The Eagles fell to the Panthers on Sunday Night in yet another frustrating loss on the road, leaving them with a 3-4 record. There were some bright moments in what was otherwise an infuriating matchup, we’re here to recap the best and the worst of the loss.
The best:
Sam Bradford
Starting off with arguably the most controversial point, Sam Bradford played well. 26/46 and 205 yards with an interception next to his name don’t sound too great as lone stats..but when you take into account how many drops were involved and the amount of pressure he was susceptible too after Peters left the game, he did okay.
Jordan Matthews continued to struggle and the vaseline must have been passed around the locker room because it was a common theme across the field. But for a Quarterback who just a few weeks back was referred to as “looking like a Deer in headlights” to take 5 sacks, 4 QB hits, get up and keep trying to push his team down the field..it’s commendable. The leadership is there and he made some excellent throws, unfortunately it was the receivers who let him down tonight.
Running game
The debate over who should be the starting running back has already taken over twitter after Ryan Mathews stormed down the field for a touchdown but the Eagles running game woes might finally be over. Murray as three yards shy of consecutive 100 yard rushing games and hit the ground running quite literally to ignite what’s traditionally a slow starting Offense. It didn’t help that the backs were used more so in swing passes than handoffs but Murray is looking much more efficient and Mathews is as dangerous as ever. The Eagles are building quite a tandem in the backfield with Darren Sproles that explosive third back just waiting for the right moment.
Eagles Secondary
Just like we said in our bold predictions article, Byron Maxwell went on to get his first Interception as an Eagle. Seriously, if you want a reason to bookmark this site this is it..just look at the images below..we’ve predicted things EVERY week that no other Philadelphia sports site has.
Aside from that, this is a Carolina Offense who power run and are able to pick up big play yardage..something that hurt the Eagles, but didn’t kill them. Jenkins, Carroll and Maxwell forced Newton into three uncharacteristic receptions to give the Eagles some much needed possession and they held the dual threat Quarterback to under 200 yards and a 59.2 passer rating. Carroll made nine overall tackles and led his team in the category. There were struggles and worrying moments but overall, another good job by this Eagles Defense and more specifically, the Secondary.
The meh:
Offensive Line:
We can’t blame them too much because it seemed after Peters left with a lower back injury, they were a different unit. There was a lot of pressure on Sam Bradford tonight and he was forced to scramble a lot more than usual. The running game was limited to screen passes and outside handoffs late on as the Line faced the same issues it did earlier on in the season. They weren’t horrific, but they weren’t prolific.
Penalties:
This is becoming a worrying trend, the Offensive Line committed three penalties against the Panthers in the first half ALONE earlier tonight. Dropped passes are tough to take, but they’re not all to blame. This is a momentum based team and all these penalties do is push the team back and cut out that momentum entirely..something has to change.
The worst:
Play Calling:
Where to begin? Do we start with the countless Jordan Matthews slant route attempts or the screen/swing passes that dominated the attempts category but never produced substantial yards. With the team 3rd & 9 late on for instance, a swing pass is not the way to go..especially when the Defense expects it. Bradford proved that the deep passes down the field were working yet Chip never bought into it and insisted on going over the middle to Matthews or on the outside to Darren Sproles, 10 times to be exact. There was a lack of aggression and confidence on and off the field and it cost the Eagles in both momentum and success.
Wide receivers:
Jordan Matthews needed a big game tonight and he simply came up short again. Two more drops against the Panthers sum up his season so far but for Miles Austin who missed a nail in the coffin pass, Josh Huff who struggled, Darren Sproles who was trying to reel everything in one handed and some low passes that receivers just weren’t buying into, they cost the team. Bradford was under more pressure than he has been under so far this season and the response from his receivers was one of shakiness. Zach Ertz made one big play and exclaimed “F*CK YEAAH” straight after…why? Because it was a MUCH needed boost to the team. Something has to change, Matthews actually only took 6 targets tonight…and still only caught half.
