2009 Season in Review: Week Ten

After a tough loss at home to Dallas, the Eagles headed west to try and rebound. However, the Birds stumbled out of the gate as the Chargers (who were a very hot team heading into the game) took a 7-0 lead about halfway through the first quarter. To make matters worse, the Eagles continued their scoring drought and allowed the Chargers to go up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

The Eagles defense tightened up a bit, but the offense continued to sputter. Third down conversions were a real problem for the team as they only went 5 for 13 on the day. Although the team moved the ball well in the second quarter, their inefficiency on third downs (especially in the red zone) lead to David Akers kicking two field goals within 25 yards. At halftime, the Chargers held a 14-6 lead.

The Chargers came out in the second half featuring running back LaDainian Tomlinson who had struggled all season. Despite his struggles, LT was able to slash the Eagles defense and ended the drive with a 20 yard touchdown run. After moving the ball into the red zone again, the Eagles ended up settling for yet another field goal and things really didn’t look good. Each team had scored three times but the Chargers scored all touchdowns while the Eagles could only get field goals.

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles were able to actually convert their red zone trips into touchdowns, but it was too little at this point. Donovan McNabb threw touchdown passes to both Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Nate Kaeding tacked on a final three points for the Chargers at the end of the game, and the Eagles dropped their second straight game.

At this point, we really started to see how the Eagles could beat bad teams but had big time struggles against teams who were actual playoff contenders. Was losing to the Chargers out west a bad thing? No, not really. I think it was understandable. However, it definitely helped show who the “real” Eagles actually were.

Week Ten Headlines:
Week Ten Preview: San Diego Chargers
Friday Five Pack – Week Ten
Brent Celek needs to be in the Pro Bowl
Biggest concerns at this point of the season
Mid-season report: Still a lot of confusion