Eagles Struggling On Kickoffs With KaVontae Turpin Set To Arrive

PHILADELPHIA - Michael Clay knew what was coming so the Eagles special teams coordinator went the proactive route on the kickoff coverage during a 36-33 loss at Washington this past Sunday.

Braden Mann's opening kickoff didn't reach the landing zone giving the Commanders possession at the 40-yard line to start.

That was sandwiched by a final kickoff in which Washington returner Luke McCaffrey returned a short kick 29 yards to the Commanders' 38-yard line, something further exacerbated by Sydney Brown leaving early and tacking on five additional yards on what turned out to be the game-winning drive for Washington.

All told, McCaffrey returned six kicks for 184 yards, 30.7 yards per clip with a long of 47.

"I guess I'll start off by saying we didn't play well enough, special teams wise, especially in the coverage phase, primarily on kickoff coverage," Clay acknowledged. "We put our defense in terrible situations.

"One, starting off the game with a penalty. Not what our standard is and then coming back and letting them have a big return. So again, just for us, from a special teams standpoint, there had been some good instances in that game, but overall, wasn't up to our standard."

The frigid temperatures played a part in Braden Mann's short kickoffs but the weather likely isn't changing the rest of the season in the Northeast.

Clay doesn't seem ready to make a change either and flip the kickoff duties back to placekicker Jake Elliott.

"[Mann has] just done a great job all year [on kickoffs]," Clay said. "I think you could say the last game against Washington probably was his worst one of the year. But Braden's done an unbelievable job for us, both on punts and kickoffs, to give us a chance to cover. We don't want to make a rash decision because he has done a really good job for us going forward."

Everything is on the table, though.

"A lot of that has to do with, you know, can we preserve Jake going forward? And Braden does have a very strong leg.," Clay said. "He's always had that going from college, but it's always a topic discussion week by week. So again, you know, we may switch it up. We may not."

The NFL has a way of exposing weaknesses and this Sunday's game against Dallas brings with it perhaps the best kick returner in the NFL in the Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin.

"We got to be better, especially as we're ending this regular season and getting into playoff football-time mode, especially going against Dallas," Clay said. "We all know KaVontae Turpin is a dangerous returner, but not up to our standards when we played against Washington."

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