October 25, 2015
The Eagles were pretty lucky to only trail by eight points at halftime. They played better in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. The Eagles fell to 3-4 and lost to the undefeated Carolina Panthers, 27-16. Here’s what I saw:
• Just when the Eagles badly needed it, Ryan Mathews came up huge. Trailing 21-6, Luke Kuechly overran an inside run and Mathews did the rest (making former Eagles safety Kurt Coleman whiff in the process) for a 63-yard touchdown.
• Byron Maxwell deserves some criticism for tonight (see below), but great concentration on the third-quarter interception that bounced off a Carolina receiver’s hands. He was beaten on the route, but credit to Maxwell for making the play.
• I don’t understand why some people can’t give Cam Newton any credit. He’s not in the top tier of quarterbacks, but the guy seems to do pretty well for himself with a bad group of weapons.
• Excellent challenge by Chip Kelly to get Kuechly’s pass interference call overturned. We can all admit the Eagles got pretty lucky there, though. It ultimately didn’t matter.
• How many critical drops can this receiving corps have? With the Eagles down 21-13 in the third quarter, Bradford made a very good throw in the back of the end zone. Of course the ball bounced off Josh Huff’s hands. Seven points turns into three just like that.
• It’s not entirely clear why DeMarco Murray was in the game on the series after Mathews broke the long touchdown run. I understand the idea of rotating backs, but maybe it would’ve been wiser to feed the hot hand?
• Critical 3rd and 9, and a bubble screen to Josh Huff when Bradford had started to heat up? I’m not sure that play has worked once all year. Caleb Sturgis missed the ensuing 50-yard field goal, which I’m not sure is his fault. Kelly probably has to get the Eagles in a more manageable fourth-down situation there. Or just go for it anyway.
• Speaking of that bubble screen, has a team in NFL history gotten so little out of so many passes behind the line of scrimmage? Whether that is on Chip (the personnel is his responsibility, as well), Bradford, or a combination of both, the Eagles give away way too many plays.
• Without Jason Peters, the offensive line started to show some cracks late in the game. Matt Tobin, the new left tackle, was beat by Jared Allen for a key sack. For awhile, I though the unit did as good of a job as you could reasonably expect, though.
• The Eagles’ run defense has been excellent all season, but Carolina had a lot of success against them: 33 carries for 204 yards.
• Malcolm Jenkins needs to wrap Mike Tolbert up, but man, Maxwell had the Panthers fullback dead to rights at about the four-yard line. He completely whiffed, a pathetic effort by this offseason’s big signing. At least Asante Samuel could really cover, right?
I think this was an attempt at a tackle? pic.twitter.com/obKSCvPqvC
— Mike Tunison (@xmasape) October 26, 2015
• Kawann Short legitimately sacked Bradford because his sleeves were too long. That’s pretty funny when you think about it.
• Seven drops by the Eagles receivers, and I think it’s fair to call them one of the few worst groups in the league at this point. Scheme and culture did not beat talent tonight.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
