2014 at 07:33PM
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