Week 13: Eagles Embarrass Themselves in Loss to Dolphins
Shameful.
Thanks to a ridiculously easy schedule over the remaining part of the season, Philadelphia was supposed to win three straight heading into the crucial Week 16 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. It didn’t work out that way. Here’s what we learned from the Eagles inexcusable loss to the three-win Miami Dolphins.
1. The Eagles Stink
There’s no more fooling anyone, the Eagles are simply not a good team. Their defense had stepped up in previous weeks but the offense was nowhere to be found. This week, when the offense finally comes to play (albeit for only 2.5 quarters), the defense forgets to show up. They still control their own destiny, but is making a playoff push even worth it?
2. Jalen Mills and Co…
Just when you thought Mills had finally taken that next step and played himself into a solid contract, he gets thoroughly abused for 60 minutes. He was frequently out of place and lost seemingly every jump ball that came his way. Thoughts of Jalen Ramsey/Chris Harris Jr. flooded my mind throughout the game. Mills wasn’t the only victim of FitzMagic. His partner-in-toast Ronald Darby also took a few turns getting mossed by DeVante Parker. Rasul Douglas may be our only cornerback with ball skills but unfortunately, he’s just too slow to see playing time.
Fitzpatrick started the game with an interception (off of a blatant pass interference) but finished with 365 yards and three scores. He’s averaged 383.5 yards per game against Philly over the past two seasons and now has a touchdown pass against the Eagles with seven different teams. His favorite target Parker recorded 159 yards and two scores off of seven receptions. It reached the point where Fitzpatrick was just airing balls to Parker regardless of the coverage and expecting him to come down with them.
3. Eagles Offense
Contrary to what they’ve done all season, the Eagles offense started well, scoring 21 first-half points and driving right down the field for another score to kick off the second half. It was 28-14 at that point and the Eagles were primed to run away with a game that should’ve never been close. After taking the two-score lead, the Eagles decided that they weren’t interested in any more points. Over the last 26:44 of the game, the Dolphins lit up the scoreboard for 23 points while Philadelphia added just three more.
The Eagles also inexplicably abandoned the run game again (a common theme in these last few weeks), so while they weren’t scoring, they weren’t taking any clock either. That gave Miami plenty of time to carve into their lead and actually go up by a full ten points near the end. It wasn’t like the run game was struggling either. Led by Miles Sanders, the team was just three yards short of a 5.0 yards per carry average (19/92).
4. The Pass Catchers
Alshon Jeffery showed up to play. Carson Wentz targeted him a whopping 16 times, completing nine of those for 137 yards and a score. Jeffery still looks slow, but he was very productive and even got a few deep looks. You’d like to see some better throws from Wentz on those balls, but he may have been overestimating Jeffery’s speed on some of them. Nelson Agholor finished with 3 grabs for 41 yards. Not a productive day, but no mind-numbing mistakes. He made a nice grab for an Eagles two-point conversion. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside finally hauled in his first career touchdown. He is now tied with Miami kicker Jason Sanders for TD catches this season (more on that later).
The real issue today was Zach Ertz. He was a game-time decision with a hamstring injury, but his hands were the real problem. He missed out on three potential touchdown opportunities during the game. On the first one, he just fell on his route and couldn’t get to the football. On a crucial drive late in the game, he allowed former Eagle Eric Rowe to swat a sure touchdown out of his grasp. He finished with only three catches for 24 yards.
5. Carson Wentz
Wentz played great football for the majority of the game. He missed some passes that you’d like to see him make, but the blame for this game doesn’t belong on his shoulders at all. He finished with 310 yards and 3 touchdowns on 46 attempts, and it’s that last number that is the issue. After leading the Eagles to a 14-point lead in the third quarter, that should’ve been the point where the game was put on the RBs. Like I mentioned earlier, the Eagles abandoned the run and fizzled out completely.
Those who still believe that Nick Foles should be the man are simply delusional. He was benched in Jacksonville for Gardner Minshew yesterday. I would also like to see any 5-game stretch in Foles career after 2013 where he played like a high-end starter over that span. Wentz is still the guy, but the Eagles must do a much better job of putting him in good situations. Remember that he was an All-Pro less than two years ago.
6. Trick Plays
That makes three weeks in a row where the Eagles have allowed a touchdown on a trick play. This time around, it was Dolphins punter Matt Haack throwing a TD pass to kicker Jason Sanders. Embarrassing display by the Eagles there. It was similar to when the Colts ran the single worst NFL play of all time a few years back, but this time Miami made it work.
The Eagles (5-7) host the Giants (2-10) next week on MNF.
-By: Micah Jimoh
Writer/Interviewer
