The Eagles came into the game as the most penalized team in football and they’ve done nothing to do that in an undisciplined first half.
Carolina leads Philadelphia 15-6 in a game where neither offense has been particularly impressive. But the Eagles’ penalties and mistakes have kept points off the board and helped their opponent score.
Late in the first half, a high snap from Jason Kelce went over quarterback Jalen Hurts’ head and ended up squirting out of the end zone for a safety. Hurts tried to pick the ball up in the end zone and it was nearly recovered by multiple Panthers defenders. But instead Carolina got just two points out of it.
That was only one of several mistakes the Eagles made throughout the half. After Philadelphia had three touchdowns negated due to penalty, they had another taken away in the first quarter on Sunday. After cornerback Darius Slay intercepted Sam Darnold, the Eagles had first-and-goal at the 10. They elected to go for it on fourh-and-goal from the 2, but offensive pass interference for a pick play negated Hurts’ touchdown pass to rookie DeVonta Smith.
Hurts started 12-of-20 passing for 35 yards, which works out to a paltry 1.75 yards per attempt. But with some completions on a two-minute drill, Hurts finished the half 15-of-24 for 74 yards.
Jake Elliott hit a 58-yard field goal to end the half, giving Philadelphia some good vibes heading into the locker room.
The Eagles already have four penalties for 50 yards.
On the other side, the Panthers have done a good job not making mistakes. Darnold hasn’t been particularly impressive, going 10-of-18 for 79 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Starting in place of the injured Christian McCaffrey, rookie Chuba Hubbard has taken 13 carries for 57 yards.
Tight end Tommy Trremble caught the first touchdown pass of his career late in the first quarter. Zane Gonzalez has hit two field goals, one from 48-yards to and another from 43 yards.
