This time, nothing goes right in Minnesota for Eagles

The Eagles didn’t do much of anything right Sunday.

Even a trick play near the end of the half blew up in their faces in a 3820 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium, the venue where they introduced Bill Belichick to Philly-Philly.

The Eagles were so full of themselves they thought kicker Jake Elliott could get them a first down and another shot at the end zone even though they had no timeouts remaining and there was just 20 seconds left in the first half. SMH.

It was a systemic meltdown.

The secondary play was embarrassing, and not just by cornerback Rasul Douglas, who was beaten for touchdowns of 62 and 51 yards by Stefon Diggs. Douglas was looking for zone help on both of the scores. Malcolm Jenkins was the nearest safety.

Cornerback Sidney Jones was so overmatched the Eagles rolled him away from the one-onone matchups. You know you’re in trouble when you try to protect a starter.

Off the streets cornerback Craig James played with heart. Just not enough to keep Diggs from getting his third TD of the day.

In the absolutely humiliating department, the Eagles were beaten by Kirk Cousins, who threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns. Cousins improved to 5-27 against opponents with winning records. Don’t blame the production on linebacker Zack Brown, who gave teammates his scouting report of Cousins and then revealed it publicly, saying something akin to you want to make the guy beat you with his arm. Brown is right.

The Eagles let Cousins do it, which is indefensible. They got the human turnover machine to give the ball away just once.

The Eagles are 3-3 this season with road games at Dallas and Buffalo before a homestand with Chicago, New England and Seattle. The Eagles are just 8-9 in Carson Wentz’s last 17 starts. Wentz hasn’t won more than three games in a row since a nine-game win streak during the 2017 Super Bowl season.

Wentz threw for 306 yards, touchdowns to Miles Sanders and Alshon Jeffery, and one interception. He could have had three picks.

Sure, Wentz played without the injured DeSean Jackson and Darren Sproles, and for the majority of game, left offensive tackle Jason Peters, who hurt a knee. Rookie left tackle Andre Dillard was run over by Everson Griffen the first time he dropped back in pass protection.

But let’s be honest about this. If you allocate the lions share of your payroll to offense, as the Eagles have, you’re going to find yourselves shorthanded on the other side of the ball.

In that vein the Eagles look like the East Coast version of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles have a potentially elite quarterback, a Pro Bowl tight end in Zach Ertz, a solid running back in Sanders and a deep threat when Jackson is healthy.

On the defensive side, the Eagles have Graham, Fletcher Cox and Hassan Ridgeway. And that’s not enough to beat winning teams. The Eagles aren’t getting much of a return on their draft picks, particularly on defense.

Defensive end Derek Barnett hasn’t been nearly as dominant as you’d expect out of a first-round. Each week Jones is inching closer to second-round bust status. Douglas is good some weeks, not so good other weeks.

Jenkins is showing his age.

And Wentz threw a couple of tantrums in the fourth quarter with the Eagles trailing, 31-20, the ball at the 43-yard line of the Vikings.

The play clock running toward zero, Wentz clapped his hands together furiously, only to watch the flag thrown for delay of game, the snap too late. On third-and-eight from the 48, the play clock almost ran out again, and he was sacked by Eric Kendricks. The TV cameras showed Wentz angrily carrying on at the Eagles’ sideline.

Wentz also got into it with a Vikings defender who tried to strip the ball from him. All examples of misdirected aggression.

The Eagles need him to keep his head.

Especially the way the team has been constructed.

••• Observations around the league:

• Russell Wilson threw two more TD passes Sunday, giving him 14 on the season against no interceptions. Chris Carson ran one yard for a score with 3:30 left to lift the Seahawks to a 32-28 triumph over the Browns.

• Panthers quarterback, Kyle Allen is 5-0 as a starter, including 4-0 this season. With Christian McCaffrey limited to 31 yards on 22 carries, Allen threw two TD passes and no interceptions to stoke a 37-26 win over the Buccaneers in London. He’s the first quarterback to win his first four starts without throwing a pick.

• In the Win-Less Bowl, the Redskins prevailed, 1716, over the host Dolphins in Bill Callahan’s debut as interim coach when Ryan Fitzpatrick’s two-point pass with 10 seconds left fell incomplete.

Fitz-Magic marched the Dolphins 75 yards to give them a chance, connecting with Devante Parker for an 11-yard score.

In losing, the Dolphins stayed in the hunt for the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, which likely will be quarterback Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama.

• Marcus Mariota’s record streak of passes without an interception for the Titans ended at 202 Sunday against the Broncos.

• The TV cameras fingered the real culprits on Ka’imi Fairburn’s 46-yard field goal attempt that hooked left Sunday. The laces were facing him, the result of a bad delivery by Texans long-snapper Jonathan Weeks and zero adjustment by holder Bryan Anger.

You can’t kick the laces through the goal posts.

The Chiefs rebounded to tie the game but Deshaun Watson ran for a score with 6:17 left to spark the Texans (4-2) to their fourth victory in five games.

Contact Bob Grotz at bgrotz@21st-centurymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @BobGrotz.