Coming up small in big spots is killing the Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have been awful in third and fourth-down situations.

When the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017, the one big part of their game you knew you could count on was their ability to convert third and fourth down situations.

Heck, Doug Pederson essentially changed the way the game of football was played that year, as he continued to go for it in fourth and short situations. Teams used to never operate that way, and now?

Well, you see it happening every single weekend in the NFL.

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During that magical run in 2017, the Birds’ converted on 41.7 percent (96-230) of the third-down situations they faced. This was good for eighth in the entire National Football League. They were even better on fourth downs, as they converted 65.4 percent (19-26) of the time in those situations. This was good for third in the league in this category.

Pederson’s Eagles were able to operate at this high of a clip due to innovative play-calling and their quarterback Carson Wentz being able to extend plays with his legs. It truly helped set the team apart from the rest of the league.

Even as recently as last season, the Philadelphia Eagles dominated in third-down situations. They were able to convert 45.4 percent (104-229) of the time in those spots; good for fourth in the entire league.

This season has been a significant fall from grace, as currently heading into their Week 11 match-up with the Cleveland Browns, the Birds’ have only converted on 39.7 percent (46-116) of their third-down opportunities. This putrid percentage puts them at 25th in the NFL in this category.

They have been even worse in fourth down situations, as they have only managed to convert 29.4 percent (5-17) of the time in those spots; good for 30th in the NFL. Yeah, not great!

With all of the things that have gone wrong this season for the Eagles, this is one that has been greatly overlooked.

The Birds’ continue to come up small in key moments, where they used to absolutely shine. There are many different things that can be pointed too for this. Carson Wentz’s mediocre at best play, Doug’s inability to commit to any semblance of a ground game, no separation from the wide receivers?

You can go on and on, but at the end of the day, it is just flat out killing this football team; and a huge reason why they currently find themselves 3-5-1.

So how does this get fixed? Well, I wish I had the answer for you. I would believe it would need to start with the man under center, as the Eagles really need him to step his game up. If he could regain any type of semblance of even the player he was last year, it could go a long way towards getting this season back on track.

Also, I don’t know. Maybe, run the football? That seems a bit too obvious, and it is amazing that Pederson just continues to ignore that is an issue. It could help set the offense in more manageable third-down situations instead of the constant third and long spots they continue to find themselves in.

Whatever the answer is, the team needs to find it, and fast. This season is quickly slipping away, and the time to get back on track would be this Sunday against the Browns. With the addition of Jordan Howard, it will be interesting to see if the Eagles decide to commit to running the football. Either way, the time for answers is right now.