Writer: Kevin Durso

Weekly Report Card: Another slow start, struggles when it counts for Eagles

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published05 Oct 2015

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For three weeks in a row, the term must-win came up. Sunday's game really was a must-win in terms of the standings.

The Eagles now sit at the bottom of the NFC East at 1-3, a battered, dejected team not sure how to correct the struggles that have warranted such a record.

There were plenty of things that did start to go right for the Eagles on Sunday. While battered, they erased the deficit of a slow first half and held the lead into the final seconds. But it all still counts the same as a loss, and the Eagles are left looking up at a lot of teams.

Here is this week's report card.

Pass Offense: In the second half, Sam Bradford, dare I say, showed some of his potential. The offensive line is still the Achilles heel of this offense. If Bradford is protected, he has more time and makes more accurate throws. While that statement is basic logic, it's the fundamental point of the game the Eagles have to go back to. Bradford was finally willing to step up and try for long yardage. And get this, it worked. Two touchdowns for more than 30 yards in the second half had the Eagles in front. If only that could be a game-long thing. C

Run Offense: It was essentially a non-factor again. It wasn't working for either team, so they both abandoned it — until the Redskins pulled it back out on that final scoring drive. The Eagles didn't utilize the run when they needed to be running out the clock. In hindsight, all they needed to burn was 26 more seconds at any time in the fourth quarter. Their only two fourth-quarter drives lasted a combined six plays. D

Pass Defense: There were a couple of big plays, but again, until the final drive, there wasn't too much to criticize on part of the defense. They were solid for most of the game without Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso or Mychal Kendricks. The issue I had with the pass defense was the lack of a pass rush. Yes, the coverages were good for most of the game, but Kirk Cousins was never in any real danger. It made it all too easy for the Redskins to find the holes in a tired secondary on the final drive. C+

Run Defense: Excellent. Again. They forced the Redskins to abandon that part of the game completely. There was one run for 43 yards on 3rd and 19 early in the game. After that, the Redskins got all of 40 more yards for the rest of the game on the ground. A solid job that went by the wayside again. A-

Special Teams: So, the kicker is still a problem — Caleb Sturgis missed an extra point and a field goal in the game that cost the Eagles four points. But otherwise, not much to complain about again. The Redskins were never really in good field position off a kick. B+

Overall: Looking back on it, this game will fall more on the lack of offense for three quarters (again) than anything else. But it was another sloppy game that the Eagles deserved to lose. This grading thing is getting old and tired fast. Simply put, C efforts and performances don't win games. C

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.