The Eagles have problems. (Warning: If you’re still reeling from yesterday’s loss, you may want to pause here and circle back later). There’s no sugarcoating it, falling short in OT to the Titans yesterday was a tough one. The kind of loss that makes you sick to your stomach, which is exactly how Carson Wentz described it in his post-game press conference. This is not the “new norm”. Instead, it’s a very familiar feeling of disappointment that has plagued Eagles fans for years.
Okay, let’s get the bad the out of the way first and hopefully find some good here when all is said and done. The offensive line was an absolute train wreck. Wentz was sacked 4 times and seemed to be under pressure almost every time he dropped back. You have to win in the trenches and the Eagles didn’t do it up front. The talent is there, so I’m not sure what the problem is, but it has to get figured out before the Vikings come to town.
It wasn’t all terrible on the offensive side of the ball, particularly Alshon Jeffrey’s performance. Making his season debut, he show cased his No. 1 receiver talents in a big way. Jeffrey made some nice contested catches in one-on-one matchups and posted an 8 reception, 105 yards, and 1 TD stat line. Not too shabby for his first game back from injury.
Then there’s the defense, particularly Jalen Mills. Mills took plenty of heat for his poor performance against the Buccaneers two weeks ago. At the time, it was probably overblown. After yesterday’s performance though? Mills again got burnt on multiple double moves, which has always been his weakness and teams seem to be really exploiting it now. Mills looks like a liability, but who do you turn to? The secondary is already depleted after losing Rodney McLeod. Is Sidney Jones ready to move outside? It’ll be interesting to see what DC Jim Schwartz decides to do.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you listened to Philly sports radio this morning, you’d probably think the sky is falling down. It’s not. This is a team just coming off a Superbowl win and they’re getting their opponents absolute best week in and week out. Wentz is back. Jeffrey is back. Wins are wins and losses are losses. The Eagles now sit at 2-2 with a big matchup coming against Minnesota. I hope this loss stings for the coaches and the players the way it stings for the fans.
So what do we do now?
Now it’s time for the Eagles to go to the game tape, address the issues, and get ready for the Vikings. It’s time to put it all together and show everyone they’re still a contender.
You think Lane Johnson doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder now? The players know what needs to be done, as do the coaches. Doug Pederson is a big proponent of “practice how you play”, so this week at the NovaCare Complex will probably be intense. Monday’s are already tough and after an Eagles’ loss, they’re a little tougher. But that’s the beauty of the NFL. Its short lived because there’s another game to be played come Sunday and winning cures everything.
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