For Eagles, the Season is on the Line

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

If there's one thing that is consistent in the NFL, it is the unpredictability of divisional games. There is simply no way to forecast how these things will go.

The Eagles ended up on the wrong end of Sunday's result to the Redskins at FedExField, a growing trend in the divisional rivalry.

The Eagles really didn't do anything right in Sunday's loss, but the area where the struggled most was apparent. It was at the line on both sides of the ball.

Entering Week 7, the Eagles are a far cry from where they were entering the bye week. 3-0 is a distant memory. 3-2 and two straight games of frustration, lack of execution and lack of discipline are the reality. Now, the Eagles season really is on the line, as in how the offensive and defensive lines can make do of where they are and change it for the better.

If you're a numbers person, it was easy to judge Carson Wentz on Sunday. He wasn't great by any stretch. He struggled for most of the game.

But a lot of that was the result of pressure. On the first play of the game, Ryan Kerrigan got free and helped on a sack of Wentz. It ripped Wentz's jersey into pieces. He finished the drive with a tattered jersey.

That was the first of five sacks for the Redskins defense. Halapoulivaati Vaitai looked exactly like a fifth-round rookie. Jason Kelce continued to show his rapid decline. Brandon Brooks missed assignments a few times. The tight end blocking wasn't much better.

Wentz had no protection. And it is clear the impact of Lane Johnson's actions now.

At least the Eagles were able to protect Wentz in Detroit. At least Wentz was able to lead a couple of scoring drives that made it a game by finding a rhythm. There was no rhythm in Sunday's loss in Washington.

Now to the defense, which entered the game still among the top teams in the league despite a lacking performance in Detroit. 

For the second straight week, Fletcher Cox was invisible. Bennie Logan left the game with an injury, and that altered the way the Eagles were able to utilize the line as well.

Where was Connor Barwin? Where was Brandon Graham? Where was Vinny Curry? The Eagles defensive line was nowhere to be found as Kirk Cousins again carved up the Eagles defense.

All in all, however, the game wasn't one in the air. Yes, Cousins had two passing touchdowns, but allowing 230 yards on the ground to a team that averaged just four yards per carry in their first four games of the season is unacceptable.

For the first time, we're left looking at the coaching staff as well. What was Doug Pederson thinking starting the rookie Vaitai over a player with NFL experience like Stefen Wisniewski and adjusting positions to move Allen Barbre, who has quietly had a strong season, over to the crucial position of right tackle to protect the edge? What is up with Jim Schwartz's smashmouth, attack defense?

Which brings us to the next two weeks. In the short term, the Eagles are facing the daunting task of facing the two hottest teams in the NFL, the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, coming off a bye week, and the rolling Dallas Cowboys, who will also be coming off a bye week and have won five straight games behind rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott.

The Eagles season is certainly on the line with these two games coming up, and it will take improvement on both lines to put their season back in a truly good place.

Being 3-2 after five games could quite possibly still be better than expected or anticipated. But the Eagles are essentially staring 3-4 in the face, given the performances of the last two weeks. The success of the first three games was all about protection on offense and pressure on defense. With both absent in the last two weeks, the outlook of the Eagles season changed and it will take a lot of adjustments and improvements to turn it around.

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