With a 30-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Eagles have now dropped to 3-8. This will be just the second time since 1999 that Philly will end the season with a losing record. As mentioned in this game’s preview, Monday night was about the tales of two different rookies starting in the Eagle backfield, Nick Foles and Bryce Brown, but their tales could not have been much different.
You have to like what you saw from Bryce Brown. He was the only bright spot for the Eagles offense with with 19 carries going for 178 yards and 2 TD’s. Additionally he displayed his soft hands out of the backfield with 4 catches. I expected Brown to have a good game, maybe running for 100 yards, but the one thing I was worried about was ball security. In his backup role Brown struggled with holding onto the ball all year. This ended up killing the Eagles with Brown fumbles ending two significant drives (Brandon Boykin also fumbled on a kick return).
Nick Foles on the other hand did not look like anything special. The rookie QB rarely threw the ball downfield, and in the rare chance he did, he was close to being intercepted. This could be in part due to the Eagles awful pass blocking, but his decision making could definitely improve, and although he did manage to not turn the ball over, it’s almost impossible to win in this league with only 119 passing yards.
Defensively the Eagles looked terrible. They played well for portions in the middle of the game, but the coverage breakdowns were too much to overcome. Cam Newton threw for 306 yards on just 18 completions. He also ran for 2 TD’s. Arguably the best red zone player in the NFL, the Eagles clearly did not game plan well enough for Carolina’s designed runs to Newton. The fact this team is still having so many breakdowns in coverage is both infuriating and mind-boggling. With Nnamdi Asomugha, DRC, Nate Allen, and Kurt Coleman all healthy, there are no excuse for the D’s performance. The defense has too many star players. Beyond the aforementioned Pro Bowl cornerbacks, the Eagles have multiple Pro Bowl linebackers and D-linemen: DeMeco Ryans, Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins, and Jason Babin. Then they have two of the best rookies at their respective positions, Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks. Different personnel haven’t worked. At defensive coordinator it wasn’t McDermott, it wasn’t Castillo, and now it seems like it isn’t Bowles either (the defense has only regressed since he’s taken over), changes need to be made.
If Brown was the rookie bright spot for the offense, it was Vinny Curry as the rookie bright spot on defense.
Interview with Vinny Curry after he shines in NFL debut.
The rookie defensive end out of Marshall had 5 tackles, and missed out on two near sacks of Newton. That’s especially impressive considering how few snaps he played compared to other defensive lineman. The Eagles have had an incredible amount of draft picks the last few years, and rarely have any paned out. It’s good to know that at least in Cox, Kendricks, and hopefully Curry, the defense has some players the team can depend on for years to come.
Next week the Eagles face the Cowboys on Sunday night. With all these primetime scheduled games, it looks like the NFL didn’t expect the Eagles to be so terrible either.
The Eagles Nest 