6 Reasons the Philadelphia Eagles Are in Huge Trouble
The Philadelphia Eagles suffered their fifth loss of the season Sunday, falling to the rival New York Giants 27-17. The Eagles now sit at 3-5-1, and while they're still in first place in the dreadful NFC East, they can't feel good about where they stand.
At least one player is the opposite of happy right now.
"Pissed off because we put the work in throughout the week, so it should reflect. That's just how it works," safety Jalen Mills told reporters in a postgame Zoom conference Sunday. "That's how sports work."
Sports work in another way, too. The better team usually comes out on top, and Philadelphia has rarely been the better team this season.
While holding onto the division lead and squeaking into the postseason would help erase the pain of losing, the Eagles are in trouble. The postseason is the furthest thing from a guarantee right now, and Philadelphia's woes could linger beyond 2020.
Here, we'll examine six big reasons why the Eagles should be worried moving forward.
There's Something Wrong with Carson Wentz
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Quarterback Carson Wentz might not be irreparably broken, but he hasn't been playing well. He has completed a career-low 58.2 percent of his passes and has a league-high 12 interceptions to go with only 12 touchdown passes.
When the Cleveland Browns famously didn't view Wentz as a top-20 signal-caller ahead of the 2016 draft, per ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi, this is likely the quarterback they envisioned him being.
Wentz was above-average as a rookie, though, and he was playing at an MVP-caliber level before he suffered a significant knee injury in 2017. This year's slide has come as somewhat of a surprise.
While Wentz has shown occasional flashes of athleticism and arm talent, his decision-making, pocket presence and his confidence have all appeared questionable. He's had multiple turnovers in five different games this season, and the Eagles have gone 1-4 in those games, with their only win coming against the injury-plagued Dallas Cowboys.
If Wentz continues to play like he isn't a franchise quarterback, Philadelphia may have to seriously start considering whether to bench him for rookie Jalen Hurts.
The Offensive Line Is a Problem
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Wentz has lacked pocket awareness in 2020, but he has been done no favors by the Eagles offensive line. The unit has been subpar at best, and Wentz has gotten sacked an alarming 35 times through nine games.
The issues along the line began when staring guard Brandon Brooks tore his Achilles in mid-June. Injuries and inconsistent play have since led to multiple lineup shakeups, and the Eagles have yet to find a starting combination that works, at least in pass protection.
The Eagles line has been strong in the ground game, and Philadelphia ranks 10th in rushing and fourth in yards per carry as a result.
One would think that the Eagles might lean more on their ground game to help mask the offense's issues in pass protection and at quarterback. That hasn't been the case, though, as Philadelphia has passed 344 times and run only 216 times this season.
The Eagles have been forced to lean more heavily on the pass once they start trailing in games, but their lack of offensive balance is a problem.
Doug Pederson May Have Lost His Mojo
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A few years ago, head coach Doug Pederson was widely considered an offensive genius. He was the man who outcoached Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl and won with a backup quarterback.
While Pederson's delivery of a Lombardi Trophy should earn him plenty of goodwill in Philadelphia, the Eagles need to recognize that he hasn't been a great play-caller this season.
His lack of offensive balance, tendency to put the offense on Wentz's shoulders and inability to maximize weapons like Hurts and rookie wideout Jalen Reagor only exacerbates Philadelphia's issues along the line and under center.
However, Pederson doesn't believe he's part of the problem.
"I feel good about the plays that have been called," Pederson said after Sunday's loss, per Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I even looked at the game yesterday and felt I was in rhythm."
The reality, though, is that the Eagles haven't been in rhythm. Pederson hasn't seemed like the same inspired play-caller who won a Super Bowl with Nick Foles.
While forcing Pederson to surrender play-calling duties or replacing him entirely may not be the answer, something has to change.
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The Run Defense Is a Serious Concern
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Teams can typically overcome offensive inconsistency when they have a strong defense to cover it up. Unfortunately, the Eagles have not had that luxury in 2020.
While Philadelphia has been sound against the pass—it's ranked sixth in yards allowed—it has struggled against the run.
On the year, the Eagles rank 15th in yards per carry allowed and 26th in total run defense. Their run defense may be getting worse, too, as they've allowed at least 130 rushing yards in each of the last five games.
Against the Giants in Week 10, the Eagles allowed backup running back Wayne Gallman to rush for two touchdowns. They also gave up 64 yards rushing to quarterback Daniel Jones, including a 34-yard touchdowns scamper. That came after the Eagles were on bye and had two weeks to prepare for a team they had already faced this season.
It's hard to win games when you're giving up huge runs to second-year quarterbacks.
Run defense is likely to continue being a problem for the Eagles in the coming weeks, as teams like the Browns and the Green Bay Packers remain on the schedule.
Philadelphia Faces an Unforgiving Schedule
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Speaking of Philadelphia's remaining schedule... it's brutal.
The Browns aren't a guaranteed win with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in their backfield. The Eagles then face the Packers, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals in successive weeks. If they stumble against Cleveland, they could be 3-10-1 before facing the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16.
The Eagles' next five games are all against teams that currently have a winning record. They have not beaten a team that currently has a winning record yet this season, so there's little reason to think that they'll come out of this five-game stretch with more victories than losses.
At this rate, the Eagles will be lucky to finish 7-8-1. While that may be good enough for an NFC East title, it doesn't suggest that Philadelphia will be relevant in the postseason.
The NFC East Isn't Going to Remain Bad Forever
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If the Eagles can't find answers to their current issues—at quarterback, along the offensive line, on defense and with play-calling—they aren't likely to be relevant next year, either.
Right now, the Eagles might be the least-bad team in a bad division. But the NFC East isn't going to remain this bad forever.
The Giants are playing hard for first-year head coach Joe Judge, and they're going to have a healthy Saquon Barkley back next year. The Washington Football Team has an experienced coach in Ron Rivera and one of the top defensive fronts in football. The Cowboys should be healthier and should have quarterback Dak Prescott back under center in 2021.
Any one of these teams could take a step past the Eagles in the division next season, if not before. Based on what we saw in Week 10, the Giants may have already done so.
To make matters worse, the Eagles are projected to be over the salary cap by the second-highest margin in the NFL next offseason, according to Spotrac. Using free agency to keep up with Washington, Dallas and New York may not be an option for the Eagles in 2021.
In other words, the next seven weeks may represent Philadelphia's last chance to dominate the NFC East for some time. If that's the case, the Eagles are in serious trouble.
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