At least there’s no question about whether the Eagles played hard. They did. The effort was clearly there.
No, this loss was simply a case of them not being good enough. Not good enough to beat a mediocre Redskins team at home.
Chris Thompson’s 25-yard TD run with 3:06 left gave the Redskins a 27-22 win over the Eagles at the Linc (see Instant Replay), and dropped the Eagles to 5-8 after a 3-0 start.
One more loss gives the Eagles their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1998 and 1999.
Yeah, they were dealing with a bunch of injuries and they still nearly overcame them. Carson Wentz made things interesting in the final seconds, driving the Eagles from the 25-yard line down to the Redskins' 14-yard line before fumbling while getting sacked.
Same old story. Close. Just not good enough. I guess that beats not trying hard enough, like last week.
So here’s a Roob’s 10 Instant Observations off a game the Eagles should have won but didn’t. Heard that one before?
NFL
1. The Eagles did a lot of good things defensively. They got a pick-six from Leodis McKelvin, they actually got two sacks in a game for the first time in five weeks, they held Redskins tailback Robert Kelley below 4.0 yards per carry. But big plays once again killed them. DeSean Jackson’s 80-yard TD catch, Jamison Crowder’s 33-yarder that the Eagles unsuccessfully challenged and Chris Thompson’s game-winning 25-yard TD with just under two minutes to go are the kinds of plays elite defenses simply don’t give up. Thompson’s game-winning TD was really tough to watch. Vinny Curry over-pursued, Jalen Mills was blocked out of the play and Thompson basically just jogged into the end zone untouched. Game.
2. It was encouraging to see Carson Wentz put together a solid game for the first time in a while (see breakdown of Wentz's day). He did have another bad early interception – he now has five INTs and one TD pass in the first quarter this year, and the TD came on his first NFL drive – but he bounced back better than he has lately and was sharp most of the game. Wentz finished 32 for 46 for 314 yards with a TD pass to Darren Sproles and the one INT deep in Redskins territory. The interceptions continue to kill him. That’s a dozen now, including 11 in the last eight games. But he played well after that INT and gave the Eagles a chance in the final seconds. The final play was a shame. Matt Tobin is out there at right tackle and simply had no chance against Ryan Kerrigan, who got the sack and forced the fumble. But considering what Wentz has around him, I just can’t complain too much. He’s going to be a star.
3. Doug Pederson called 51 pass plays and 24 running plays, and this time he doesn’t have his built-in excuse that the game got out of hand. Pederson simply gets away from the run, and I don’t get it. Ryan Mathews was trucking along pretty good Sunday, and finished with a 4.0 average on 15 carries. But Pederson always seems to just stop calling running plays. I can understand when you’re down 29-0. But this was always a one-possession game. It’s not fair to Wentz to make him throw 50 times a game. He’s on pace to throw the second-most passes in NFL history by a rookie, and that just doesn’t make sense.
4. THAT is why I’d take DeSean Jackson back in a second. The Eagles don’t have anybody who can catch a 30-yard pass. This kid catches 80-yard passes. His 80-yard TD Sunday was his 22nd career TD catch of 60 yards or more. That leaves him one shy of Jerry Rice’s NFL record of 23. I don’t care that he’s 30 years old. He may not be as fast as he used to be, but he’s darn close. And he still tracks a deep ball better and adjusts on it better than anybody I’ve ever seen. And I don’t trust Howie Roseman to find an elite wide receiver in the draft. And the notion that DeSean is injury prone just isn’t fact. Since he came into the league in 2008, he’s started 120 games, sixth-most of any wide receiver during that span. Watching D-Jack tear apart the Eagles’ secondary Sunday only magnified what we already knew. Chip Kelly was a complete idiot for releasing DeSean, and the Eagles’ wide receivers are woefully incompetent. The Eagles have a chance to undo both those things with one move this spring, and I don’t see any good reason they shouldn’t.
5. Big plays. Let's talk about 'em. During these last five weeks, the Eagles have hit on one pass play of at least 30 yards. ONE. In FIVE WEEKS. That was Paul Turner’s first career catch, and it came with the Eagles trailing 26-0 last week in Cincinnati. During the same span, they’ve allowed NINE pass plays of 30 or more yards. Including four of 50 or more yards. So they've allowed more 50-yarders than they've hit on 30-yarders. This offense can’t hit on a big play, and this defense keeps giving them up. Bad combination. Can’t win anything that way.
6. I know Zach Ertz had a penalty that wiped out a Darren Sproles punt return touchdown — his block in the back was mild, to say the least — but on a bigger scale, Ertz and Wentz continue to progress after a very slow start together. Ertz is pretty clearly Wentz’s favorite target these days. After averaging 30 yards per game up through Dallas, Ertz is averaging 69 yards in the last six games and he had a massive game Sunday with 10 catches for 112 yards. I know I’ve been saying it for a few years now, but I still think Ertz has a 1,200-yard season in him. I think when he and Wentz have a full offseason to work together, this is going to be an explosive combination. We’re already seeing signs of it. Remember, Ertz is in his fourth NFL season and on his fifth NFL quarterback. Michael Vick for half a season, Nick Foles for two halves of seasons, Mark Sanchez, then Sam Bradford and now Wentz. Give him a quarterback, and let them grow. I think he’s going to be something special. I really do.
7. You have to give a ton of credit to Trey Burton for long snapping on the go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter. Burton was forced to snap after injuries to both Jon Dorenbos and emergency long snapper Brent Celek. It looked like both Burton and Mychal Kendricks took turns taking practice snaps on the sideline before Doug Pederson sent the field goal team out with five minutes left in the game and the Redskins leading 21-19. Burton’s snap was high but manageable for Donnie Jones, who did a terrific job bringing it down for Caleb Sturgis, who stutter-stepped before booting it in from 45 yards out. One thing about the Eagles: When their offense has struggled and their defense has scuffled, special teams has always been there. They sure came up big under very challenging circumstances Sunday.
8. All Pederson’s offense could muster Sunday was 15 points and that’s four straight games where the offense has been held to 15 or fewer points. That’s just inexcusable. That’s 10 games in a row the Eagles have scored two or fewer touchdowns and 10 straight games they’ve scored 24 or fewer points. Wretched. If not for McKelvin’s pick-six, that final score would not have looked so close.
9. Amazing that Cousins completed only 14 passes but they went for 234 yards. Just shows you what big plays can mean. For most of Sunday afternoon, the Eagles shut the Redskins down. But they hit enough big plays to score four times. His 234 yards are the second-most against the Eagles in the last 23 years by a QB completing 14 or fewer passes. Jay Cutler threw for 247 in 2010 on 14 completions. Cousins flat-out owns the Eagles. You look around the NFC East and the Eagles are going to see Dak Prescott and Cousins four times a year. That’s why that first pick in the draft has to go to a cornerback. I don’t care how bad the Eagles’ wide receivers are.
10. Sturgis may be the Eagles’ MVP this year. He made all three of his field goal attempts Sunday and is now 28 for 33 this year, good for 84.5 percent. I’m going to keep this 10th spot in Roob’s 10 Instant Observations reserved for Sturgis, since it’s the only time anybody ever mentions him.