Inside the Iggles
FanSided

Philadelphia Eagles: The good and the bad against the Colts

By Jordan Sutton

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Tight end Dallas Goedert #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with teammates tight end Josh Perkins #83 and quarterback Carson Wentz #11 after making a catch for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Tight end Dallas Goedert #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with teammates tight end Josh Perkins #83 and quarterback Carson Wentz #11 after making a catch for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 23: Wide receiver Nelson Agholor #13 of the Philadelphia Eagles carrieas the ball against cornerback Nate Hairston #27 of the Indianapolis Colts during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 23: Wide receiver Nelson Agholor #13 of the Philadelphia Eagles carrieas the ball against cornerback Nate Hairston #27 of the Indianapolis Colts during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

The Bad

It was mentioned earlier, but there were plenty of things the Eagles need to improve upon in order to be championship caliber. One of which is getting the wide receivers more involved in the passing game. The only two receivers to catch passes were Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews, and the combined total was only six catches for 45-yards. Every other completion was to either a tight end or a running back.

Hopefully, Alshon Jeffery will be cleared to play soon, but until then, someone needs to establish themselves on the outside. All of that won’t matter though if the Eagles don’t give Wentz time to throw. Wentz was sacked five times and took eight additional hits on Sunday. One of those sacks resulted in a fumble that gave the Colts the ball in the red zone. The offensive line showed that they could be the best in football last year. They need to re-establish that dominance in order to climb back to the top.

Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles /

Philadelphia Eagles

Defensively, the unit only gave up 16 points, but they continue to give up chunk plays to opposing teams. On Sunday, they gave up 22 and 29-yard pass plays, as well as the 33-yard scramble by Luck.

Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they gave up massive chunk plays as well. In order to be an elite defense (which they can be), they need to eliminate those types of plays.

They especially need to eliminate those plays on third down. Included in that are penalties that go for big yardage. Everyone knows that the defense can do it, it’s just a matter of executing it.

Summing it up

At the end of the day, a win is a win. It wasn’t the prettiest, but good teams find a way to win, and that’s what the Eagles did. There were definitely some encouraging things shown on Sunday and things that need to be fixed. But the beautiful thing is, is that it is still very early.

If this was happening in week 15 or 16, then there might be some concern. There shouldn’t be any doubt that the coaching staff will be able to figure this out and maximize the things the team is doing well and minimize the things they aren’t. And to anyone that might be worried, just remember how last year started. I’d say that things turned out pretty well.

Home/Eagles News