Philadelphia Eagles: Defensive highs and offensive woes in Super Bowl LII rematch
In a rematch of Super Bowl LII, the New England Patriots topped the Philadelphia Eagles in a game where Jim Schwartz’s defense looked improved, but the offense was dreadful.
Earlier today, the Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) squared off against the New England Patriots (9-1). After starting off hot, the birds wound up coming up short in the defensive dual, losing 17-10.
First Quarter:
The Eagles offense came out sizzling. In the first quarter alone, Carson Wentz led the offense into 84 total yards and came away with three points (Jake Elliott 42 yard field goal). A quarter that was filled with coach Doug Pederson calling creative plays, the defense shutting down Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense, the team looked like they came to play.
Second Quarter:
Lane Johnson exited the second quarter early with was considered a head injury. Thus, the offense began to falter. After a Dallas Goedert touchdown with 12:36 to go in the half, the offense began to meltdown from there. Before a couple of garbage time drives, the Eagles’ offense could only muster up 19 total yards from scrimmage and zero points, while allowing five sacks with Halapoulivaati Vaitai filling in at right tackle. The defense maintained the “bend, don’t break” mentality and only allowed the Patriots to scrounge together a trio of field goals.
Third Quarter:
The Patriots’ nine points off of field goals symbolized what was about to come. Jason Peters would up leaving the game as well with injury after a Wentz fumble in the second, allowing rookie Andre Dillard to step in at left tackle for the third. Julian Edelman would throw a touchdown pass on a trick play with 10:51 left in the third. The scoring on both sides would stop there.
Fourth Quarter:
The final quarter was filled with punts from both teams. Four total punts were exchanged. Boston Scott served as the Eagles’ main kick returner the entire game and even lost a fumble during a return (Eagles kept possession). AND he continued to field kicks from the five. Now with Jay Ajayi back, he can go back to waivers. The most eventful moment of the game came during the Eagles’ second-to-last drive of the game. Wentz had Nelson Agholor open in the end zone, but the fifth-year receiver could not track the ball and come down with it.
Final Takeaways:
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Offense:
Let’s save the anger, frustration, and sadness for another article. In layman’s terms though, the Eagles’ offense was terrible. After a great first quarter and the early touchdown in the second, the team ended up punting/fumbling/turnover on downs NINE times. Agholor is still struggling to track a deep ball, or even catch for that matter. Needless to say, it’s tough to see the Eagles heading to the playoffs without having a deep threat. The team is struggling to make the game even fun to watch, except for Zach Ertz, who had a nice day, collecting nine receptions for 94 yards.
Ajayi, the newest addition to the team, did not see the field a single time. Jordan Matthews caught one of his six targets for six yards.
Defense:
The Eagles defense is back. The Patriots realized this themselves. Now with the secondary healthy, and Jim Schwartz back to sending pressure, the defense looked to be back to Super Bowl LII winning form. This was arguably the best game that Schwartz called this season, utilizing the corners and playing more of a press-off-the-line style man coverage.
Overall:
The Eagles have a much easier schedule ahead of them, in comparison to what they have faced so far in the first ten games of their season. Considering they “dropped the ball” (no pun intended) on a vulnerable Patriots team, now they face a tough matchup against Russel Wilson and the Seahawks next Sunday.
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If the Philadelphia Eagles want to make the playoffs, they have to change something offensively. Set the tone somehow- fire offensive coordinator Mike Groh, cut a ‘key’ player (Agholor), or something. Please. This team needs a spark, and this game is not going to provide that.