Philadelphia Eagles: Why Team Won't Finish the Season With a Winning Record

The Philadelphia Eagles had Super Bowl aspirations at the beginning of the season. The team was the Miami Heat of the football world, signing more high-profile free agents than the NFL even knew existed.

However, the season has not gone as planned. The Eagles are currently 3-6, third in the NFC East and unsure if they will even make the playoffs, let alone reach the Super Bowl.

There are still seven games left to play, plenty of time for a team to turn its season around.

Unfortunately, Philadelphia will not be able to do so.

Michael Vick Won’t Get Back on Track

Unfortunately for Philadelphia Eagles fans, Michael Vick’s best days are behind him. At the beginning of the 2010 season, Vick looked unstoppable. Since then, however, defenses have begun to figure out how to stop the quarterback, and Vick has not been able to counter. 

Vick has had a quarterback rating over 100 just twice all season. The first was in the second game of the season, in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The second was in Philadelphia’s romp over the Dallas Cowboys. 

When Vick is playing poorly, the entire Eagles offense suffers. He throws costly interceptions and cannot hit his receivers. More disturbing is that Vick’s dip in production does not seem to coincide with tough defenses. He has faced teams near the bottom of the pack in passing yards allowed per game, yet has still struggled. 

Vick is one of the main keys to Philadelphia’s success. He cannot find his stride, so neither will the Eagles.

Opponents’ Rush Defense

After Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy is the second biggest key to the Philadelphia Eagles’ success. McCoy is a dynamic rusher who can use his speed to make defenders miss. However, McCoy is also inconsistent. 

McCoy has rushed for over 100 yards in just four games this season. It is not a coincidence that the Eagles have won three of those games. In the other five games, McCoy has looked unimpressive, running for as little as 18 yards. 

The rest of the schedule will not be kind to the Eagles. Almost all of Philadelphia’s next seven opponents are in the top half of the league in rush defense.

McCoy is a good running back. But his dip in production from game to game should worry the Eagles. If he cannot become a consistent threat, the Eagles could be in for a long stretch to finish the season. 

Schedule

The Philadelphia Eagles opened the year with a tough schedule. Six of their nine opponents are currently at or near the top of their division. The good news for the Eagles is that their opponents will get easier. The bad news is that they will still have the potential to lose a lot of games.

The Eagles still have to face the New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. All four of those games will be easy for Philadelphia to lose.

If the Eagles have proven anything this season, it is that they are very capable of completely dominating a team in every facet of the game except the final score. If games against the Miami Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks are still close towards the end of regulation, those underdog teams could get enough confidence to win the game.

Facing Teams Who Like to Run

In addition to having a fairly tough end of the season schedule, the Philadelphia Eagles will be facing teams who play against their strengths.

Of their seven remaining games, only three teams have quarterbacks who like to throw the ball. The Eagles, with their stud secondary, have a pretty good passing defense. However, most of the teams left on their schedule will not pass the ball much.

Sure, Philadelphia might be able to take advantage of Matt Moore and Tavaris Jackson, but if teams turn to the run in order to use up clock and avoid interceptions, the Eagles could struggle. 

Philadelphia’s defensive line has been underperforming all season. They are still thin at linebacker and do not have the kind of dominating player that will inspire confidence in the team.

If opponents continually run against the Eagles, the front line could wear down and give up some big plays.

Cannot Put Games Away

The trademark of this year's Philadelphia Eagles team is that they are incapable of putting games away. They can gain over 500 yards of total offense yet still lose.

Most of the reason for this is Philadelphia’s ineptitude in the red zone. The team has one of the highest rates of red zone drives per game. They have driven inside the 25-yard line over four times a contest.

However, once there, the Eagles cannot convert. Philadelphia is scoring a touchdown on just 45 percent of their trips inside the red zone. For a team that is so dominant on offense, failing to score points is unacceptable.

Red-zone stands also give opposing defenses confidence. If a team can force a field goal or no points at all, they will feel as if they have won a battle, no matter how many yards they gave up during the drive.

Team Attitude

Simply put, losing is contagious. When a team starts to lose many games in a row, especially games it should have won, the players lose confidence in themselves and one another.

The Philadelphia Eagles are at this point now. The team has received criticism from fans, the media and probably from teammates. Every time it looks like the Eagles have turned their season around, they counter with another loss.

Nothing would be easier than for the players to decide that the season has been a bust and look ahead to next year. With each subsequent demoralizing defeat, it becomes harder and harder for the team to regroup.