Tough Day Leads to Tough Questions

The Eagles loss to Washington in the opener was bad. The team got out to a 17-0 lead and then fell apart. This week was supposed to be different. That loss woke everyone up. It got their attention. Things were going to be different.

Stylistically, yes.

Instead of blowing a big lead, the Eagles fell behind 21-3 and lost the game 37-19. There was a good comeback in the middle. The Eagles cut the lead to 24-19 and marched down into the Red Zone. Momentum had shifted. Things were finally going the Eagles way.

And then it happened. Carson Wentz threw a horrible interception, forcing a ball to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone. It was picked off and the Eagles were on their heels the rest of the game.

The defense was slightly less than awesome. The Rams scored 37 points and piled up 449 yards. They ran for 191. Jared Goff had a passer rating of 142. The Rams were 7 for 12 on third downs. They were 4 for 5 in the Red Zone. The defense came up with one sack and no takeaways.

Yikes.

When the Eagles beat the Rams in December of 2017, that game was a shootout. Stopping the Rams isn’t easy. The Eagles offense played at a high level that day. That didn’t happen today in Philly. The offense gained yards, but turnovers and key mistakes limited them to just 19 points. The offense needed to make plays and score points. Neither happened.

The Eagles now find themselves at 0-2, with a pair of discouraging losses. The Rams are good so there is no shame in losing to them. But losing by 18 and looking so sloppy is a different story. The Eagles are not a good team right now.

The Super Bowl win of 2017 is starting to get further and further away. The team needed hot streaks each of the past two seasons to get to 9-7. The Eagles haven’t been more than one game over .500 outside of late December. Now they are 0-2 with a defense that is allowing 34 points a game and an offense that has only scored 36 points this year.

Yikes.

I’m not calling for anyone to get fired or saying the season is over. Football is a marathon sport. You don’t have to start 2-0 or look great in September to make it to the Super Bowl. But man, this team is a mess right now. I do think it is fair to start questioning the big names…Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz.

The Eagles are 19-18 in their last 37 games. The new normal is mediocrity. The current team has consecutive losses by double digits. Injuries have been a factor in the last three years, but that’s part of the equation. Has the organization hired the right medical/training staffs? Has Roseman brought in the right players? Is Pederson doing something wrong (too much or too little work)? Is Wentz the right QB?

This isn’t a good look.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this team coming into the season. They brought in a big rookie class. When you do that, there is going to be a learning curve. I could live with youthful mistakes, but that’s not all we’ve seen. Jason Peters played worse than rookie Jack Driscoll in the opener. Zach Ertz dropped a fourth down pass last week. Veteran Richard Rodgers had a terrible block attempt on a pass play. Derek Barnett had a dumb offside penalty today. Nickell Robey-Coleman doesn’t seem to understand how to tackle.

And Wentz…he’s made crucial mistakes in both games. I still think highly of Wentz, but this is a bad start for him. There is no question that he’s physically gifted. His decision-making has been a major issue. The announcers compared him to Brett Favre during today’s broadcast. That’s good and bad. Favr had a Hall of Fame career, but he only won one Super Bowl, in part because of his fatal flaw. He forced the ball too much and took too many chances.

Wentz had no business forcing the ball to JJAW today. It was first down. The Eagles were down five points and had momentum on their side. That’s not the time to play desperate. That’s not the time to take a chance. You have to play smart there. Wentz just couldn’t help himself. He wanted to make a play. Instead he gave the Rams a huge gift. The Eagles might have lost that game anyway, but that was a devastating moment.

Just last December we saw Wentz carry the team on his back. He looked so good, despite having so little to work with. He was smart. He was a playmaker when needed. Wentz looked like what you want in a franchise QB. That guy hasn’t been on the field in the last six quarters. Wentz has to play a lot better if there is any hope for this season.

Pederson has to figure out what is going on with this team. This goes well beyond scheme and play-calling. It almost feels like the Eagles are still in preseason mode, trying to figure out what is working and what needs to be fixed. That doesn’t work when the opponents are in regular season mode.

There is a lot of football left to be played this year, but that’s not an exciting thought with the way this team has looked so far. The Eagles better find some answers in a hurry.

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