The Eagles suffered their first loss of the 2017 campaign at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday, 27-20. Here's our weekly in-depth look at yesterday's game and some developments from the contest.
Going Deep
Wendell Smallwood isn't the Eagles top runner in 2017. Neither is Darren Sproles. LeGarrette Blount didn't even get a carry in yesterday's game, while Corey Clement is still waiting on his first touch of the season.
As of today, Carson Wentz is the Eagles top rusher for the 2017 season. And that is a major issue.
That the Eagles running game has struggled is no secret, but how did we get here? And who is responsible for this futility that has plagued the offense for the past two weeks?
Personnel
One week after averaging under three yards per carry, The Eagles running backs combined for 54 yards on 13 carries. It's hard to blame Sproles and Smallwood, considering they were fairly effective early in the game. Averaging 4.13 yards per carry shouldn't convince a coach his running game is ineffective. It should do the opposite.
Yes, Sproles cannot be counted on for 15-20 carries, but his success proves that there were holes to run through and the Eagles could have had continued success, should they have run the ball more than 13 times.
Coaching
And that questionable play-calling leads us to Doug Pederson and the coaching staff. The Eagles weren't unsuccessful on the ground, they were simply unwilling to establish the run as the game went along. Chiefs' running back Kareem Hunt struggled for three quarters before breaking off a 53-yard touchdown run.
The Eagles didn't give their 'backs and offensive line a chance to wear down the Chiefs' defensive front, and as a result, Kansas City's pass rushers were able to pin their ears back and get after Wentz late in the game.
Management
But how did the team that had five Pro Bowl running backs in the past decade get to this point? At the end of last season, it was apparent the Eagles backfield would consist of an aging scat back and a fifth-round pick who had issues staying healthy in his rookie year.
To supplement that, Howie Roseman signed a 30-year-old coming off a season in which he carried the ball 299 times and traded up to draft a running back who looks like he has no role in the NFL. In a year when Roseman called the running back draft class "historic," that is simply unacceptable.
No one expected the Eagles to have an elite running game, not with this group of running backs Roseman has assembled. The GM needs to infuse this unit with young talent next year, but until then, it is up to Pederson to give these guys a shot at succeeding. Pressure needs to be taken off Wentz and that means calling more than 13 runs.
Injury Report
Rodney McLeod – The Eagles' safety left the game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and never returned. He was replaced by Corey Graham, (more on him later), and never returned. Hamstring injuries can be tricky and have a tendency of lingering for weeks. McLeod's game relies on his ability to cover ground with elite speed. Expect the Eagles wait until he is fully healthy to put him back out there, which could be a few weeks.
Jaylen Watkins – Just after McLeod was sidelined, Watkins suffered a hamstring injury while covering a punt and never returned. The loss of Watkins isn't as big as the loss of McLeod, but the Eagles' secondary depth is now getting very thin as these two guys, plus Ronald Darby, are out for at least a couple weeks. However, it was nice to see rookie Rasul Douglas step in and play well in his first NFL action.
Measurables
6: The Eagles have scored 20+ points in each of their last six games, the third-longest streak in the league behind just the Atlanta Falcons and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite some struggles by the Birds' offense, they have been consistent dating back to last year and that bodes well for both Pederson and Wentz's future.
+11: The Birds lost yesterday's game, despite having 11 more first downs than the Chiefs. The last time Philadelphia lost despite leading their opponent by that much in that category was in 2015 when the Eagles lost to the Dolphins, but had 14 more first downs than Miami.
The Eagles may have been more consistent than Kansas City yesterday, but the Chiefs benefited from big plays and turnovers.
66: It has been 66 games since an Eagles kicker missed a kick of 30-yards or less before Jake Elliot missed his 30-yard field-goal attempt yesterday. Alex Henery missed a 28-yard kick in the final game of the 2015 season, a 42-7 loss to the Giants that proved to be Andy Reid's last game with the Eagles.
Turning Point
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles tied with the Chiefs, Pederson called for a screen to Sproles that ended up leading to the Chiefs' go-ahead touchdown:
Wentz ended up throwing the pass off Justin Houston's helmet and the ball was intercepted. However, even if his pass made it past the rush, Sproles had tripped and would not have been able to make the catch anyway.
Wentz has had a lot of ups and downs during these first two weeks, but despite putting up decent numbers, he really struggled for the majority of yesterday's game. Some of that was due to the pressure, no doubt, but Wentz's deep-ball accuracy has been terrible in both games this season, he's fumbled way too much and his decision-making has been questionable at best.
Now, this is a criticism of the Carson Wentz who is playing quarterback for the Eagles today. Wentz is still an elite prospect and has shown flashes of special ability that only a few quarterbacks in the NFL possess. But the young signal-caller needs to become more consistent and learn how to make the easy plays more routinely.
Up/Down Drill
Up: Darren Sproles
At 34-years-old, Sproles has said this will be his final year, but the running back has shown no signs of slowing down. Sproles carried the Eagles offense for much of the first half, finishing the day with 78 yards from scrimmage on 14 touches. The Eagles' running game may be in shambles, but Sproles is as good as ever.
Down: Isaac Seumalo
The young left guard struggled all day, allowing three sacks and getting bullied in the run game. The Eagles made it a point to add veteran help to the interior of their offensive line this year and Chance Warmack or Stefen Wisniewski may see the field soon if Seumalo can't reverse his fortunes in the next week. Priority number one for this franchise is protecting Wentz and Seumalo was unable to do that yesterday.
Up: Mychal Kendricks
Kendricks continued his redemption tour yesterday, nabbing a sack, a quarterback hit, two tackles for loss and a pass break up in the losing effort. Maybe it just took this long for the linebacker to fully get comfortable in Jim Schwartz's scheme, but Kendricks has looked reborn these past few weeks.
Down: Corey Graham
It's hard to fault Graham, who played well in limited action last week, but after replacing McLeod, Graham made a few bad angles and struggled to contain Hunt on his 53-yard touchdown run that sealed the game for Kansas City. Hopefully the veteran safety's performance will be better next week after a full week of practice with the first-team defense.
Three-Step Drop
1. The Eagles defensive line absolutely dominated the first half of the game, sacking Alex Smith three times and pressuring him constantly. However, the Chiefs countered the pass rush by throwing quick screens and running a lot of misdirection, which proved to be effective down the stretch. Moving forward, look for teams to adopt these strategies in an effort to slow down the Eagles elite pass rush.
2. Through 18 games, the combination of Pederson and Wentz have gone 0-10 when the defense allows 20 or more points. Now, most NFL teams lose these games, but the Eagles have yet to win a true shoot out with Pederson calling the shots and Wentz at the reigns. Things will change as the duo continue to get more comfortable and grow into their roles, but for now, this is a telling stat that the Eagles are still relying on their defense to win.
3. One positive I took from Wentz's performance was his ability to spread the ball around to all his receivers. Nine different players caught a pass and guys who were quiet last week, such as Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, featured more prominently in the passing game. Also, it was nice to see Mack Hollins reel in a few good catches and look comfortable playing on the outside.
Who's Next
The Eagles will head to the Linc for the first time this season and host the New York Giants. New York is still reeling after the beat-down they suffered at the hands of the Cowboys last week and will play the Detroit Lions tonight. One thing worth monitoring is the status of Odell Beckham Jr. who has yet to play this season and could be out for next week's game as well.
The Eagles played really well at home last season and I would expect that trend to continue. The Giants offensive line looked abysmal against a sub-par Cowboys defense last week, so Brandon Graham and company could really make Eli Manning's life miserable.
