5 Reasons Ryan Mathews cant be blamed for the Eagles losing in Detroit

 2. Settling for three and not getting seven

One of the worst things about what we’ve seen from the Eagles in the past few seasons has been the inability of this team to cash in with seven points on trips they’ve made into the red zone. Yesterday, some of that was brought back to the surface. Although it was great to see kicker Caleb Sturgis come through when needed (consistent kicking was another issue that needed to be fixed), this team has to come up with touchdowns when they pass the other team’s twenty yard line. Three points isn’t going to do it against some of the teams the Eagles will be facing this year.

With the screen game ineffective, Philadelphia needed the tight ends and receivers to step up. Instead, they got drops on third down. Nelson Agholor and Trey Burton couldn’t come up with some catches that would have kept drives going, and Dorial Green-Beckham should have been able to snag one in the end zone that was thrown his way in the fourth quarter. The Eagles kept settling for three points. Eventually, that meant the Lions would be able to take the lead late in the game with a Matt Prater field goal. Had they needed seven, we may be discussing a different outcome.