By now, we all know the narrative. The Eagles defense is a total trainwreck. Stopping the run comes easy at the expense of being gashed open through the air. The blueprint is out for opposing teams to beat Jim Schwartz and the defensive coordinator refuses to make adjustments. But over the next five weeks (hey, a bye!), believe it or not, it’s the offense that may play a bigger role in saving the season.
The Eagles struggle to get off on the right foot and have for quite some time now. ‘Slow starts’ have plagued this offense for two years and in an attempt to change his stars, Doug Pederson opted to receive the ball first upon winning a coin-toss in Dallas, the first time in 25 games that had happened.
The result was a 14-point deficit no more than six minutes into the game.
Something has to change. It’s hard to blame a sputtering offense on the absence of DeSean Jackson, because it survived without a deep threat during the entire 2016 & 2018 campaigns. Whether it’s a lack of receiving production, the play-calls, or simply a case of execution, the Eagles need to fix up…and fast.
Over the next month, they’ll face four teams who combine for a record of 19-6…and that doesn’t bode well for the Eagles offense.
| TEAM | DEF rank | PASS D rank | RUN D rank | Q1 points allowed per game |
| Buffalo | 3 | 4 | 10 | 4.3 |
| Chicago | 10 | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| New England | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Seattle | 16 | 19 | 17 | 4.7 |
You can look at Josh Allen spraying passes more sporadically than an out-of-control Garden Hose, or you can look at Trubisky and see what many others do, which is…not a lot. But it doesn’t matter who is at quarterback right now. Even Case Keenum and the Redskins escaped to a 17-0 lead in week 1…
Opposing offenses will score and will likely do so with relative ease. The Eagles will face three top-10 defenses in the next month and go into that stretch off the back of two heartbreaking losses against, you guessed it, more top-10 defenses.
It’s easy to overlook Buffalo due to their offensive shortcomings, but defensively, they possess a very different threat. Something Mike Groh was quick to acknowledge.
“I think this is a very well-schooled defense, one that’s very opportunistic. They’ve created turnovers and short fields for their offense and put their offense in a really good position.
They play really sound football. They play well together. They have great gap integrity. They do a good job of getting on the edge and creating pressure up front. They have good players and it looks like they play really well together. They all fit the scheme and the system really well.”
If the Eagles continue to squander early opportunities and are forced to play from behind as a result, there’s little evidence to suggest that this offense can hang against top-10 defenses. If the Eagles defense continues to leak yards and points at the rate they are, Wentz will be forced into shootout situations early and often, as we’re beginning to see.
Doug Pederson, Mike Groh, Carson Wentz, and basically every single player lining up on offense have to find a spark. It may well come from a pending return of DeSean Jackson, but it has to come from somewhere.
Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
