Peters has direct line to Birds’ problems

PHILADELPHIA >> Jason Peters has been a line anchor for 14 years. He’s played 181 NFL games, through injuries and a knee surgery last year. When he sees a problem on the football field, he is trained in the art of not only identifying it, but blocking it out in a hurry.

For Peters, however, one major problem that has played a part in the Eagles’ worrisome 2-3 start to the season isn’t easily correctable, at least not right now. He knows that all too well, since it’s him.

“I’ve got to do better myself, and it’s all the way across,” Peters said after the Birds dropped an ugly, 23-21 decision to the Minnesota Vikings. “I’m going to get with my guys and we’re going to finish. Every game we’re going to finish. We won’t ever quit; make sure we can keep Carson (Wentz) as clean as we can, picking up everything.

“But I’ve got to play better and it’s all the way across the line. I take accountability for everything that happened today. I’m just trying to give everything that I have, every play and we get down like that, the guys are pass-rushing and Carson’s trying to make a play, we have to keep them off him.”

Peters had another subpar game and wasn’t alone on an Eagles offensive line that simply isn’t creating enough holes for the running game but is creating paths for opposing rushers to earn their money. Speaking of which, Wentz went 24 of 35 for 311 yards and a couple of passing touchdowns, but he was also sacked three times for losses of 28 yards.

Playing at left tackle next to newly starting guard Isaac Seumalo, Peters acknowledged he could have been more help to the guy replacing Stefan Widniewski. Seumalo promptly declined all interview requests and stalked off into the night after the game.

As for Peters? He recounted the events of the night while sitting down.

“I’m getting my legs up under me as I go but it’s tough,” Peters said. “Coming off an ACL/MCL, playing 80-some plays a game. I’m out there rolling, giving what I’ve got. But there’s a little rust on me.”

That’s been evident for weeks, as has the malaise (some would call it Super Bowl hangover) which has manifested itself in mistakes in various spots. Nowhere have they been more visible than on the offensive line, however. The mistakes were numerous on this day, starting with the Wentz sack that aborted the first Eagles possession, to the Wentz sack in the second quarter that was recovered by Minnesota’s very hefty nose tackle Linval Joseph.

Perhaps the Eagles didn’t realize that this Minnesota Michelin Man can run like the wind. He did so for 64 yards, giving the Vikings a 10-3 second-quarter lead.

“We definitely have to soulsearch,” Peters said. “We’ve got to dig down and we’re going to see what we’re made of. We can lay down and tuck our tails, or we can man-up and become champions.”

Replay the Joseph touchdown and it reveals a strip sack by Minnesota’s defensive end Stephen Weatherly, who beat Lane Johnson on the way to stripping Wentz as he was about to throw the ball.

Peters may think the line’s poor collective performance started with him, but he had company.

“I’m the first one,” Johnson said. “There are no excuses. We played a lot of football in this league. We just have to do a better job. We had plenty of chances to win this game; to come back. As ugly as it was we had many chances. It starts with me and we’ll start winning football games.

“We’re not being us right now.”

This Eagles stumble from the season gate is hardly a one-trick pony of a problem, however. Curious penalties are killing the Birds, the most curious on this day being a roughing the passer call on Michael Bennett which certainly wouldn’t have been called last season before another low-ball adjustment to the rules.

“I think it was a bad call,” Fletcher Cox said. “Mike gently brought him to the ground. Kirk (Cousins) let his legs go down and the call (happens). What can we do? Play the next play.”

Instead, Cousins quarterbacked the Vikings right into the end zone two plays later, good for a 17-3 lead at halftime.

Part of the problem with making so many mistakes is the Eagles have had so much trouble making up for those mistakes.

“Losing sucks,” Cox said, “especially for our team with the talent that we have and the group of guys that we have in this locker room. We know the type of ability that we have. We have to put it all together.”

Certainly that has to be a team-wide effort, but considering the pressure Wentz had to perform under again and the added fact that no Eagles running back reached 30 yards on the day ... the effort to put it all together really should start with the offensive line.

“Last year was last year,” Peters said. “We lost guys in free agency, we have a quarterback coming off an injury, I’m coming off an injury. We’ve got (Darren) Sproles coming off an injury. It’s a different team. We’re just shooting ourselves in the foot right now.”