Eagles Team Grades: Birds Fall Short With Late Fumble Against Washington
By Kevin McGuire
The Philadelphia Eagles had one of the most competitive games they've played in a while, but that was not good enough to pick up a win in Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Redskins. Despite having a chance to win in the final minute, the Eagles fell short with a 27-22 loss to Washington.
A last minute rally was crushed when Carson Wentz got sacked and had the ball knocked loose. Despite the loss, there were at least a few positives to take from the game. The Eagles are now 0-4 in NFC East play and are ready to start looking more to the offseason to-do list than any chance of playing for a playoff spot.
Offense: C
The good news is that the Eagles offense actually showed some fight in this game. Carson Wentz passed for 314 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted once and lost a fumble in the final minute to seal the fate of the game for Washington. Zach Ertz stepped up and played very well after taking some heat around town this week, leading the team with 10 catches for 112 yards. Jordan Matthews returned to the lineup after a week off and caught eight passes, and Trey Burton stepped up to contribute as a receiver and even on special teams (more on that in a bit).
The issues on the offensive line proved to be too much to overcome. Matt Tobin was forced to play a position in which he was overmatched due in large part to Lane Johnson's suspension and an in-game injury to Allen Barbre. The overall takeaway with the offense remains the same as it has been for much of the season: It's just not well equipped to win games, especially when they are close.
Defense: C
Big plays cost the Eagles multiple times during the game, with three of Washington's touchdowns coming on plays being snapped outside the red zone. Two of those came on the ground and one came on a deep pass to DeSean Jackson for an 80-yard touchdown on Leodis McKelvin in coverage.
McKelvin did make up for that long touchdown by picking off a pass from Kirk Cousins and returning it for a touchdown of his own. Fletcher Cox came through with 1.5 sacks, with Bennie Logan picking up the other half of one sack. The Eagles also held Washington to just two third-down conversions out of seven. The defense did give up a late go-ahead touchdown that turned out to be the game-winner immediately after the two-minute warning.
Special Teams: B-
The Eagles lost snapper Jon Dorenbos to an injury during the game, leaving them scrambling to find anyone who could handle snapping duties. Brent Celek took one try, but it was a mess. Trey Burton got the job done on a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. Caleb Sturgis converted all three field goal tries he attempted and Donnie Jones punted twice for more than 50 yards to help flip the field position when called upon. Jones also recovered a bad snap by Celek. There was not a whole lot in the special teams return department in this game, although Nelson Agholor had a couple of opportunities to return some kicks.
Coaching: B-
Give Doug Pederson some credit, because the Eagles shrugged off a lousy performance in Cincinnati and played a much better game against Washington, even if it resulted in a loss. There were some points worth nitpicking, like not having a better plan to address a weakness on the offensive line, but the playcalling appeared to be decent enough to win the game on both sides of the football. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had a better game plan this week and the players bought in.
Up Next: at Baltimore Ravens, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m.
The Eagles head down I-95 to take on the Baltimore Ravens. They should be in for a stiff test the way the Ravens have been playing. Baltimore will be coming off a Monday night game on the road against New England and are competing for first-place in the AFC North Division with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Every win is critical for Joe Flacco and the Ravens.
