Dolphins vs. Eagles: Philadelphia Grades, Notes and Quotes

Mistakes crippled Philadelphia as the Eagles lost 20-19 to the Miami Dolphins at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.

Sam Bradford left the game in the third quarter following a hit from Miami's Chris McCain. The quarterback went into the locker room for X-rays on his left shoulder and did not return after being diagnosed with a concussion.

Following the injury, Miami got the ball back and marched down the field 87 yards in seven plays to score the winning touchdown. In the red zone, Connor Barwin batted Ryan Tannehill's pass up into the air, and it fell into the hands of Jarvis Landry in the end zone. The four-yard touchdown pass gave the Dolphins a 20-16 lead.

Mark Sanchez stepped into the game and led the Eagles offense down the field on a 15-play drive that covered 61 yards. Caleb Sturgis then converted a 37-yard field goal to cut Miami's lead down to just one point.

Philadelphia's defense then stood strong and gave the ball back to Chip Kelly's offense. Sanchez continued to move the offense effectively until they got into the red zone. From Miami's 8-yard line, the quarterback forced the ball into the end zone and Reshad Jones beat Miles Austin to the ball for the interception.

The Eagles got the ball back for one final chance with under two minutes remaining and no timeouts, but they failed to get into field-goal range.

Unlike most other weeks, Philadelphia actually started firing right out of the gates. After allowing a Miami field goal on the opening drive, the Eagles marched 64 yards down the field in just four plays to take the lead with a touchdown.

Brent Celek racked up a 60-yard catch-and-run on the very first offensive play of the game for Philadelphia. Bradford capped off the drive as he extended the play to the right before throwing the ball back to the middle of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown pass to Josh Huff. This score was the first touchdown scored by the Eagles on their opening possession of the game this entire season.

Billy Davis' defense also showed their dominance as an untouched Walter Thurmond popped Tannehill and forced the ball to go flying out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The Dolphins have now allowed a safety in each of their last three games.

With momentum on its side, Philadelphia scored another touchdown after receiving the ball following the safety. The Eagles wore down Miami's defense with bruising runs from both DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. On his third goal-line rushing attempt, Mathews found the end zone to give the Eagles the 16-3 lead in the first quarter.

However, everything began to go downhill from there as they scored only three more points in the remaining three quarters.

The second quarter set the stage for a Miami comeback. The Dolphins drove down the field at the start of the second quarter but settled for a 22-yard field goal.

But on Philadelphia's ensuing possession, Miami's Zach Vigil blocked a Donnie Jones punt to give the Dolphins the ball at the Eagles 12-yard line. Tannehill then connected with running back Lamar Miller for a 13-yard score. The Eagles limped into halftime with a 16-13 lead and did not make the necessary adjustments to salvage the game in the second half.

Following the defeat, the Eagles fall to 4-5 on the season. Miami snapped a two-game losing streak and now also has a 4-5 record.

Position Grades for Philadelphia

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Position	Grade
QB	C+
RB	B
WR/TE	B+
OL	F
DL	B
LB	B-
DB	B+
Special Teams	C-
Coaching	B-

Quarterback

Sam Bradford looked sharp early in this game as he completed seven of eight passes for 106 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter. He finished 19-of-25 for 236 yards and the touchdown before he left the game. Bradford had two fumbles on the day, but both were recovered by the Eagles.

Mark Sanchez stepped into a difficult situation and looked comfortable in the offense despite not seeing much action this season. But the 29-year-old made the costly mistake of throwing an interception in the end zone when the Eagles only needed a field goal to take the lead.

Running Backs

Philadelphia ran the ball 36 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. It could only manage 2.3 yards per carry against Miami's porous rush defense, which ranked second worst in the NFL giving up 142.1 rushing yards per game. 

