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

3. Shooting themselves in the foot

There is a bright side to yesterday’s loss. This team has a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. There’s no other way to explain spotting an NFL team 14 points, scoring one less touchdown than your opposition, committing 14 penalties for 111 yards, losing a late fumble and still being in position to win a game on the road. Eagles fans should feel pretty good about this team going forward. We all knew there would be stumbling blocks. We just, for some reason, thought they’d all come from a rookie quarterback.

The officiating has been debated. Yes, there were calls that were made on guys who weren’t on the field. Yes, there was a play that was reviewed that, by rule, wasn’t a play the officials were allowed to review. You’re also absolutely right if you said you recognized this as the same officiating crew that gave the San Francisco 49ers an extra down once. Still, this is the NFL, and you can’t beat yourself. You can’t get to the quarterback, cause a sack and grab the quarterback’s face mask.

Fortunately, those are all things can be corrected.