Five Big-Picture Takeaways From Eagles Week 11 Loss to Buccaneers
By Somers Price
Nov 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly meet on field after game at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers defeated the Eagles, 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
The term rock-bottom should be used at the discretion of he or she who chooses to utter the phrase when talking about the 2015 Eagles. One week ago, a one-point loss to the Miami Dolphins felt like enough of an embarrassment to jar the team back to life after dipping below .500. Sunday afternoon, in front of a tenuous Lincoln Financial Field crowd, the Eagles were outclassed by a Buccaneers team led by a rookie quarterback and Lovie Smith. The 45-17 drubbing dropped the Eagles to 4-6 or, as those in NFC East circles know it as, right on the doorstep of the postseason. This loss was different, though.
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Though he would not admit it in his postgame press conference, Chip Kelly was just as much to blame for what took place on his team’s home field Sunday than the players carrying out his gameplay. Only a handful of players seemed to be putting forth maximum effort, while others simply went through the motions. Kelly was unable to keep up with the Tampa Bay coaching staff in the adjustments department and saw his team fall back into its pattern of fragility. Failing to execute on a few plays can put a team behind the eight ball in the NFL. Being physically and mentally incapable of doing so for the better part of a game is a signal of something deeper than a missed assignment or an incorrect route.
The Eagles were not outmatched in the talent department against Tampa Bay. One could make a strong argument that, from one to 53, they were the better roster. Given how much talent there is in the NFL in this day and age, the difference in these types of contests often come down to what takes place between Sundays. This deep into the season, it is often the teams that seem the most in-tuned with one another that come away with wins when the weather gets cold. At Lincoln Financial Field, the only group donning midnight green that was unified in their actions was the disgusted fans marching out of the building as the Buccaneers made mince-meat of the Eagles defense.
Talk is cheap pin this league. No matter how frustrated members of the team came off following Sunday’s loss, it is just lip-service unless the mistakes are corrected and the product on the field takes a dramatic turn. For weeks, fans and analysts alike have reverted to the safety blanket of playing in the NFC East as a reason to not overreact to the Eagles’ struggles. The types of issues that have plagued this team over the last two weeks transcend a postseason race and, as unfortunate as it may seem, appear to be the early warning signs of more big picture problems. There’s no way of knowing if anyone within the organization is capable of reversing this trend. The only way to find that out is to watch what takes place over the final six games.
As far as the game against the Buccaneers and how it impacts some of those big-picture conversations, here’s what stood out: