3 takeaways after Eagles pathetically lose to Raiders
AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
The Eagles lose to the Las Vegas Raiders 33-22 in pathetic fashion.
But, honestly, forget the final score. The Eagles must be the best garbage-time team in NFL history. They are so good at falling behind by three touchdowns and then once the game is out of hand doing some serious stat padding.
So forget the final score. This was a 30-7 game going into the fourth quarter.
That’s who the Eagles really are.
The loss the dropped the Eagles down to 2-5. Washington lost to Green Bay 24-10, they drop to 2-5. The New York Giants crushed Carolina 25-3. They’re 2-5 now. Dallas had a bye week.
Here’s three takeaways from Sunday’s loss.
Everyone should be embarrassed
This is when you would figure maybe things would’ve started getting better. Coming off a mini-bye against a Raiders team playing with an interim head coach that lost two of its last three games in a stadium packed with Eagles fans. Yeah, this wasn’t just a loss, it was an organization-wide embarrassment.
Every scout, player and coach in the NovaCare Complex has to be flat-out embarrassed to be a part of a team that could play such a pathetic game of football.
If you want to blame general manager Howie Roseman or the coaching staff or the players, you’re missing the point.
It’s all of them.
It’s everybody.
When you reach this level of football, nobody involved should be able to look at themselves in the mirror and not feel like they played a role in this disaster. They can’t score, they can’t call plays, they can’t stop anybody, and when they finally do something right, somebody ruins it with a turnover, mistake, or penalty. Top to bottom, a catastrophe.
I didn’t expect the Eagles to be a great team this year. I didn’t expect the offense to be a finished product, I didn’t expect Jalen Hurts to play consistently week in and week out, I didn’t expect the linebackers to rack up a bunch of Pro Bowl votes. One thing I did expect was for the defensive line to be elite and help keep this team in games.
Oh man was I wrong.
They’ve been the biggest disappointment on the team, and on Sunday they got embarrassed by a no-name Raiders o-line. The Raiders came in ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing at 3.3 yards per carry and they hammered the ball on the ground, even after they lost leading rusher Josh Jacobs. And they also came in allowing the 8th-most sacks in the league, but this d-line couldn’t get close to Derek Carr, who dropped back 34 times, completed 31 passes, and did not get sacked.
Yes, they miss Brandon Graham, but Fletcher Cox is a six-time Pro Bowler, Josh Sweat just got a huge new contract, and Derek Barnett was the 14th pick in the draft. And I’m not even going to get into Ryan Kerrigan, but this defensive line has been brutal.
Through seven games they have just 11 sacks and they’ve allowed 932 rushing yards. That’s never ever happened before in Eagles history.
The combination of terrible third-down conversion success on offense and constant long scoring drives by the opposing offense means the Eagles just don’t get to run many plays. They never have the ball. They came into the game 31st in the league in time of possession at just 25:53 and averaging just 59 plays per game, their fewest after six games since 1999 (and second-fewest in the last 50 years).
There was a point Sunday — from 6:11 left in the second quarter to 6:15 left in the third quarter — where the Raiders ran 38 plays and scored 30 points, and the Eagles ran seven plays. Yes, SEVEN. How is that even possible? I don’t know.
Everyone should be embarrassed. Even the janitors.
Sanders carted off
It was a shame seeing Miles Sanders go down with an ankle injury after finally getting some work and looking great on that first drive. He was injured on a screen pass in the first quarter against the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. He was ruled out for the game after halftime.
Sanders tried to limp to the sideline but went down and was then helped off the field.
After a trip to the blue medical tent, Sanders was carted into the locker room.
Before the injury, Sanders had 6 carries for 30 yards, including 5-for-25 on the game-opening touchdown drive. On that drive, the Eagles put Jalen Hurts under center and emphasized their running game.
Nick Sirianni has been criticized early this season for abandoning the run too quickly and not getting Sanders more involved. He finally got Sanders involved, but of course he got hurt.
Coming into this game, Sanders had 57 carries for 270 yards this season. But he’s had double digit carries in just three of six games.
If Sanders is out for any length of time, there’s only one option that makes sense to replace him. Not Kenny Gainwell, who’s best used as a receiver and occasional runner, or Boston Scott, who’s ideally a role player. It’s one-time Pro Bowler and two-time 1,000-yard rusher Jordan Howard, who’s been on the Eagles’ practice squad all year. He’s a workhorse, he’s healthy, he’s rested and you know he’s only 26?
He probably won’t get any carries, but the Eagles need to get him in the mix.
Hurts?
I’m not even sure what to say about Jalen Hurts.
His final stats looked pretty (18-for-34 for 236 yards, two TDs), but most of that was after the game got out of hand.
It’s not that he struggled early, the Eagles just really never had the ball, and he never had a chance. When he did drop back, he was under instant pressure. He took off and ran 13 times, which is too many, but it beats a sack.
The o-line struggled, DeVonta Smith had three drops, and Sanders missed most of the game.
One thing I do know about Hurts is that he’s a tough kid and I’ll never question his attitude, his grit, or his toughness.
