The Philadelphia Eagles were defeated, 42-30, by the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a back and forth game up until the 4th quarter, when the wheels came off the wagon for the Eagles. Here are our 5 main takeaways.
1) Offense looked better! But…
The offense moved the ball well (mostly through the air) and Jalen Hurts did his job. Hurts took what the defense gave him and found top targets DeVonta Smith, Zach Ertz and Kenny Gainwell often.
However, the offense is still seemingly unbalanced in terms of run/pass. 19 total runs called and Hurts was the leading rusher (again). Moving forward I still think the Eagles should try to get the run game going a little earlier which could help set up those RPOs to be even more effective when called.
2) Gainwell RB1
Many Eagles fans felt Kenny Gainwell would be a nice “change of pace” or compliment to Miles Sanders but thus far in the season it’s seemed like Gainwell has gotten a lot more reps than originally expected. Gainwell rushed for 3 carries for 31 yards and a TD while adding 6 catches for 58 yards. The stats don’t tell it all, but Gainwell also seemed to be relied upon in high leverage situations such as when the team was in the red zone. These could be subtle hints at the use of the rookie as the season goes on and the future of Miles Sanders.
3) This Defense and JG looks funny in the light
Besides Javon Hargrave. the defense has looked rough the first three weeks of the season and this game was no different. In fact, it seemed worse especially when it came to run defense. The defense got gashed for 200 total rushing yards and seemed to give up every third and short they were faced with.
It seemed like a lot of the issues came when the Eagles defense was in nickel personnel. The KC offensive line was able to get up to the second level and the linebackers did not fare well in reading the play or shedding blocks. The “bend but don’t break” mantra is great in theory, but if the defense continues to bend AND break, it is going to be a long season.
4) Red zone offense still looks rough
Last week Sirianni apologized for the mishaps in the red zone and unfortunately they did not get much better this week. Starting off 1-4 in the red zone, came about due to odd calls, poor play and mistakes. Though the Eagles eventually were able to score touchdowns in the red zone the lack of execution early on seems like it will be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
5) The Eagles are undisciplined
Leading the league in the penalties coming into the game and adding a handful more, with most being costly in high leverage situations, is not a winning recipe. Josh Sweat finally gets a sack but there’s an illegal contact penalty. Eagles get a touchdown in the red zone but it’s negated by an offensive pass interference penalty. Oh let’s not forget the obligatory Derek Barnett big penalty, after he hit Mahomes late and low.
These types of mistakes whether fair or not point to coaching. They have to figure out how to hold their players accountable and reign in the mistakes. Until then there will be much of the same, the Eagles shooting themselves in the foot on both sides of the ball.
The Eagles head into next weeks matchup with the Carolina Panthers at 1-3. This game featured some things for the offense to build off of. Jalen Hurts played his best game if the season and DeVonta Smith broke the 100-yard receiving mark for the first time in his NFL career. The defense will have to get things tightened up if the Eagles want to have any chance at truly competing and contending for a playoff spot.
Cover Image Credit: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
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