Zebras Loose In Philly Had More Productive Day Running Than Eagles Vs. Dolphins
By Kevin McGuire
Oh boy, it is going to be an ugly week on Eagles Twitter and on WIP. The Philadelphia Eagles once again struggled to continue momentum from one week to the next in a horrendous 20-19 loss at home to the Miami Dolphins Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. The zebras running loose around Philadelphia probably had a more effective afternoon running than the Eagles did against the Dolphins, but the concern is also place don the injured Sam Bradford, who was replaced by Mark Sanchez in the second half.
Offense: F
The Eagles finally got off to a good start with a touchdown on each of their first two possessions of the game, yet the offense hit a brick wall the rest of the way in a futile effort to carry over any momentum gained last week against Dallas. The loss of Sam Bradford in the third quarter led to backup quarterback Mark Sanchez coming in to look to try and save the Eagles, but he ended up tossing a critical interception late in the game instead from inside the Miami 10-yard line. The Eagles should have been able to thrive on the ground with the running game, but DeMarco Murray managed to run for just 61 yards on 22 carries and Ryan Mathews added only 18 yards on the ground.
Tight end Brent Celek led the team and all players with 134 receiving yards on four receptions, and Zach Ertz was the second-leading receiver for the Eagles. Wide receivers were far less of an asset for the eagles, although the Eagles finally got to see Nelson Agholor on the field. He caught three of the four passes thrown his way. Jordan Matthews, last week's overtime hero, caught just three of his five intended passes for 21 yards, and his fourth-down reception on the final Eagles possession was caught shy of the first down markers.
Defense: B-
The Eagles defense allowed just 289 yards of offense to the Dolphins, with just 15 first downs allowed on 14 drives. The Dolphins were also held to fewer than 100 yards, although Miami averaged 3.8 yards per attempt. After giving up a field goal on the game's opening possession, the Eagles defense put two points on the scoreboard on the first play of Miami's next possession with a safety. Things looked good early on, and the defense even gets a pass for Miami's first touchdown, which was set up by a blocked punt on the Eagles' 12-yard line.The Eagles defense was burned just once, really, for a 43-yard touchdown strike from Ryan Tannehill to Rishard Matthews in the fourth quarter.
Mychal Kendricks, Connor Barwin, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry were all represented in the sack column for the Eagles defense, as the front seven generally played well. One area the defense struggles was takeaways, Miami did not lose the football once.
Special Teams: F
Kicker Caleb Sturgis missed one field goal, which always hurts in a one-point loss like this one. Donnie Jones continued to be reliable also, but the punt team allowed one punt to be blocked as well, and the Dolphins turned the great field position into a touchdown. Jones managed to get three punts away that landed inside the 20-yard line, while one other went for a touchback. Jones averaged 42.3 yards per punt, including a long of 52 yards. Jones is the least of the Eagles' special teams concerns.
The return game had a mild impact on the field position, but there was never a game-changing moment on special teams for the Eagles. Darren Sproles picked up 57 return yards, with a long return of 16 yards. Sproles also returned one kickoff for 20 yards and Josh Huff had one kick return for 31 yards.
Coaching: F
There was absolutely no reason why the Eagles should have lost a home game to the Miami Dolphins coming off a big win at Dallas the previous week. Chip Kelly had the Eagles off to a quick start, but there was nothing to show for it after the first quarter and the injury to Bradford was hardly their biggest reason why things slowed down. Kelly's teams continued to struggle to put together a solid half of football, let alone a full game, and that was once again the issue today. After a fast start, the Eagles went flat in the second quarter and allowed Miami to make some breaks go their way. The lack of impact on the ground against the Dolphins was astounding. The play of the offensive line is mediocre on a good day, especially with Jason Peters out due to injury. Once again, Kelly's offseason roster moves continue to get in the way of what Kelly the coach can do, but that is all on him.
The Eagles will once again hope to break even with wins and losses next week when they host Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay will be coming in after a win against the Cowboys, giving them a 4-5 record.
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
