By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Since their 34-point outburst against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Philadelphia Eagles offense has struggled to consistently put points on the board and the downfield passing game has been virtually non existent.
Here's three numbers that help explain the unit's current slump.
72.2%: A lot has been made about the Eagles inability to throw the ball down the field, especially in Sunday night's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. In that game, Carson Wentz did not attempt a pass further than 16 yards down the field. But this is a troubling trend that has been developing for the past few weeks.
Since the Eagles bye during Week 4, 72.2 percent of Wentz's throws have not traveled more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Some of this is scheme-orientated and some of it is due to poor wide receiver play, but it needs to be reversed soon if the Birds want to salvage this season. Maybe this is finally the week speedster Bryce Treggs gets the call in an effort to change things up because the Eagles current crop of receivers just aren't getting the job done.
33.3: The issue is, however, when Wentz does throw the ball down the field, good things don't happen. Since the bye week, he has a passer rating of just 33.3 on throws travelling 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. For context, consider this: a quarterback, who completes zero passes while throwing zero interceptions has a passer rating of 39.9, almost six points higher than what Wentz has put up during this four-game stretch. Wentz has completed four of his downfield throws and has had two of them picked off during this stretch.
Now, here is where you're probably getting upset and grumbling about drops, but that really hasn't been the issue on these throws. Granted, Wentz isn't to blame for all of these miscues, but bad routes or missed throws are truly to blame for the inefficiencies. We all know Wentz has a cannon and when it's unleashed, it's a thing of beauty. But right now, he needs to reel in that golden arm because he's missing long on these potentially game-breaking throws.
5.41: One way to get around throwing the ball down the field is to get the ball to your playmakers in space and let them pick up some yards after the catch, but the Eagles have averaged just 5.41 yards after the catch this season. Granted, this number ranks in the top half of the NFL, but for a team that relies so much on slants, shallow crosses and screens, it just isn't good enough.
Josh Huff and Nelson Agholor are such explosive athletes and can be so electric with the ball, but since the Eagles have been unable to stretch the field, teams can key in on the short routes and limit their damage. Add in Dorial Green-Beckham who is such a physical runner, and you have a group of wideouts who could really exploit open space, if it's given to them.
Which brings us back to exploiting defenses over the top. If teams do not respect Wentz's arm and the speed of one of their wide receivers, there won't be much room for the Eagles offense and things will become more difficult for their rookie quarterback.
