Moribund Eagles Offense Fails to Make the Grade Against Seahawks
PHILADELPHIA - The defense clawed and fought but a moribund Eagles offense couldn't carry its weight in a 23-17 loss to Seattle on Monday night.
The Eagles (3-7-1) managed just 250 yards of total offense and 180 passing yards against a Seahawks defense that came in No. 32 in the NFL in both total defense, allowing 434.9 yards-per-game, and passing defense, surrendering 343.7 YPG.
A good chunk of that number also came on a garbage-time touchdown late in the game which ended with a 33-yard Carson Wentz to Richard Rodgers Hail Mary long after things were decided.
Talk of a move from Wentz to Jalen Hurts never materialized but will certainly not let up moving forward.
Wentz was sacked six times and has now been put down a league-high 46 times behind the 10th different incarnation of an offensive line in 11 games.
Here are the grades for the Eagles' latest lackluster performance:
Drama - F: The drama over the past week continues pre-game when a report surfaced that Jeffery Lurie was the one who ordered the turn toward Hurts if Wentz continued to struggle.
Well, Wentz continued to struggle with his touch, accuracy, and confidence, finishing 25-for-45 for 215 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, the latter on a key fourth-and-four play in Seattle's red zone in the fourth quarter when he and Dallas Goedert weren't on the same page.
The talk of a move to Hurts will only ramp up after this performance and now that we are essentially two-thirds of the way through the season it's hard to imagine the light turning on for Wentz at this point.
That said, the drama turned about to be a big dud as Hurts was used like he always is, sparingly and ineffectively.
Wentz-Hurts Dynamic - F: The time-tested cliche in the NFL is if you think you have two quarterbacks, you really don't have any. That's where the trademarked quarterback factory is right now. Heck, you might as well give Nate Sudfeld a chance. He actually knows the offense and presumably isn't having a crisis of confidence.
When Hurts is on the field it does nothing more than halt the non-existent Wentz momentum. On one occasion Hurts ran on the field, saw Wentz in the huddle, and tried to run off forcing Doug Pederson to call time out.
A dual-quarterback system has never worked in the NFL so even dreaming of it seems ludicrous.
Stopping D.J. - F: Darius Slay took issue with former Washington running back Clinton Portis saying the Eagles didn't have the type of cornerbacks to stop king-sized Seattle receiver D.K. Metcalf. Well, Portis was right. Slay fought admirably but Metcalf had his way, catching 10 balls on 13 targets for 177 yards.
"I put that game on me," Slay said. "This is by far the worst game I've ever played in this league. Props to (Metcalf). He played his ass off. I've got to get better."
The Eagles WRs - F: There are no fans allowed into Lincoln Financial Field these days and the television view just doesn't do justice to just how little separation the receivers get.
And when they do, like Alshon Jeffery with just under four minutes left in the game, Wentz is typically inaccurate.
It's an ugly chicken-and-the-egg conundrum for this offense. Wentz targeted tight ends Dallas Goedert and Richard Rodgers a combined 16 times and that was the only efficacy the QB had.
The top receiver targeted was Jalen Reagor and most of the hookups there were manufactured nonsense.
Third Downs - C+: The Eagles came into this game 2-for-21 on third downs over the past two contests and the futility continued to pile up when Philadelphia started 0-for-5 until Wentz converted on a third-and-two with a short pass to Miles Sanders with 2:46 left in the first half.
The Eagles converted four more in a row from there and finished 8-of-17 overall, a respectable number, and the 8-of-12 after the 0-for-5 start is darn good.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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