Ryan Mathews left the game with a concussion in the third quarter and did not return.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Brent Celek and Zach Ertz were Philadelphia's biggest threats in the passing game against Miami. Celek caught a 60-yard pass on the Eagles' first offensive play to help spark the early run. The 30-year-old caught all four of his targets and finished with a team-high 134 yards. Ertz also added 68 yards on seven catches, and he had one touchdown called back due to a penalty on Riley Cooper.

Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff and Jordan Matthews all had three catches on the day, but none of the receivers really established a presence in the game. Miles Austin also failed to keep his feet in bounds on a would-be touchdown catch to give the Eagles the lead.

Offensive Line

After a few solid performances, the offensive line put forth their worst of the season. They gave up four sacks to a Miami defense that was missing their best pass-rusher, Cameron Wake. Dennis Kelly also struggled, as he allowed Chris McCain to right past him on the play that resulted in Bradford's injury. They also failed to open up holes for the running game against Miami's poor rush defense.

Defensive Line

Philadelphia's big boys up front continue to be one of best parts of not only the defense, but the team as whole. Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan win the battles in the trenches, which makes it difficult for the opposing team to establish a run game. The line held the Dolphins to under 100 yards rushing on the day.

Linebackers

Billy Davis brought pressure throughout the game, and his linebackers kept Tannehill on his toes all day. Mychal Kendricks continues to improve following his return from injury as he added another sack today. Meanwhile, Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham also added half a sack each against the Dolphins.

In their first game without Jordan Hicks, there is still uncertainty about who should play alongside Kendricks. Neither Kiko Alonso nor DeMeco Ryans made an impact on the game, and both still look behind the pace as they return from injuries.

Defensive Backs

Thurmond continues to impress in his transition to the safety position this year. The former cornerback delivered a massive hit to Tannehill in the first quarter that forced a safety. Malcolm Jenkins once again led the team with 10 tackles on the day.

However, the eventual winning touchdown catch came when Jenkins and the other defensive backs looked lost. Barwin tipped the pass in the air and the defensive backs tried to jump with Landry rather than knock him to the ground. Since the ball was tipped, the defenders could have tackled the receiver without there being pass interference.

Special Teams

Inconsistency in the kicking game continues to haunt Philadelphia. Caleb Sturgis missed a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter that killed Philadelphia's momentum. Following the missed kick, Miami went on a 17-point run through the second and third quarters. In the end, the kick could have meant the difference, as the Eagles lost to the Dolphins by one point.

The punting team also allowed a blocked punt to give Miami the ball on Philadelphia's 12-yard line. The Dolphins scored in two plays, closing the gap to only three points and killing Philadelphia's momentum.

Coaching

Philadelphia kept the foot on the gas early and jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter with aggressive play-calling on both sides of the ball. However, Chip Kelly failed to make adjustments at halftime to spark a change following a comeback from Miami. Overall, today's loss comes down to player mistakes more than the game plan. Philadelphia remained balanced throughout the game as it ran the ball 36 times and called 48 pass plays on the day.

Important Note No. 1: Offensive Line Struggles

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Philadelphia's offensive line struggled early in the season, but they seemed to turn it around and looked like a solidified unit against Dallas last weekend. But following their terrible performance against Miami, they have taken about 10 steps back.

The offensive line allowed Bradford to be sacked four times for a total loss of 39 yards. Dennis Kelly struggled all day, including on the play that saw Bradford leave with injuries. Chris McCain blew past the right tackle and rocked the quarterback so hard he not only hurt his shoulder but also suffered a concussion.

The pressure also led to two strip-sacks for Miami, but luckily the Eagles fell on the loose balls.

The struggles did not change with Sanchez under center. The backup tried to get the ball out of his hands quickly, but he often had to scramble to find open room. Even on the offense's last attempt, the pocket collapsed around Sanchez and he had to throw the ball short of the first down and give the ball back to Miami.

