Philadelphia Eagles: Week 16 game balls, 7 disappointments

The Philadelphia Eagles are paying some of these players top salaries.

Dud: Malik Jackson and Javon Hargrave, Defensive Tackle

The major reasons that both of these guys were brought in was to make this defensive front dominant and help Fletcher Cox in the Eagles’ rotation. For most of the season, we saw this pass rush generate pressure be the stuff of nightmares for opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, but as soon as Cox left the game in Week 16, the pass rush and energy almost disappeared completely.

With the amount of money that this team has invested in both Hargrave and Jackson, the pressure should’ve not dropped off at all, but it did and heavily. The design scheme behind building such a stout defensive line was to help the struggling secondary from getting beat over the top, but as all fans saw in Week 16, the lack of pressure allowed Dalton to look like a hero of generations. It wasn’t a good look for the most expensive defensive front in the NFL.

Dud: Nickell Robey-Coleman, Cornerback

Remember when Philly fans were excited to have Nickell Robey-Coleman added to the Eagles secondary? Well, you may have forgotten that feeling thanks to the garbage film he’s crafted this season. Hopefully, his time in Philly is over after one more game.

Dud: Michael Jacquet, Cornerback

Many fans were intrigued by what the rookie cornerback was able to do against the Arizona Cardinals receivers, but that’s all a distant memory now as Michael Jacquet was beaten so badly by the Cowboys receivers that the announcing team for this game begged for the camera crew to stop showing his face. Philly’s regular-season finale might be his final game as a professional.