Pederson says it’s time to re-assess his team
Only once in the Doug Pederson era have the Eagles run more offensive plays in a game than they did Sunday.
They rained 89 plays on the Chicago Bears.
During the 2017 season the Eagles launched 91 plays in the game where Carson Wentz tore his ACL and Nick Foles came out of the bullpen to rally them to victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Eagles got 22 points against the Bears. They dropped 43 on the Rams.
Eighty-nine snaps against any defense, even the old Steel Curtain, better net you more points. And it’s not going to get any easier for the Eagles to score points, as their next opponent is the New England Patriots, when both teams return from their bye and meet Nov. 17 at the Linc.
“The challenge this week as a staff is to go back and just assess and re-evaluate and really break down these first nine games and really look at it with open eyes, honestly,” Doug Pederson said. “We’re not gameplanning this week, so we get a chance to do that. I think out of this, we have to find consistency, especially in our passing game. We have to find a common thread there and we have to see what’s been the breakdown.
“You have to be able to target an area, and then say OK, here is our plan to fix it. These next couple days will be important for us to make those decisions and try to be a little more consistent moving forward.”
Statistically the Patriots It’s not like Eagles coach Doug Pederson, right in this shot with on-field student Derek Barnett, plans to suit up himself anytime soon. But he does plan on spending the bye week looking for answers to make his 5-4team playoff worthy down the stretch drive.
were playing defense for the ages until being shredded, 37-20, by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night.
The Patriots (8-1) and the 1942 Bears are the only NFL teams to shut out an opponent on the road by
30 or more points twice in one season. The Eagles (54) should be able to learn something from the Baltimore tape.
The Ravens gashed the Patriots for 372 yards, including 210 on the ground. The Ravens produced two
epic 14-play TD drives in the second half. Teaching points, all.
Either way the Eagles will learn something about themselves when they play the Patriots, still the oddson favorites to secure the Lombardi Trophy.
“You’ll know. You will know,” Eagles veteran Brandon Graham said. “I mean, I like where we’re at. I feel like we can play with everybody. But we’ve got to believe that and we’ve got to continue to play hard. At the end of the day I just
want us to play together, give ourselves a chance.”
•••
The Eagles announced on Twitter that wide receiver DeSean Jackson will have surgery on a core muscle injury they say he sustained in Week Two against the Atlanta Falcons.
Jackson sat out six games before returning to practice this week. He was available for just four plays in the
22-14 win over the Bears, catching a five-yard pass and drawing a defensive pass interference penalty.
Jackson likely will go on injured reserve following the procedure.
It’s possible the Eagles will add help at the wide receiver position, which has given them very little help outside of Jackson’s first game.
“At this point it’s something we’ll take a look at,” Pederson said. “It’s real. We’re sort of at the halfway point, a little over a game over the halfway point of our season and we have time this week to make these decisions.”
••• Pederson said the left offensive tackle job belongs to Jason Peters, when he gets healthy.
That despite the encouraging play of rookie firstround pick Andre Dillard. The Eagles gave Dillard help Sunday against the Bears. He gave up one of the Bears’ four sacks of Carson Wentz.
Dillard is progressing enough that it’s hard to believe the Eagles would make a change.
“I think moving forward, something we’ll evaluate this week, I’ve been really impressed with Andre, No.
1,” Pederson said. “Gosh, he had another good game yesterday with these two pass rushers, Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd. He played well. I do think when JP is healthy and comes back, I still think it’s JP’s position moving forward.”
Consider that a sign of respect for the 37-year-old Peters, who’s in his 16th NFL season.
•••
The Eagles face the two top quarterbacks in the league when they get back from the bye.
After hosting the GOAT, Tom Brady and the Patriots, in two weekends the Eagles entertain Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (7-2).
Wilson is scorching hot, having throws 22 touchdown passes against just one interception. He leads the league with a passer rating of 118.2. He has 18 touchdown passes and zero interceptions in his last eight road starts and nine consecutive road games with a passer rating of 110 or higher, the most in NFL history.
Wilson has a passer rating of 124.8 on the road, also tops in the league.