By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer
The Eagles went to Cincinnati in desperate need of a win, but after the Bengals scored 29 straight points to start the game, Doug Pederson's squad was never able to recover and lost 32-14.
Scoring Summary
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Bengals | 10 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 32 |
After the Eagles received the opening kick off and went three-and-out, the Bengals responded with an eight play drive that ended with a field goal, giving them an early lead.
That lead would grow to 10-0 after a two-yard touchdown run from Jeremy Hill. The Eagles then put together their first decent drive of the game, but a miscommunication on third down led them to attempt a 51-yard field goal that Caleb Sturgis banged off the right upright.
Cincinnati's dominance continued into the second quarter as they scored a field goal and a touchdown on their final two drives of the half, giving them a 19-0 lead after just one half of football.
The Bengals opened up the second half with their fifth-straight scoring possession of the game. This time, Andy Dalton completed an eight-yard pass to Brandon LaFell to put their team up 26 points.
Philadelphia was finally able to put some points on the board when Carson Wentz hit Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown on fourth down. The drive started in Bengals territory thanks to a huge kickoff return by Kenjon Barner.
Things seemed to be trending the Eagles way when they forced a fumble on the Bengals next drive, but Wentz overthrew a receiver over the middle and was picked off for the second time. The Eagles defense then forced the Bengals into their first punt of the game, two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia continued to pad its stats in garbage time as Wentz marched the offense into the red zone and converted a pair of fourth down chances with passes to Nelson Agholor. Darren Sproles was able to punch the ball into the end zone from two yards out to make it a two-possession game with a little less than seven minutes remaining.
In an effort to speed up the comeback attempt, the Birds tried an onside kick, but it was easily recovered by LaFell. However, the Bengals tried to pass to Jake Fisher who fumbled and the Eagles all of a sudden found themselves with a chance to claw back into the game.
A pair of quick completions put the Eagles in Bengals territory, but they once again faced a fourth down opportunity when Wentz was picked off by Vontaze Burfict. The Eagles defense was able to hold Cincinnati, but another Mike Nugent field goal effectively put the game out of reach.
Team Leaders
Passing
| Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) | Cincinnati Bengals (4-7-1) | ||
| Carson Wentz | 36-60, 308 YD, TD, 3 INT, 58.2 RTG | Andy Dalton | 23-31, 332 YD, 2 TD, 130.0 RTG |
Rushing
| Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) | Cincinnati Bengals (4-7-1) | ||
| Wendell Smallwood | 8 Att, 19 YD | Rex Burkhead | 8 Att, 38 YD |
| Carson Wentz | 3 Att, 16 YD | Jeremy Hill | 23 Att, 33 YD |
| Darren Sproles | 7 Att, 14 YD | Andy Dalton | 2 Att, 9 YD |
Receiving
| Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) | Cincinnati Bengals (4-7-1) | ||
| Paul Turner | 6 Rec, 80 YD | Brandon LaFell | 5 Rec, 95 YD, TD |
| Zach Ertz | 9 Rec, 79 YD, TD | Tyler Boyd | 4 Rec, 66 YD |
| Trey Burton | 5 Rec, 53 YD | Cody Core | 2 Rec, 58 YD |
Team Stats
| Eagles | Bengals | |
| 1st Downs | 22 | 21 |
| Total Plays | 80 | 64 |
| Total Yards | 359 | 412 |
| Passing Yards | 306 | 332 |
| Rushing Yards | 53 | 80 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-2 | 3-6 |
| Penalties | 10-88 | 3-23 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of Possession | 31:58 | 28:02 |
What's Next
The Eagles will return home to play the Washington Redskins next Sunday.