The front line not only struggled against the pass rush, but they also failed to provide any push in the running game. The Eagles only gained 83 yards on the ground against a Dolphins defense that gives up the second-most rush yards per game in the NFL. Miami's defense is only one week removed from giving up 266 yards on the ground to the Buffalo Bills.

Philadelphia's offensive line is in rough shape, and they need to hope for a quick recovery from Jason Peters to help this unit improve.

Important Note No. 2: Quarterback Situation

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Bradford looked confident and composed early in the game against the Dolphins. The quarterback slung the ball around the field, finding Celek and other open receivers in the first quarter.

He even scrambled around and found an open Josh Huff in the back of the end zone to help propel the Eagles to an early 13-point lead. Bradford finished the first quarter 7-of-8 for 106 yards.

But the quarterback looked like a sitting duck in the pocket throughout the rest of the game, and he was eventually knocked out of action in the third quarter.

The hit by McCain forced Sanchez into his first real action this season. Sanchez initially came into the game and provided a spark for the offense as he made quick decisions and hit receivers in stride.

But Sanchez, once again, showed his fatal flaw. No matter how well he is playing, the former Jets franchise QB is still going to make the devastating mistake in critical situations. Trailing by one point, Sanchez marched the Eagles down the field to Miami's 9-yard line. Needing only a field goal to take the lead, the Southern California product forced the ball into the end zone toward Miles Austin and Reshad Jones came away with the interception.

Every good play can be cancelled out by one wrong play in the vital moments.

Sanchez looked athletic and sold the fakes well to open up things downfield, but this game came down to his inability to make the right decision.

With Bradford possibly sidelined with a concussion and shoulder injury and Sanchez's continual mistakes, Philadelphia's quarterback situation could hold this team back in the coming weeks.

Quote No. 1: Chip Kelly

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

“Everybody wanted to make last week’s game the turning point. You better come to play every single week in this league," said Chip Kelly, per the Philadelphia Inquirer's Zach Berman.

Philadelphia was riding high after pulling out an overtime victory against their hated division rivals the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles even looked to carry some of that momentum into the start of this game as they looked aggressive on both sides of the ball and built up a 16-3 lead in the first quarter. Kelly's team looked like it had turned the corner.

But Philadelphia is anything but consistent this season, and the wheels began to fall off in the second quarter. Compared to how well they played in the first quarter, the Eagles looked equally as poor throughout the rest of the game.

Now, following the loss the Dolphins, Philadelphia has to try to reset once again with a 4-5 record. This weekend provided a chance for the Eagles to jump ahead of the New York Giants, but instead the NFC East looks like a jumbled mess again.

Philadelphia is far from out of the race for the division title, but it will need to turn the ship around in its next few games against non-divisional opponents.

At some point, the Eagles will need to have that "turning point," and that improvement needs to last not only throughout four quarters, but also through a stretch of games.

Quote No. 2: Jason Kelce

Michael Perez/Associated Press

"That was the worst game of my entire career. Three penalties. f***ing bad snap, and just a terrible blocking performance," per 97.5 The Fanatic's Tim McManus.

Jason Kelce is fed up. The Eagles offensive line is struggling, and the center points to himself as one of the main reasons.

Kelce earned a Pro Bowl appearance in 2014 and has been a key part of an overall steady unit since the Eagles drafted him in 2011. But the passionate center looks a shell of himself currently.

The 28-year-old has committed a team-high seven penalties this season. Kelce was called for holding twice against Miami's defense and cost Philadelphia a loss of 15 yards overall due to penalties.

Kelce also snapped the ball over Sam Bradford's head in the fourth quarter. Luckily, the Eagles fell on the ball, but negative plays like that have hurt them all season. He is far from the only reason the offense has struggled, but the team is not used to worrying about his performance.

Amidst a struggling offensive line, the Eagles need Kelce to improve and return to the player they expect him to be. Overall, the first step to improving up front is getting reliable players like Kelce and Lane Johnson playing well again to help mask the deficiencies at other positions.