Sunday certainly did not go as planned. The Eagles found themselves in a position to win an important game against the Cardinals. When it was needed most, they couldn’t score a touchdown.
That was only a small part of the Eagles loss. The game was ultimately decided with turnovers. A sloppy game for the Eagles finally resulted in a loss.
Here is this week’s report card.
Pass offense: Nick Foles had his moments and Jeremy Maclin played a stellar game. But that won’t save the grade for the Eagles passing game. Foles threw two interceptions and struggled for most of the afternoon. His two interceptions could have been at worse times. When Foles actually hit his receivers, the passing game was great. I have no real criticism for the receivers, right down to the near-catch by Jordan Matthews that would have won the game for the Eagles. The problem was Foles and his mistakes hurt. C+
Run offense: It wasn’t LeSean McCoy’s worst game, but he did resort back to some of the things that contributed to his slow start this season. More importantly, he was stopped on the goal line in a spot where he really needed to get into the endzone. B-
Pass defense: The pass rush couldn’t save the grade this time. They were good, but no sacks and limited pressure on Carson Palmer put the Eagles secondary in an even worse position. With time, Palmer was on point. The defense had it’s moments. DeMeco Ryans had a great pass breakup in the endzone to force a field goal. Nolan Carroll II made a strong play as well. But the two touchdowns to Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown were absolutely brutal pass coverage plays. C
Run defense: Aside from his one-yard touchdown, Andre Ellington’s name wasn’t called much. The Eagles did a very good job in this department, limiting Ellington and forcing the Cardinals to use the pass. If only the secondary could have been there on the final drive. A
Special teams: The special teams unit had its moments – a couple of nice punt returns and good kick coverage. What was really impressive was Donnie Jones continued success on punts and Cody Parkey’s leg. Parkey successfully hit two field goals, including his longest of the season from 54 yards. A-
Overall: A fairly solid game on defense doesn’t mean much when the offense fails to take advantage of the chances presented. The Eagles defense gave the offense some chances to really put the game away. The offense threw those away. The Eagles nearly pulled off another sloppy win. But in Week 8, teams can’t be that sloppy. C+
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
