Watching the Eagles makes me depressed. How can one team be so full of potential and upside, yet so flat out horrendous? Honestly, Week 2 was even more frustrating than Week 1, considering for a few years now the Eagles do start out flat and slow against Washington. Below is my takeaways from Week 2 of the NFL season, which saw Philadelphia move to a very unfortunate 0-2.
Turnovers
Once again, turnovers killed the Eagles. Miles Sanders first drive, and 3rd touch this season resulted in a fumble, so the Rams got an easy score off of that. In the 2nd half, the Eagles forced a Rams punt and drove down the field just to witness Carson Wentz try to force a throw in the end zone IN DOUBLE COVERAGE TO J.J. ARCEGA-WHITESIDE and get picked off. Later in the game, Wentz threw another pick, topping a horrendous game overall. Wentz’s regression so far has started become quite concerning, and he needs to turn it around, fast.
Defense
37 points against the Rams, 3 TDs for Tyler Higbee, Darrell Henderson had 12 carries for 81 yards rushing, and Jared Goff was 11/11 after the first half. Jared Goff looked like Pat Mahomes against Philly. The defense that was supposed to have an improved Secondary has actually played rather well in my opinion, but the run D struggled in this one. The Linebackers are just a clear weakness to this Philly defense; in the the run game as the second level defenders, and in the passing game against TEs like Tyler Higbee. Miscommunication was the biggest thing I saw on those Higbee TDs. The Linebackers have got to clean up their miscues and at least be serviceable moving forward.
More Injuries
Jalen Reagor is out 6-8 weeks with a UCL injury in his thumb that he suffered in the loss. Fletcher Cox suffered an injury, which seems minor, and the Eagles are left with DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward, and John Hightower at Wide Receiver as the only healthy WRs.
Summary
Week 3 Philly plays Cincinnati. This should be a great opportunity to fix some things against a young team, rookie QB, and unproven defense. It would be nice if Philly could have a balanced offense for once, and in my opinion Miles Sanders should get at least 27 touches to give Philly a legitimate chance to look like an efficient offense again. Defensively, this a great opportunity to get back on track. Look for Darius Slay to make some plays, he’s been relatively quiet so far.
Photo: Bleacher Report
