Philadelphia Eagles Can’t Hang With Wilson, Seattle

Dec 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) eludes the pass rush of Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox (91) during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t quite ready to take that next step and join the NFL’s elite.

That isn’t to say they can’t join the elite later this year (and early in 2015), but Sunday, well, no.

The Seattle Seahawks are on a roll and took it to the Philadelphia Eagles, winning this NFC clash at Lincoln Financial Field, 24-14. Seattle dominated the Philadelphia offense in handing the Eagles their fourth loss of the season, preventing the Birds from ever getting into a rhythm.

Defensively, the Birds were solid. Seattle struggled to get much going, as well, with the Eagles handling Marshawn Lynch and only giving up yardage on broken/extended plays made by Russell Wilson‘s legs.

But the offense, well, yikes. It was difficult to determine what exactly the Philadelphia Eagles and Chip Kelly were trying to do. They seemed disinterested in establishing the run. The passing attack was vanilla. It was, well, it was odd. Mark Sanchez threw the ball just 20 times, connecting on 10 passes, for only 96 yards, but when he looked downfield it sure seemed like opportunities were there. LeSean McCoy carried the ball only 17 times for 50 yards, but it sure looked like when the runs were called between the tackles, Shady could find and exploit a crack.

But instead of continuing to exploit those kinds of things, the Eagles ran a disjointed and largely ineffective series of plays. When time finally ran out, a 10-point loss felt like a 30-point blowout.

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Now, Philadelphia is 9-4 overall and will welcome the 9-4 Dallas Cowboys to the Linc next Sunday night. It’s a crucial game so far as the NFC East title is concerned, with the Eagles currently enjoying a tiebreaker over Dallas in both head-to-head play and divisional record. A win Sunday would just about wrap up the East while also going a long way toward helping us all forget about this debacle against Seattle.

The Eagles got on the board first thanks to a bobbled snap by Seattle punter Jon Ryan. Zach Ertz came up with the football and gave the offense possession at the Seattle 14, and the Eagles took it from there needing six plays before Mark Sanchez found Jeremy Maclin on a one-yard swing pass, making it 7-0 in the first quarter.

Seattle answered with its only touchdown of the first half early in the second quarter, when Russell Wilson kept the ball on a zone read and ran 26 yards untouched for the tying score. The Seahawks moved into field goal range to close the first half, taking a 10-7 lead on a 44-yard kick by Steven Hauschka.

While the Philadelphia defense played well enough to win in the first two quarters, the offense did anything but. Chip Kelly’s game plan seemed far too conservative and Mark Sanchez didn’t seem all that interested in throwing the ball down the field. The Eagles ran 23 plays in the first half and gained just 67 yards, with Sanchez just 4-for-9 for 28 yards. LeSean McCoy had 11 carries for 39 yards, as the running game was the most effective part of an underachieving offense.

Thankfully, the defense was solid, with the only breakdowns coming when Wilson extended plays and wore down the pass coverage. Seattle’s rushing game was well contained and Wilson often looked confused and frazzled by the coverages and a pass rush that prioritized keeping the scrambler locked inside the pocket.

But solid defense couldn’t bail the Eagles out to start the third quarter, as McCoy fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and set Seattle up with prime field position. Two plays later, Wilson found Marshawn Lynch wide open on a 17-yard pass and the Seahawks’ lead was 17-7.

Back came the Eagles, spurred on by a great kick return by Josh Huff that set them up near midfield. Sanchez hit Ertz on a 35-yard touchdown play and Philadelphia was back within 17-14.

Seattle, however, responded, thanks largely to a 44-yard pass interference call against Bradley Fletcher that was questionable at best. Doug Baldwin then beat Malcolm Jenkins for a 23-yard strike that made it 24-14.

The Eagles’ offense, however, stalled from there, with drives of 19 yards, -11 and -4 yards following the TD. Even a potential big break, when Lynch fumbled and Jenkins recovered at the Philadelphia 30, was rejected as Sanchez threw an interception on the very next play.

QUICK SIX OBSERVATIONS:

1) I’ve never seen Chip Kelly that animated on the sidelines. Ever. And it was all directed at the refs. The Eagles’ coach was giving that crew an earful throughout the game.

2) And rightfully so. That crew was awful. On the first Eagles’ possession, Brent Celek was crushed before Sanchez’s throw got there. No flag, yet later there seemed to be no issue throwing flags for holding on Brandon Boykin. And what was the deal with Russell Wilson being able to throw the ball when he’s two yards beyond the line of scrimmage, or Seattle linemen being able to charge 30 yards down the field before Wilson threw a pass? An abysmal job of officiating. That detracted from the game.

3) I was not at all a fan of Chip Kelly’s game plan. Way, way too conservative. There are ways to keep the Seahawks from getting turnovers on you, but choosing to not challenge them is an ineffective strategy. Very, very disappointing and, in my opinion, an indictment of Mark Sanchez. If Chip truly had faith in Sanchez, he let’s it loose.

4) I understood the strategy, the way the Eagles were rushing Wilson to not allow him out of the pocket, but it’s not a long-term success strategy if you have a lesser secondary. And the Eagles have a lesser secondary. Any success the Eagles have had this season has been based on the pass rush, forcing quarterbacks to make decisions before they wanted to. But if you trot out marginal players like Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher and then ask them to stay in pass coverage for eight-plus seconds, you’re asking for trouble.

5) Wow, if only Malcolm Jenkins had caught that Wilson pass in the fourth quarter, eh? He was gone. Pick six. It would have been 24-21 with plenty of time to go. Instead…

6) If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s this: The Eagles had chances, they had opportunities, and they left points on the field. All of that said, they lost to the defending Super Bowl champions who are finally beginning to play like champions with their second-string quarterback.