Five Big-Picture Takeaways From Eagles Week 11 Loss to Buccaneers

Nov 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly run off the field after loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers defeated the Eagles, 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

5.) For the First Time in His NFL Tenure, Chip Kelly Appears to Have Backed Himself into a Corner

As Chip Kelly faced down the gauntlet of the Eagles beat force following one of the more brutal losses in his NFL tenure, one wondered if THIS was the game that might cause the coach to shoulder some of the blame. [Spoiler Alert!] It wasn’t.

"I don’t think anybody played well today, and I don’t think we’re talking about beliefs. We just didn’t play well as a football team in any facet of the game and there’s no excuse for that."

Save for their first offensive drive of the game, very little seemed to catch the Buccaneers off guard as they cruised to a resounding 45-17 win. They kept the Eagles off the field on offense and played the exact type of defense that would eventually lead Mark Sanchez into turnovers. There was no adjustments after the half, and no spark coming from the sideline that could bring Kelly’s team out of the tailspin it had fallen into. As the visitors walked up and down the field on the Eagles, all his team could do (save for a few select individuals) was watch the clock wind down to triple zeroes.

Following the game, Billy Davis was quick to fall on the knife of his defense’s performance. While Davis’s admission of blame is admirable, it should leave fans even more frustrated with Kelly’s refusal to take one on the chin. For as competitive an individual as he’s come off during his time with the Eagles, it’s remarkable how little he feels is his own fault when the team does not perform. One cannot help but imagine the mindset of a player that just put in a hard week’s work of practice, the tailor-made practice of Kelly himself, only to lose by almost 30 at home. To have Kelly immediately point to those players and their failure to execute his gameplan afterward must have been icing on the cake.

There were some players after the game that were as frustrated as one would expect a grown man to be after facing the type of embarrassment they did on Sunday. There were also a handful that seemed almost numb to the result of the game. With Kelly as the figure-head of the Eagles franchise, one can’t help but wonder if some of the players want to win for him the same way the Bucs want to win for Winston. It’s a twin-edged sword for Kelly, given his level of control. He either inadequately scouted the intangibles of the players he hand-picked in free agency and the draft, or his gameplan does not cater to the talents of those players. Whether it’s Chip the GM or Chip the coach, it’s plain as day that there’s something wrong in that locker room.

Jeff McLane of the Inquirer posted a story that may shed some light on this potential storyline. Here’s a particularly telling excerpt.

"Millions watched it on TV and thousands saw it in person at Lincoln Financial Field, but the people it should matter to most were Murray’s teammates. And at least one, when asked on Sunday whether he thought the Eagles were giving it their all, noticed. “Well, when you see DeMarco sliding before getting hit, you tell me. Was that giving full effort?” said an Eagles player who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “You see that [stuff], and it makes you wonder.” Where there is one, there are surely others. Other Eagles who bust it every practice and every game who can’t help but be bothered when a teammate so easily gives himself up and other Eagles who, for whatever the reason, have started to check out. “I believe so, but, hey, I don’t know,” receiver Josh Huff said when asked whether he thought every player was giving 100 percent. “I believe everyone is giving their all, but then again, may not be. I don’t know. All I can [do] is speak for myself.”"

Until Kelly addresses these types of issues head-on, the stories will persist and intensify. The season and Kelly’s grasp on the locker room is still inexplicably salvageable. He may be the only person capable of making a change that can make a big enough impact to turn things around. For the first time in two-plus years, I have my doubts.