Eagles Team Grades: Philadelphia Fails To Show Up In Seattle
By Kevin McGuire
The Philadelphia Eagles showed they have a long way to go in order to be competitive at a high level in the NFC—if that point had not already been made with three division losses this season. A 26-15 loss on the road against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon was far more demolishing than the final score would suggest. The Eagles defense was no match for the Seahawks and the offense showed it needs major upgrades to help out rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who demonstrated once again he is a rookie quarterback.
It was not a pretty game for the Eagles, with little to smile about on the cross-country flight home from the West Coast.
Offense: F
Wentz made some rookie mistakes, which is to be expected, but even head coach Doug Pederson seemed to be upset with Wentz's decision-making and lack of vision at the end of the first half. It certainly did not help that the Eagles' top two running backs, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles, left the game with injuries. Ultimately, Wentz was picked off twice in the game and his receivers did little to help him. It took until the fourth quarter for the Eagles wide receivers to account for more receiving yards than Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who had one catch for a 15-yard touchdown in the game.
Nelson Agholor had zero catches and one crucial penalty that took a touchdown off the scoreboard. Once the game was firmly in hand, the Eagles piled up some garbage yards, but there was clearly plenty of room for improvement. The problem is, help may be a long way off—the draft, where drafting quality players will be essential.
Defense: F
The Seahawks had 300 yards of offense at halftime. The Eagles defense did start to stop some of the bleeding in the second half, but was no match for the Seahawks. Tackling in the secondary was a problem, especially for Jaylen Watkins when Jimmy Graham easily shed the defensive back off of him and ran to the end zone for a touchdown, eluding defenders the rest of the way. The Eagles defense was just worn down and broken in the first half, and there was no coming back from that.
Special Teams: C
Sproles managed 15 yards on one punt return before leaving the game. Unfortunately, the Eagles were not able to generate any additional punt return yards following his exit. Additionally, the Eagles had no kickoff returns in the game, as Seattle did a good job of getting the ball in the end zone on kick-offs. Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis was only called on for one kick in the entire game—an extra point attempt in the second quarter. Punter Donnie Jones punted seven times but was disappointed in two touchbacks. Special teams has typically been one of the more consistent parts of the team this season, but there was nothing to show for it in this one.
Coaching: D
The coaching can only go so far sometimes. It's up to the players to execute the plays and the Eagles receivers seem incapable of doing so. But, that doesn't give Doug Pederson a pass. It's still up to Pederson to find ways to overcome deficiencies on the roster, and he has not proven capable of doing that so far in his first season as a head coach. Jim Schwartz should also be held accountable for the start the defense had in giving up 300 yards of offense in the first half. Again, the coaching can only go so far, but the Eagles coaches did not have this team ready to compete in Seattle.
Up Next: Green Bay Packers, Nov. 28, Lincoln Financial Field, 8:30 p.m. ET
The Eagles get an extra day to prepare for the next game over the Thanksgiving week as they return home to play the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week. The Packers have struggled at times this season and appear to be more vulnerable than they have been in some time with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. The Eagles have also played better at home this season, so the hope will be that home field advantage helps lead to a rebound win next week.