A tie was almost destined. The Eagles played a game where they didn’t deserve to win. The offensive playcalling was stale and questionable, the defense didn’t look prepared, and Carson Wentz was atrocious at times. Summed up, the Eagles are simply not a good team. This game left a feeling of desolation.
The Good
There was very little. Miles Sanders ran the ball with purpose, but the ball was taken out of his hands. Greg Ward got open when he needed to and was a bit of a security blanket for Carson Wentz, who also showed off some mobility throughout this game. Darius Slay had a pretty good game, outside of an injury scare in the 3rd quarter. That’s about where the good stops.
The bad and The Ugly from this one are interchangable
The offensive playcalling was very questionable at times in this game. First, Miles Sanders was running with purpose and intention throughout the game. Coming into this game the Bengals had given up over 300 yards in two games, so it’d be paramount that the Eagles would lean on the run throughout this game. They did not. After the 1st half, Sanders only had 8 carries. Keep in mind, Sanders had 5.3 yards per carry on the game.
Elsewhere on offense, the offensive line gave up a bevy of pressures. Jason Peters, who left with a leg injury, appeared out of gas throughout the game. Lane Johnson got beat a few times. Matt Pryor moved the Eagles out of field goal range in overtime. Nate Herbig also didn’t fair well today. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who is a former second round pick, was targeted ZERO times. With the absences of Jalen Reagor and Alshon Jeffery, it’d seem like Arcega-Whiteside would put some semblance of production on display.
Elsewhere in the game, Doug Pederson, called even more questionable plays such as the 2 failed plays on the first drive after halftime, both to Greg Ward. The first was a reverse play on 2nd and 6 and the next play was a screen on 3rd and 12, in which Ward was blown up. Pederson’s playcalling was simply atrocious in this game.
Jim Schwartz’s defense looked completely unprepared at times, specifically Nate Gerry. Gerry appeared completely lost on the field at times and displayed a complete lack of awareness in the redzone. Avonte Maddox got beat multiple times before exiting with an injury in the 3rd. Schwartz’s sticks defense surrendered a 3rd and 15 in the 4th quarter, in which Joe Burrow completed a 42 yard pass to Gio Bernard. Schwartz has to be on the hot seat after this one.
Carson Wentz struggled throughout this game. On the Eagles first drive Wentz threw an interception after a pass was tipped but it may have even been picked if it wasn’t tipped. On the play DeSean Jackson, who also left the game with an injury, was triple covered and the linebacker read Wentz’s eyes the entire play. Elsewhere, Wentz’s mechanical issues appeared again. Several of his passes were too high or too low. He threw another interception, in which he threw a pass inside that should’ve went to Zach Ertz outside shoulder. Wentz simply hasn’t looked right through 3 games.
The game ended when Doug Pederson, appeared to settle for a tie. The Eagles could’ve kicked a 64 yard field goal on 4th and 12, but Doug Pederson elected to punt. In totality, for the game the Eagles offense appeared flat and stagnant, outisde of a few passes to Greg Ward and a 30 yard completion to Zach Ertz late in the 4th quarter. Of course injuries played a role in the ending of this game but, it seemed almost like Cincinnati was giving the Eagles this game on the last drive. After a Matt Pryor penalty the Eagles were backed up from a 4th and 7 to a 4th and 12, then Pederson elected to take another 5 yard penalty (delay of game), which backed the team up to 4th and 17. Another display of completely baffling coaching by Doug Pederson. It would’ve been much smarter to simply attempt the 64 yard field goal.
Conclusion
In all, this was a very frustrating game. They went away from what was working on offense and defensively, the defensive line got to Burrow but there were still plays that Burrow made that allowed this game to end with the score that it did. In totality, the Eagles are not a good football team. There are injuries everywhere, bad playcalling on both sides of the ball, bad on-field decisions being made by several players, erratic quarterback play, and an overall bad situation right now. The Eagles are 0-2-1 after 3 games, with a tough stretch if games looming. They play the 49ers next, who defeated the Giants 36-9 without 8 starters. Things may get ugly very quickly.
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