As expected, it was another dog fight between two teams starving for a win, but the Philadelphia Eagles will have to wait another week to get back in the win column as they were stunned in Seattle in a 20-17 loss to the Seahawks.
Drew Lock connected to rookie wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba with 28 seconds left on a 29-yard touchdown catch to cap off an unlikely 92-yard, go-ahead scoring drive. The loss extends the Eagles’ skid to three consecutive games and pushes their record to 0-8 against the Seahawks since 2008.
How it Happened:
The Eagles put together perhaps the best offensive drive of their season to start things off, with fans clamoring it was 2022-esque. After receiving the opening kick, Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson included nearly everything you could think of on a masterful 15-play, 75-yard drive.
Motion? Check. Passes to the running backs? Yep. Effective RPO. Yes, again.
The impressive drive was capped off by a Jalen Hurts 3-yard rushing TD, his 13th of the season to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. The drive took 8:29 off the clock and featured ten running plays.
Unfortunately, the offense never truly found that spark again in the first half. After a quick three-and-out on the second drive, the Eagles regained some steam. Looking poised to convert on another third and short with the nearly unstoppable “Brotherly Shove”, this odd false start was called against center Jason Kelce.
Seattle was able to generate a scoring drive with a 26-yard field goal, which was forced due to the defense getting a third down stop, something that the unit has struggled with all season long to make it a 10-3 score that the teams would take into halftime.
The Seahawks responded with a dominant opening drive to open up the second half, fueled by some miss tackles and Kenneth Walker III put a bow on the scoring drive with a 22-yard dash to the endzone to tie it up at 10-10 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.
Hurts and the offense responded promptly. Hurts delivered some beautiful throws in big spots on the 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended in another “Brotherly Shove” for Hurts’ second score of the night to make it 17-10 with 4:43 remaining in the third.
Seattle had to settle for another field goal after Jalen Carter was able to get to Drew Lock for a sack that was eventually overturned in favor of the Eagles after a Nick Sirianni challenge to make it a 17-13 game.
Philadelphia’s defense needed to make one more stop with the Seahawks having to traverse 92-yards for a game-winning touchdown. It wasn’t meant to be as Lock led the Seahawks down the field for the score.
Hurts and the Eagles had one final chance, but the Eagles’ quarterback threw his second interception of the night on a deep pass, this time intended for A.J. Brown.
Patricia’s Debut:
The news of the odd demotion of Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai (still has the title) broke late this week and it certainly created quite the buzz leading up to the game. Patrica, who was the defensive coordinator during the New England Patriots’ dynasty run, was calling the plays on the sideline. There weren’t too many blitzes to note, and the lack of pressure was still apparent, but the defense did come up with a couple of big third-down stops to either stall a Seahawks’ drive or force a punt.
The defense was 3-for-7 on third down conversions in the first half and finished the game allowing Seattle to convert 6-of-14 third downs.
Youngsters Made an Impression:
Rookie cornerback Kelee Ringo got the start due to Darius Slay’s knee injury requiring arthroscopic surgery and first-year safety Sydney Brown saw significant playing time. The fourth-round pick in this year’s draft made a few stops to help force Seattle settle for a field goal in the first half.
Brown was swarming all of the field, perhaps moving too fast at times, missing some would-be tackles, but it’s clear he has a nose for the football. Growing pains should be expected with the rookies in the secondary, but these two will be a core part of the secondary for years to come and the game tonight was a good stepping stone for both.
Offense Still Struggling:
Aside from the two touchdown drives that certainly showed flashes of what it’s capable of, the unit as a whole still staggered at times, committed mistakes and at times, had questionable play calling and decisions from Hurts and Johnson. Put it simply, 17 points isn’t going to win you many games in the NFL. This unit still isn’t operating as smooth as they were last season and could be a potential issue come playoff time.
The Eagles return home for a Christmas Day NFC East showdown when they face the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field at 4:30 p.m.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
