Eagles desperately need J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to step up

With all of the injuries on offense, the Philadelphia Eagles desperately need J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to step up during this final stretch.

Words can’t even describe how frustrating it’s been to watch the offense of the Philadelphia Eagles in recent weeks, especially over the last two games against the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

The fact that Philadelphia finished on the losing end of both contests despite allowing each opponent to score just 17 points shows just how much the offense has struggled for the most part in 2019.

And while plenty of Eagles fans will quickly point the blame at Carson Wentz, the quarterback isn’t an entirely at fault since numerous receivers have failed to step up when needed the most, with rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside being on that list.

Back in April when Philadelphia decided to use a second-round pick on the Stanford product, there was speculation that Arcega-Whiteside would find a way to make an impact right away as a rookie, despite a crowded receiving corps.

If anything, Arcega-Whiteside seemed like he could potentially be used as a secret weapon on offense if opposing defenders focused most of their attention on other key receivers such as Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Zach Ertz.

Unfortunately, Arcega-Whiteside hasn’t even been able to take advantage of increased roles on offense as a result of injuries to certain teammates with only five catches to his name in 11 games.

Even if the argument can be made that Arcega-Whiteside doesn’t deserve the entire blame due to the lack of targets from Wentz, if the rookie were really that good, Philadelphia would have done whatever it takes to make sure he was heavily involved on offense.

Since the Eagles will be fighting for their playoff lives over the next five weeks, Philadelphia is going to need all of the extra help possible from players like Arcega-Whiteside on offense to put the team in the best position possible to win the NFC East.

Otherwise, the Eagles will be watching the playoffs from home, which would make the 2019 season a wasted opportunity with all of the talent to work with on both sides of the football, which no fan wants to see happen after all of the previous excitement.