The Eagles fought a tough uphill battle against their cross-state neighbors, the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday but it wasn’t without flare. While the defense completely kept the offense out of the game, there is still some good to take away from that matchup. Which Eagles are trending up and which have more to do going into a tricky week 6 showdown with Baltimore?
Trending up:
Travis Fulgham
From being one of the most dominating receivers in the country during his senior year at Old Dominion, to being cut a year after his rookie season by the Detroit Lions and later the Green Bay Packers, it seems as if Travis Fulgham may have found his home. The Eagles’ newest addition has not only broken through the glass ceiling of expectations but has also gained the trust of Carson Wentz at an unordinary pace. Wentz targeted Fulgham 13 times against the Steelers and Fulgham caught 10 of those passes. That’s a completion percentage of 76.9% when targeting Travis.
Fulgham has shown that he has big-play potential after showing out with 10 catches and 152 receiving yards. He’s all effort and no slack which I can’t say for many others, but the Eagles may have found a true needle in the haystack with this kid. He’s not explosive but his natural ability at wide receiver gives him more tools than any other receiver on the roster. If this chemistry continues to grow at a rapid pace with Wentz and Fulgham then there’s no telling just how high this kid can go.
Jordan Mailata
The Eagles may have found their franchise left tackle a couple of drafts ago but doubted what they had in him. Well, let’s just thank the football Gods that Jordan Mailata was never cut.
The injuries at the position have been a true blessing in disguise for the franchise and the 23-year-old Aussie. One, he’s 23 years old and playing the most football he’s ever played before. Two, in his first few games this season Mailata has played 141 snaps while allowing 1 sack, 6 hurries, and 7 pressures. He’s also earned a PFF grade of 63.5 so far this season which is barely below the grade that Jason Peters has earned this season at 64.6. If Mailata continues then there’s no way the Eagles can move him back to the bench, instead, we can expect Peters at one of the guard positions.
Miles Sanders
Sanders is currently ranked 5th in the NFL for rushing yards per game in addition to three touchdowns on the season. He’s currently on pace to finish the season with 1,185 rushing yards which would make him the first Eagles running back since LeSean McCoy to pass 1,000 rushing yards.
Last week, he broke off a possible dead play on 3rd and 9 and turned it into a 74 touchdown run. These are the things that Miles can do but when the line is giving him space or time to move then he could end up struggling as any other back would. So, NO, it’s not time to give up on the 2nd year running back. Especially when he is averaging 5.1 yards per carry for a team with a rotational offensive line due to injuries.
Trending Down:
Eagles defense
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Darius Slay can’t do it all. While Slay was a phenomenal addition, the fact of the matter is that this defense is struggling to stop the pass. Ben Roethlisberger had a completion percentage of 79% against the Eagles with only one sack taken. He threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns with ease as the Eagles struggled to outsmart the 38-year-old QB. The team showed that their weakest link is the actual defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, as he put his players in a position to fail especially Nate Gerry. Gerry lined up against Chase Claypool on the game-winning drive and no one can understand why not even Jim Schwartz himself.
Zach Ertz
Ertz has completely fallen off this season and no one can understand why. Maybe it is the contract issue or maybe its Wentz. How could it be Wentz tho? He was able to zip the ball to Travis on every target without an issue but when it comes to Ertz, the ball seems to sail. Ron Jaworski mentioned on Inside the Birds that Ertz isn’t getting the separation that he used to, which leads Wentz to throw the ball in these tight windows. If that’s the case then could Ertz be showing the Eagles brass his value? Could it be a lack of effort on his part? There are too many questions surround Zach Ertz and it’s becoming too much for the Eagles to handle. Especially when they need old reliable to show up and help this offense.
Howie Roseman
Roseman has been rumored to have his hand in the cookie jar for too long these days. You know about the Jim Schwartz rumor but how about the truth about what goes on behind the scenes that our very own Chris Infante wrote about? Roseman has too much control and his lack of football knowledge is showing. It showed when he took JJAW over Metcalf. It showed when the Eagles haven’t invested in a true linebacker since God knows when. It showed the moment that Roseman brought back Jason Peters, again. Howie Roseman has not only placed the Eagles in a tough position with two of their top receivers being over the age of 30 but he’s also managed to have them in cap hell next season. How can Jeffery Lurie allow this to go on? No one knows but maybe someone should let him know that Roseman is the Eagles version of 2020 and we all know how bad that is
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire.
