By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Going Deep
Over the past few weeks, as the Eagles struggled to put together any sort of momentum, the thought of them getting it together in time for a playoff run still seemed plausible. But after being out-classed by the Seattle Seahawks in yesterday's loss, the Eagles fell further behind the rest of their division and effectively put an end to any sort of postseason talk.
Now, that's not to say the Eagles' season is over with seven games remaining, but with little hope for 2016 and little to really analyze from an absolute beat down yesterday, it may be time to start looking at this team with the long-term in mind. Howie Roseman and the rest of the the Eagles' front office has some work to do, and some positions to fill, in order to get this roster together by the time Carson Wentz is fully adjusted to the NFL in the next year or two.
Cornerback
After what transpired yesterday, it may be hard to justify this being the Birds' biggest need, but they need a stud cornerback. Not an average veteran who is familiar with the defensive coordinator. Not a seventh-round rookie who can compete, but doesn't have the attributes of a true number one corner. An athletic, blue-chip defensive back who is capable of altering games and potentially shutting down half of the field.
There aren't a lot of those guys in the league, but, at the very least, it won't take much to upgrade over the current group of Nolan Carroll, Leodis McKelvin and Jalen Mills. Each guy has had his share of moments, and each is capable of being an above-average number-two corner, but right now, they are a weak spot on the defense. Jim Schwartz has done a lot of scheming to hide this and that has handicapped his unit to an extent.
An upgrade at the cornerback position could turn this good defense into a great defense.
Wide Receiver
This isn't a "good to great" move. It's more of a "make this a unit that has a couple of real-life NFL players" move. The Eagles current group of wide receivers is simply horrendous.
Nelson Agholor is a lost cause. Jordan Matthews is a decent complimentary piece, but his hands are too poor to be a focal point of any offense. Dorial Green-Beckham has potential, but doesn't seem like somebody who really wants to play the game of football at a high level. Hell, even everyone's favorite inactive Bryce Treggs has proved to be a one-trick pony, who isn't even that proficient at that lone trick.
Things need to be blown up. Things will be blown up. Unless Agholor is blessed with the hands of Jerry Rice in the next few weeks, he should be in street clothes next season. It's not like the Eagles didn't try to help this group, Rueben Randle and Chris Givens were both veteran signings that were supposed to compliment the young guys, but they flamed out tremendously during training camp.
The answers aren't obvious right now, but, it's safe to say, the Eagles will be making some drastic changes to this group next spring.
Offensive Tackle
The Eagles currently have three starting-caliber offensive tackles on their roster, but those bodies could go away very quickly. Jason Peters is in the final stages of his career and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he retires at the end of the season or is playing for a different team in 2017. Lane Johnson, the heir apparent at left tackle, is one more failed drug test away from missing an entire season and Halapoulivaati Vaitai may be lost for the year after a scary knee injury yesterday.
The future of this franchise will live and die with Wentz and the Eagles need to do everything they can in order to protect him. Look at what's happening in Dallas and how good Dak Prescott looks when he can stand in a pocket for days. The Eagles don't need to build a wall like they have in Texas, but things could get very hairy, very quickly, if reinforcements aren't brought in.
Defensive End
After having 20 sacks in their first six games, the Eagles have just six sacks in their last four games. In fact, heading into yesterday's game, Brandon Graham was the team's only edge rusher with more than 10 quarterback hurries. Connor Barwin just isn't a good fit in Schwartz's defense and Vinny Curry has been a mild disappointment since signing his contract extension in the offseason.
This is a talented group, but a team can never have too many pass rushers. Adding a few bodies who can come in as pass rushers in certain situations could be a big help to this defense that has found itself unable to get to the quarterback in recent weeks.
Injury Report
Jason Peters: Peters left the game after the Eagles' second drive, holding his arm and promptly went into the locker room for x-rays. Those images came back negative and he was able to return to the game. Peters missed snaps earlier with a forearm injury, so this may have just been an aggravation of that previous condition, but it didn't seem to slow him down once he got back in the game.
Ryan Mathews: Mathews seemed to be well on his way to another nice day when he limped off the field early in the second quarter with what turned out to be a knee injury. Adam Caplan reported it was a MCL sprain and Mathews will be evaluated in the next 24 hours. A lot will hinge on that evaluation and his recovery time could be anywhere from one to eight weeks. In his absence, Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner were asked to carry the load in the rushing game.
Darren Sproles: Towards the end of the first half, Sproles took a vicious hit while returning a punt and never made it back into the game. It was officially listed as a rib injury and it wouldn't be too surprising if it turns out he has a few broken ribs. Sproles has proven to be invaluable on special teams and in the passing game. If he were to be lost for an extended period of time, this team will lose one of its few offensive weapons.
