Eagles Report Card: Time to Pack it in

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

 

For the second straight week, the Eagles got completely outplayed in all areas of the game. The Green Bay Packers did not look like a struggling team and the Eagles tailspin after a 3-0 start continued.

Now at 5-6, the Eagles season is effectively over, as they have five games remaining and have shown no signs of breaking out of this slump they are in.

Here are this week's grades.

Pass Offense – C

 

Not terrible but not great. Perhaps the most glaring thing about the passing game was the complete 180 in playcalling.

The Eagles first drive was perfect. Carson Wentz was perfect. Dorial Green-Beckham was heavily involved. Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz were reeling in passes. It looked like the Eagles were on their way to a strong game. And then it turned into the screen show. The Eagles kept trying to plug away at yardage while the Packers adjusted to the Eagles short game. The battered offensive line also started to give way and Wentz really had no time to do much of anything.

So what does this group face now? Wentz certainly took a beating, Matthews left the game with an ankle injury. Who knows what will happen with this bunch, but they certainly got beat up on Monday.

Run Offense – C

Kind of the same as the pass offense. They had their moments. Wendell Smallwood was solid getting the bulk of the touches. Wentz had a few good runs of his own, including on the Eagles lone touchdown of the game. But once the Eagles fell behind, they had to abandon it. So whatever may have been working in that area was no longer going to be seen with the Eagles now chasing the game. The building blocks for some success were there though, especially without Ryan Mathews and a limited Darren Sproles.

Pass Defense – F 

 

From top to bottom, this group made it easy for Aaron Rodgers.

Let's start up front. The defensive line never established any sort of pass rush. Rodgers was barely touched. When he was, a flag was thrown. Fletcher Cox has not been good in the last few games. He continued that with the game-changing play on Monday, taking a roughing the passer penalty on a crucial third-down play where the Eagles were on their way off the field. That turned into a touchdown for the Packers. Brandon Graham had a bad neutral zone infraction penalty on 3rd and 5, giving Green Bay a first down. Connor Barwin just looks lost in Jim Schwartz's system. Vinny Curry gets held more times than not but can't draw a flag. It's been a disaster for this group for a few weeks now.

The linebackers are blending in too. Jordan Hicks is the only standout at this point, and even he didn't have the best of games.

The secondary was abysmal. Nolan Carroll had a terrible game. Leodis McKelvin, equally as bad. The safeties couldn't come close to bailing out the corners. If there's one area of this team that needs a massive overhaul, it is the secondary — and they tried to do that this past offseason by adding McKelvin and Rodney McLeod and drafting Jalen Mills. There is youth to that group, but the veterans they have just aren't cutting it. Which is why it was so easy for Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams to have such big games.

Run Defense – C-

By the numbers, not terrible, but this unit had their share of struggles too. The Packers went 10-for-14 on third down in Monday's game, and while a lot of those conversions came via the passing game, Rodgers ran for his share of first downs as well. Add in that the Eagles are the first team to allow a rushing touchdown to one of the Packers' running backs all season. 

Special Teams – B

 

Kick coverage was good and Caleb Sturgis may be the best thing the Eagles have going right now. The kicker is simply automatic when it comes to field goal tries anymore. 

The return game suffered in this game. The lone punt the Eagles forced was downed at the one. The Eagles challenged that and lost. Kenjon Barner was on the return for kickoffs and never made it far. But with half of their points coming on field goals, the grade had to be on the higher end.

Overall – D-

Offensively, you feel for Wentz. He's got the tools to be a great quarterback, but can't show you much with a practice squad offensive line, no receiving threats and no running game to balance out the offense.

Defensively, this was as bad as the Eagles have looked all season, and that's one week after Russell Wilson caught a touchdown pass from Doug Baldwin. You thought it couldn't get any worse than Seattle's trickery? It did on Monday.

This might have been the first time the Eagles defense looked like this on home field, but it's hardly the first. When the Eagles play a capable quarterback who has all the weapons, they get smoked by the opposing offense. It's a sign of two areas the Eagles need to improve — pass rush and secondary.

At the same time, this was a poorly coached game on all fronts. Doug Pederson made several questionable calls on offensive plays, and challenging a two-yard, 1st and 10 completion? What are you thinking?

Between Pederson's Reid-like management and Schwartz's overall lack of preparation and adjustment for the Packers offense, this falls on the coaching staff as much as the players on the field.

 

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