Bad Loss

Posted: September 30th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Bad Loss

The Eagles led the Titans 17-3 and had control of the game. Life was good.

That didn’t last, though.

The Titans woke up and got going. The Eagles fell part. Tennessee started making all kinds of plays and the next thing you know, they led 20-17 late in the game. The Eagles were able to drive down and kick a FG to send the game to overtime.

The Eagles then marched right down the field, looking like they were in control. Until they got to the Red Zone. The drive stalled and the Eagles had to settle for a FG. That was a big theme for the day. The Eagles were 1 for 4 in the Red Zone. The Titans were 3 for 4. Guess who won?

Tennessee faced 4th and 15 on the ensuing drive. The Eagles are normally really good when they play their “sticks defense”, when all the defenders go to the sticks and then keep things in front of them. Unfortunately Corey Graham took a nap on the play and didn’t get out wide enough. Sure, he guarded a nice patch of grass very carefully, but the Titan receiver over by the sideline was wide open and got 18 yards on the play.

I don’t know how a veteran DB doesn’t get wide there. He didn’t have a bunch of traffic in front of him. That’s incredibly dumb defense.

TEN converted another couple of 4th downs and scored a TD on the final play to win the game. Rookie Avonte Maddox slipped in the end zone and that left Corey Davis wide open.

This is a bad loss. The Eagles blew a two-TD lead. They had multiple chance to put the game away and couldn’t close Tennessee out. Good teams make those plays. The Eagles didn’t. Everyone should be really frustrated after a loss like this.

At the same time, the Eagles are 2-2 with tough road losses to Tampa (2-2) and Tennessee (3-1). Let’s not overreact and start talking about this team as complete garbage or that there need to be major changes.

Doug Pederson didn’t build the Eagles into a champion by panicking anytime something went wrong. He made adjustments. He tried to solve problems. When changes need to be made, that happened. Pederson trusted his gut, but didn’t let his emotions get the best of him.

In today’s loss, Pederson was part of the problem. He made some strange decisions and didn’t have the best gameplan. This is one time when he says “I’ve got to do better” and that is true, not just him covering for his players.

It will be interesting to hear what Jim Schwartz has to say on Tuesday. His defense blew this game. He will get some tough questions about what went wrong and how he plans to fix it moving forward. When you have a 14- point lead and arguably the best DL in football, you should not blow that game. The Eagles did. That means we’re in for a long miserable week.

And don’t look now, but Minnesota is the opponent next week and they’ll be playing to keep their season alive, along with wanting revenge for the drubbing in the NFC title game from last year. The Eagles need to find some answers, and in a hurry.

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