Blown Opportunity

Posted: September 22nd, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Blown Opportunity

The Eagles lost an incredibly frustrating game today. They could have won. They probably should have won.

But they lost.

It is easy to rant and rave after a game like this. I think it is important to have two different discussions. Talk about the game and then talk about the state of the team. Too often we combine the two.

“The Eagles lost and their receivers suck!”

There is no question that the receivers struggled today, but we have to remember that Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson weren’t on the field. Their return will change things. It doesn’t mean the Eagles will average 40 points a game and go undefeated, but they will be better.

For now, let’s talk about the game. The Eagles played well at times, but just made too many mistakes.

  • 7 dropped passes
  • 2 lost fumbles
  • 3 offensive pass interference penalties
  • 100-yard KOR for a TD

That’s a lot to overcome. The Eagles almost did that, but just weren’t good enough.

They managed to score 10 points in the first quarter, but still found themselves down 20-10 at halftime. This was the third game in a row where they had to play from behind by double-digits.

The defense held Detroit to 287 yards and just 2 of 4 in the Red Zone. Unfortunately the defense could not make any big plays. No sacks, forced fumbles or interceptions. Another game where the pass rush struggled. It will be interesting to see what the tape shows. Matt Stafford didn’t have a great day, but the rush didn’t affect him enough.

Dropped passes were incredibly costly. Dallas Goedert dropped a TD. Nelson Agholor dropped a third down pass that would have moved the chains. And these two were crushing.

Anyone who blames Carson Wentz for this loss is nuts. Pure nuts.

Wentz wasn’t perfect, but those were catchable passes. He needed his pass catchers to…make catches. Crazy, right? It would be one thing if Wentz was throwing the ball near them and expecting highlight plays. Those passes were both good throws that should have been caught.

Some fans were blaming Mike Groh. The offense had 386 yards and 24 points despite missing the top two receivers and having the #3 LT play a lot of the first half. Groh and Pederson did a solid job of play-calling. This game was more about execution than anything else.

It is natural to want to blame someone. Everyone who looked at the schedule had this pegged as an Eagles victory. How does a Super Bowl contender like the Eagles lose to the mediocre Lions?

Mistakes.

Really, it is as simple as that. Detroit didn’t play some great game. They made a handful of key plays. The Eagles shot themselves in the foot. Over and over. Then they reloaded and shot again.

This isn’t a defining game. Losing to the Lions doesn’t mean the Eagles are a bad team or that the season is over.

It could prove to be costly down the road. The Eagles are 1-2 and all of those are conference games. That could be important in December when the Eagles are trying to (hopefully) get a good playoff seed. I know it sounds silly to talk playoffs this early and on such a bad day, but that is where this loss will hurt.

The Eagles have a short week, with a trip to Green Bay for a Thursday night game. I wonder if that might actually be a good thing. You don’t want to dwell on a loss like this. The Eagles have to move on and start looking ahead right away.

Hope that Alshon Jeffery and Dallas Goedert get healthy in the next few days. And hope that the other guys can learn to catch the friggin’ ball.

Sleep fast and start getting ready for the Packers.

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