Fletcher Cox/Connor Barwin: Due to the large number of injuries, we'll combine Cox and Barwin for convenience's sake. Both men went down with minor injuries, and both came back after missing just one snap. They shouldn't be an issue moving forward.
Leodis McKelvin: McKelvin was sent to the locker room at the end of the third quarter and underwent concussion testing, but never came back into the game. After an up-and-down performance from the entire secondary, the Eagles can't really afford to lose any bodies, but the drop-off from McKelvin to Mills is minuscule. Expect an update on the corner's condition during Doug Pederson's press conference today.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: Big V went down after someone rolled up on the back of his leg and never came back into the game. The rookie really struggled to get off the field under his own power and replays showed his knee bending at an awkward angle. With four games remaining in Johnson's suspension, Allen Barbre could be spending the next few weeks at right tackle if the rookie can't recover in time.
Numbers Game
113: The Eagles wide receivers combined for just 113 receiving yards yesterday. For context, consider this: in 2016, there have been 64 individual performances of 113 yards or better by NFL wide receivers. And the only Eagle on that list is Matthews who put up 114 yards against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. On the flip side, three wide receivers have put up over 113 yards against the Eagles this year: Julio Jones, Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown.
2: The Seahawks had two touchdowns of 35 yards or more yesterday, equaling the Eagles' total for the entire 2016 season. The big play has often been elusive for the Eagles' offense, but surprisingly their defense had allowed just one touchdown over 35 yards heading into Seattle, last week's 76-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Taylor Gabriel.
5: All five of the Eagles' losses have come on the road and I'm not sure what to make of it. Are the home fans just that good they can make an average team elite? Are the Eagles an actually decent team who can't get things done on the road? Either way, this team won't be able to go anywhere if they can't solve these issues. At the very least, a team needs to split their road games if they want to make the playoffs.
Quotables
Eagles offense before the illegal formation (could be an error here but). Wentz: 9/13 88 yards 1 TD. Running game: 14 attempts 59 yards.
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 21, 2016
Wentz went on to complete just 14 of his final 32 passes for 130 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Talk about a game-changer.
Eagles fans please allow your young bouls to develop, with time & experience comes consistency‼️
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) November 20, 2016
It's one thing to preach patience when there's one player not playing up to his potential. But when it's an entire unit and it is clearly dragging down the rest of the team, patience just isn't the answer. A change needs to be made in order for this team to move forward.
Here's Nelson Agholor lining up at the DMV: pic.twitter.com/OUq98zDpjt
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) November 20, 2016
The Master of MS Paint's latest work of art. And it's nothing short of incredible.
Three-Step Drop
1. It took a lot for it to happen, but Wentz isn't really a headline story at the moment, and maybe that's for the best because his play hasn't been too great as of late. Yes, he's had absolutely zero help from anyone on his unit, but those special plays we saw in the first few weeks have disappeared over the past couple games. It's completely normal for a rookie to hit a bit of a slump at some point and Wentz will definitely pull out of it at some point, but for now, the signal-caller needs to do whatever it takes to find that groove he was in at the beginning of the year.
2. After re-upping three of their top special teams players, the Eagles third unit didn't exactly play like an elite group on Sunday. Granted, they aren't going to return a punt for a touchdown every week and Bennie Logan did block an extra point, but the Eagles punt coverage and punt return units were just awful yesterday. It's clear the loss of Sproles hurt a lot and Donnie Jones didn't seem to have the feel for his punts he usually does. These sort of games happen, but the Eagles better hope this is just a blip and not a trend.
3. Is wide receivers coach Greg Lewis to blame for any of these issues? His hiring was met with a lot of praise and many people, myself included, thought he had a lot to offer, especially to such a young receiving corps. But instead, as things have gone from bad to worse, it may be time to wonder whether or not he will be able to survive the offseason. It's clearly not Lewis's fault that Agholor simply can't catch and Green-Beckham plays with zero enthusiasm, but a coach's job is to elevate his players' performances and, so far, we have not seen that from any of his guys.
Who's Next
The Eagles will put their perfect home record on the line in primetime when they take on the struggling Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. Aaron Rodgers and company are just 4-6 and coming off a loss in Washington, DC. Usually, an under-.500 team wouldn't pose much of a threat, but the Packers are desperate for a win.
Green Bay isn't a very tall task and this is a game the Eagles should win. Still, it is never too wise to take Rodgers lightly and the Eagles won't win if they don't play any better than they did yesterday.
