Game of Attrition

The final score says Falcons 24, Eagles 20, but this game was so much more than just those numbers. This was like the modern version of the Body Bag game. Eagles were falling like flies, a few Falcons as well.

DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and Dallas Goedert all got hurt early. Carson Wentz went out and came back in. Nelson Agholor as well. Tim Jernigan left in a walking boot. Corey Clement was in a sling. Did I miss anyone?

Carson Wentz struggled early, possibly due to taking too many big hits. The offense couldn’t do anything and the Eagles found themselves down 17-6. Things did not look good.

Jim Schwartz decided to turn the defense loose. He started blitzing and things changed. Ronald Darby picked off a pass and the offense turned that into a TD. The Eagles were down 17-12 and the team suddenly had some life.

Wentz played well in the fourth quarter and put the Eagles ahead 20-17 with just three minutes left in the game.

Atlanta then faced 4th and 3 near midfield. The game was right there for the taking. Schwartz dialed up a blitz and the Falcons countered with a perfect call, a quick screen to Julio Jones. That resulted in a 54-yard TD and Atlanta led 24-20.

The Eagles got the ball after the kickoff and moved near midfield. Wentz threw a perfect pass to a streaking Nelson Agholor, for what would have been the go-ahead TD. The ball went right through Agholor’s hands.

Ugh.

Agholor tried to make up for it with a 43-yard catch on 4th and 14 later in the drive, but that didn’t result in a TD. The drop was going to be a sure TD, barring an alien attack. That was a soul-crushing moment.

This was a game the Eagles shouldn’t have been in position to win. They were missing key players. Nothing was going right. The Falcons couldn’t pull away and the Eagles proved to be very resilient. They clawed their way back into the game and should have had the lead with less than two minutes to go.

The Eagles did get inside the Red Zone, but a fourth down pass to Zach Ertz came up a foot short. Wentz will hear about how he failed to lead the Eagles on a last minute comeback. But his throw to Agholor should have been the go-ahead points.

Wentz had some really good moments in the game. This was the most incredible.

Carson Wentz just did THAT. How?pic.twitter.com/h4YmmlaX5J

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) September 16, 2019

That is absolutely amazing. Even on an off night, Wentz showed how special he can be. The long throw to Agholor on fourth down was also really impressive.

There is no shame in losing this game. The Eagles overcame some really tough circumstances and were right there at the end. The big concern now is the status of all the injured guys. You have to cross your fingers and hope those are short term issues.

It was good to see Mack Hollins step up, but this offense needs DeSean and Alshon for it to be able to make big plays.

The player who suffered the most in the game was Ronald Darby. Atlanta attacked him all game long and he got lit up. Give him some credit for never falling apart. He kept battling. You can bet other teams will be studying this tape. Darby is going to be challenged until he shows he can stop some receivers.

Rough night, but it was fun to see the Eagles fight their way back into this game. That shows you the character of this team.

That will serve them well over the course of the season.

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