Wentz Weekly: Slow start, costly mistakes hurt Eagles against Seahawks

The Philadelphia Eagles had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Sunday night when they lost to the Seattle Seahawks 24-10 to fall to 10-2.

For the first time in two and a half months, the Philadelphia Eagles have lost a football game after falling to the Seattle Seahawks 24-10 to see their record drop to 10-2 on the season.  All in all, the Eagles are still in very good shape. They are going to win the NFC East, and if they can bounce back against the Los Angeles Rams, then they should still be in good shape for home-field advantage.

At the end of the day, a little adversity is never a bad thing for a football team. An experience like this one will hopefully help the team down the road in the postseason. Plus, a bad game for the Eagles seemed inevitable, so rather it be now then in January. This team will learn from this and there is little doubt that they should bounce back.

For Carson Wentz, he had a very up and down night. He showed flashes of brilliance on some throws to Nelson Agholor, but had some costly mistakes in missed throws and two turnovers.

Wentz finished the night going 29 of 45 for 348 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The numbers were not bad, as Wentz threw for the most yards in a game he has all season. But, it was some bad mistakes that cost Wentz and the Eagles on Sunday night.

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The Eagles’ offense came out of the gates playing very conservatively. It looked like they were playing not to lose, rather than to win. We have become so accustomed to this offense taking shots and being aggressive, but that was nowhere to be found for much of the first half.

One defining play from the first half was when the Eagles were just past midfield into Seahawks’ territory and on a play-action pass, Wentz sailed one over Agholor for what would have been a huge gain, if not a touchdown.

Coming out of the half, the Eagles were only down 10-3, and got the ball to start the third quarter. Wentz marched the offense right down the field and got Philadelphia inside of the Seattle 10-yard line. Then, possibly the game defining play came.

On second and goal, Wentz kept the ball on a read option and went up the middle and looked like he had a chance at diving into the end zone. As he was diving, the ball was jarred loose, and unlike last week, luck was not on the Eagles side. The ball skirted out of the end zone and Seattle would get the ball. A detrimental turnover that would help Seattle take control.

Following that turnover, Russell Wilson led Seattle right down the field and finished with a touchdown pass to put the Seahawks up 17-3.

After a turnover on downs deep in Seattle territory, Wentz and the Eagles got the ball back still down 17-3. It was on this drive that we saw the Wentz we have gotten so use to in 2017.

On a 3rd and 13 deep in their own territory, Wentz was under extreme pressure, rolled right and threw a perfect pass while falling down to Agholor, who had beat former Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell on the play. Then, a handful of plays later on 3rd and 14, Wentz would find Agholor on another great play to cut the Seattle lead to seven.

But it was too late. Wilson orchestrated another terrific touchdown drive to put this game away with the Seahawks up 24-10. After a turnover on downs and then Wentz`s sixth interception of the season, the Eagles’ fate was sealed as they would drop to 10-2 on the season.

The Eagles’ offense really put themselves in a hole early with a slow first half. It would have been nice to see the Eagles be a bit more aggressive in the first half and have played to win, rather than playing not to lose. It looked like Wentz and the Eagles were a bit scared in the first half, and that put them in a hole early.

Even though the Eagles adjusted in the second half, it was too little too late. The offense played well in the second half, but they had to come from behind and made some costly mistakes.

When looking back on this game, the one play that was the determining factor was the Wentz fumble in the end zone.  If that does not happen, and the Eagles score, the game is tied at 10-10 and Philadelphia probably goes on to win the game. But that did not happen, and the Eagles must learn from their mistakes going into next week.

The sailing doesn’t get any easier next week either. The Eagles will stay out west all week and head into Los Angeles for a match up with a very good Rams team on Sunday. It will not be as hostile of an environment, but the Eagles must look more like themselves and pull out a win as a loss will be very detrimental.

Next: 3 takeaways from Eagles 24-10 loss to Seahawks in Week 13

Returning east 1-1 on this West Coast swing will be vital, and will be a challenge that Wentz and the Eagles better be up for on Sunday in Los Angeles.