Out to ‘be better,’ Eagles regrouping for Buffalo trip
PHILADELPHIA >> The Eagles didn’t waste time Tuesday with accusing each other of being late to meetings, parking in the wrong spaces and failing to share their smoothies.
Instead they took a collective look in the mirror. And they saw ghosts, much like quarterback Sam Darnold did while throwing four interceptions in the Jets’ Monday night football loss to the New England Patriots.
The Eagles handed the Dallas Cowboys a 37-10 victory Sunday evening. It was their third straight loss to the Cowboys and their fifth in the last seven meetings. The Eagles are 13-12 since their Super Bowl 52 win over the Patriots.
“We’ve got a lot of prideful guys,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “I don’t think anybody feels good about where we are. I think everybody is taking a hard look at themselves and we’ll see how we respond tomorrow in practice.”
The Eagles (3-4) were beaten in every phase by the Cowboys (4-3), who never looked back after forcing turnovers on the first two Philly possessions.
Coordinator Jim Schwartz’s defense was systematically dismantled by quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Zeke Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
“You know me, we’re bottom line not good enough to win,” Schwartz said Tuesday afternoon. “That’s not just the linebackers, that’s not just the defensive tackles or the corner, or nickel position. That’s us as a defensive unit, that is us as a team. But that’s part of what the NFL is, is having injuries, replacing guys. It’s part of the challenge that we love as coaches and part of the opportunity for players. We just weren’t good enough. We have to be better.”
The Eagles need to get over all of their excuses in a hurry because their next opponent, the Buffalo Bills (5-1), have the second-best record in the AFC. Yes, only the Patriots (7-0) are better.
Coached by Sean McDermott, who succeeded the late Jim Johnson as defensive coordinator of the Eagles, the Bills are 2.5-point favorites Sunday at New Era Field.
For just the second time in the past six games, the Eagles won’t be facing a formidable quarterback. Josh Allen has seven touchdown passes, seven interceptions and 15 sacks in five starts.
But Allen (6-5, 238) leads the Bills with three rushing touchdowns, and ageless running back Frank Gore provides enough wiggle room to help a defense that allows just 15.1 points per game.
The Eagles spent Tuesday getting after the film of their debacle in Dallas, getting their minds right for the week and checking out the Bills. The good news to Jenkins is he saw teammates playing hard and determined, albeit with too many mistakes.
“For the most part I thought we competed well,” Jenkins said. “I thought Zeke ran the ball really, really well. He fell forward almost every single time. That’s what makes him Zeke.”
Head coach Doug Pederson touched on accountability, only without the details offered after the Cowboys loss by offensive tackle Lane Johnson, who felt teammates weren’t being honest while on the clock because some weren’t making meetings on time and detailing their work.
“Anything when it comes to accountability starts with those in leadership positions, starts at the top and trickles down and is executed and perpetuated by the team,” Jenkins said. “At the end of the day it’s just about preparation and playing hard.”
Interestingly, Jenkins mentioned Orlando Scandrick’s missed tackle on the first Cowboys TD as a killer. Scandrick was released Monday.
“That’s really a one-on-one tackle that he’s got to make in space against one of the more elusive guys in the league,” Jenkins said. “You’ve got to find a way to get him on the ground.”
Schwartz has his fingers crossed that cornerbacks Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc could soon return to action. The coach isn’t ready to hand the job to Sidney Jones, who didn’t play a defensive snap Sunday.
Jenkins was asked how the Eagles turned the season around last year after sputtering to a 3-4 start, which turned into a 6-7 start, a 3-0 finish and a victory in the playoffs.
“I think we had a real change on both sides of the ball,” Jenkins said. “Nick Foles coming in obviously changed a lot of what we did offensively. Defensively we really had to change schematically because of the personnel that we had out there. We went to a very, very simple scheme.”
Foles isn’t coming back. Not for the Eagles, anyway. He could be back in action soon for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Eagles pass rush that bailed out the secondary and linebackers last year is AWOL, although injuries have hit there.
“It is what it is,” Jenkins said. “I wish I could snap my fingers and make a difference. We’ve got to figure out how to win with what we’ve got.”