Well, the Eagles once again stunk it up and the reality is that this is simply not a good football team. It's poorly constructed, it's poorly coached, and the players are not executing or making plays they should be making. It's a complete mess. Anyway, here's some of what stood out from another Eagles' clunker.
STUD: Alex Singleton
For the second week in a row, Singleton was flying around the field and giving the Eagles some production from the linebacker spot. On Sunday, he finished with 12 tackles (eight solo), a sack, a QB hit, a tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery. There weren't a whole lot of bright spots on Sunday, but Singleton was one.
DUD: Carson Wentz
Every time you think Wentz might be taking a step forward and working his way back to being the player we've seen him be in the past he immediately regresses back into the not-good 2020 version of himself. That happened again on Sunday.
Wentz had two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and again put a fumble on the ground although it was recovered by the Eagles. He continued to make some baffling decisions with the football and missed several throws he should be able to make.
Yes, not all of this is on Wentz. The offensive line was terrible (more on them later) and it feels like the Eagles are the only team in the NFL that can't scheme open their receivers. The playcalling hasn't done Wentz any favors either. But none of those things account for poor throws or missed opportunities from a clean pocket, of which there were several on Sunday, and at some point the excuses have to stop. Wentz hasn't been good enough for most of 2020, and he wasn't good enough on Sunday.
STUD: Dallas Goedert
Goedert found his rhythm a bit on Sunday and was one of the few bright spots on offense. He caught five of six targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. He had the Eagles longest gain of the afternoon with a 32-yard catch. Goedert was one of the few players to show up Sunday.
DUD: Doug Pederson
In the first half Sunday, the Eagles rushed 19 times for 96 yards. In the second half, they rushed six times for 10 yards. This stat, by itself, is enough to indict Pederson's performance Sunday. There was no reason to go away from the run, the Eagles went right down the field on their first drive using the run, the run was working. And Pederson completely abandoned it. He abandoned it with his offensive line struggling to pass protect, with his quarterback making poor decisions, and with his receivers failing to get open.
Was this Pederson's worst game of the season? No. But for the second straight week, the team looked unprepared and unmotivated, and Pederson continues to outsmart himself and not just stick with what's working. Much like Wentz, Pederson is trying to deal with a lot of problems around him that aren't of his own doing, but it's the coaches job to identify, diagnose, and fix problems, to find a way to put his team in a position to win regardless of circumstances, and Doug not only failed to do that but also seems to go out of his way to do the opposite.
STUD: Josh Sweat
We're going to be reaching a bit on these last few studs, but we have more duds we want to get to and would like to try to keep at least a semblance of a balance. Plus, we could all use a little more positivity in our lives, right? Anyway, Josh Sweat.
He finished with six tackles (five solo), a sack, a QB hit, and two tackles for loss. He was disruptive several times and helped the defense to its part to give the offense a chance to get something going.
DUD: Offensive line
This entire group was putrid on Sunday. Carson Wentz was sacked five times and hit 10 times. His first-half pick-six was partially due to him getting hit, and he had very few opportunities to survey the field and step into a throw. Jason Peters was horrible, Matt Pryor struggled, even Lane Johnson had some tough moments before leaving with injury (again).
The fact that the Eagles have so, so many problems makes it really difficult to determine how much fault lands on which player or unit, but it was obvious that this group had a terrible day.
STUD: Fletcher Cox
We might be being a bit generous here, but let's go with it. Cox didn't have an eye-popping stat line: two tackles and a sack. But he forced a fumble that was recovered by the Eagles, a rare forced turnover for the Birds, and as such he was one of the few Eagles who actually made an impact Sunday afternoon.
DUD: Avonte Maddox and Jalen Mills
Maddox was a disaster on Sunday. He was routinely beaten in coverage, including a long completion early in the game. He also committed a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up a first-and-goal for the Browns.
Mills wasn't much better, as he still hasn't seen a double move he won't fall for, and had his share of coverage breakdowns. He also whiffed on a tackle near the goal line on a Browns' touchdown.
It's getting tough to justify these two being out there, and the fact that they are is another knock on Howie Roseman.
