With the many questions surrounding what this Philadelphia Eagles team is and what it isn’t heading into the fourth game of the season, there was never a question about the offense. The 3-0 start showed that, regardless of the start, the
Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles offense could get nothing going against the San Francisco 49ers.
Birds would and could generate points in a variety of ways. Of course they can–that’s Chip Kelly’s hallmark.
Enter the trip across country to San Francisco to face the 49ers on Sunday, a game that flipped the script of the Eagles’ season so far. Yes, there were highlights, one of which you’ll see below. Even with the offense’s inability to get anything going, the game was within grasp until the last moments of the game. But Philadelphia just couldn’t finish. A 91-yard drive starting at 6:35 in the fourth quarter could have gotten the lead and probably the game for Philadelphia. They got within in 1-yard of the goal line, but they couldn’t seal the deal and fell 21-26.
Ironically, the Eagles didn’t wait until the second half to put points on the board against San Francisco. They got to a quick start and lead the Niners 21-10 at the half, but generated a grand total of 0 points in the second.
Nick Foles’ stat line for the day wasn’t pretty: He was 21 for 43 and 195 with no TDs and two interceptions. Ouch. The Eagles could have used some help from their running game, except it didn’t exist and is going to continue to struggle with the battered offensive line. LeSean ran the ball 10 times for a paltry 17 yards. After the game he called the performance “embarrassing” and said he didn’t want to talk about anything having to do with the run game. Makes sense, but, you’re the running back…
The offense’s implosion came on a day when the defense was stout. They showed that they could contain a potent offense and finally got some pass rush going. Safety Malcolm Jenkins returned an interception 51-yards to account for 6 of the Eagles total 21 points, making him the first in that position since Brian Dawkins to garner an interception in three straight games.
Special teams was amazing and accounted for the other two Eagles touchdowns, both of which occurred in the first half: Brad Smith recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown, then our boy Darren Sproles ran in an 82-yard punt return.
Quick aside: Please tell me that someone from the Eagles has at least sent flowers to the Saints organization for the acquisition of Jenkins and Sproles, as both seem to be gifts that keep on giving.
The Eagles now fall to 3-1 with a lot of reason for hope, but a number of concerns as well. A performance just as this–for the defense and special teams to step up when the offense falters–illustrates exactly why football is a team sport. But when the offense doesn’t just sputter but totally fails, you have what we witnessed on Sunday. Amazingly, though, the Eagles almost won it.
When we have a week when all phases of the team are firing on all cylinders for the majority of the game, we are going to have something wonderful to behold. It will happen. Having the o-line back to health, when it happens, will help. Until then, keep those Tums nearby.
The first Monday of the season when we’re dealing with a loss. No Dunkin Donuts coffee. The hits just keep coming. Think about this play to make your day a little bit less brutal–Jeremy Maclin’s incredible diving one-handed catch in the drive that almost pulled the Eagles through.
