Written By: Jason Hu
Edited By: Slavko Glumicic
It was only a few years ago that the Philadelphia Eagles were hoisting the Lombardi trophy and celebrating the franchise’s first Superbowl Championship. They were sitting atop the league after beating the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl 52. Nick Foles was Super Bowl MVP, Doug Pederson was regarded as one of the great young minds in the game, and the eagles had arguably the best offence in the league. Fast-forward to the 2020-2021 NFL season, Nick Foles is on the Bears, Doug Pederson is on the hot seat, Carson Wentz is playing like a below-average quarterback and the eagles have a bottom 10 offense. The Eagles currently have a 3-8-1 record and are struggling to win in the worst division in football. What happened to the Eagles, and who and what is responsible for it?
Injuries
The Eagles have been ravaged by injuries the past several years. In 2018, the eagles ranked first in adjusted games lost (AGL) with 118.5 and ranked twelfth in 2019 with 84.4. Injuries hit especially hard in 2019, as they lost their WR1, WR2, WR3, TE1, RB1 and RB2. The 2020 season is more of the same.
The eagle’s wide receiver core has suffered multiple key injuries to guys like Alshon Jeffery, Jalen Reagor, Dallas Goedert and DeSean Jackson. Due to these injuries, the quality of weapons available to Wentz is always poor. The Eagles leading receiver right now is Travis Fulgham, with only 467 receiving yards.
The offensive line has been unable to provide Wentz much protection this season due to all the significant injuries. They looked good on paper before the season started, with Andre Dillard, Issac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson as projected starters, but before the season could even kick off, Dillard, Johnson and Brooks were all lost due to injury. The Eagles o-line suffered even more injuries as the season progressed, with Jack Driscoll and Jason Peters having to sit out games. Due to this, the Eagles o-line has seen 10 different offensive line combinations. They have given up a league-leading 46 sacks and 132 pressures.
Carson Wentz
It was not that long ago when Carson Wentz was regarded as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. In 2017 Wentz was an MVP candidate, and had led the Eagles to an 11-2 record before going down with an ACL injury. He had 33TD and only 7INT.
Things have certainly changed in 2020. Wentz has 16TD and a league leading 15INT, everything seems to be going wrong for the 27-year-old. First off, Wentz has major issues with turnovers. In addition to his 15INT, he has fumbled the ball 10 times. Wentz has the most total fumbles since entering the league, even ahead of Jameis Winston. Wentz’s decision making is also an issue right now, as he is throwing into coverage and attempting way too many risky passes.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wentz is leading the league in Turnover Worthy Plays with 23, the next most is 13 as of Nov 2nd which reflects his bad decision making. He has also thrown 30 interceptable passes. Wentz has huge accuracy issues too, as he ranks 31st in percentage of on target throws and completion percentage. The regression from his MVP calibre season has been dramatic and the offense is hurting because of it. The Eagles depended on Wentz last season and he came through, but now due to his fall from grace, the Eagles may be on the outside looking in come the postseason.
Doug Pederson
Like Wentz, many people looked at Doug Pederson as one of the top individuals in his profession not too long ago. People applauded the fact that he beat Bill Belichick in the Superbowl with Nick Foles under centre. In addition, he overcame an injury to Wentz in 2018, almost leading Philly over the Saints in the divisional playoff round and, in 2019, he overcame more injuries and drove the team into the playoffs.
Fast-forward to this season, Doug Pederson is currently on the hot seat for how this season has gone, and many questions are being asked; Why is Wentz regressing under his watch? Why is the offense so bad? Why aren’t they safely sitting atop the horrible NFC East? People are questioning why Pederson is not utilizing the run game more. The Eagles are tied for first in yards per carry, yet have a 64-36 pass-run ratio, 3rd highest in the league. If the passing game is not working, why is Pederson not turning to his run game?
The failures of the offense largely lie in Pederson’s hands. Offense is supposed to be Pederson’s specialty but, the offense currently ranks 25th in points per game. The offense is lacking creativity and does not at all resemble the 2017 Eagles offense.
Pederson’s belief in Wentz has also been questioned. When asked by a reporter if he were going to start Wentz against the Seahawks, he hesitated for a bit before confirming he would start. With Joe Judge getting an inferior Giants team to first in the division and Ron Rivera’s Washington Football Team playing hard, Pederson is looking very bad right now as he is getting out-coached by two of his divisional contemporaries.
Howie Roseman
Howie Roseman built a Superbowl winning roster in 2017. He did a good job acquiring important pieces like Alshon Jeffery, Jay Ajayi, LeGarette Blount and Superbowl MVP Nick Foles. In addition, he drafted a very good tight end in Zach Ertz and an integral part of the Eagles o-line, Lane Johnson.
Following the Eagles 2017 Super Bowl victory, Roseman has made questionable decisions, and has not given the team much talent to work with. Roseman’s struggles are mainly with drafting. Since 2013, he has only drafted 1 pro bowler, Carson Wentz. Rosman’s poor drafting decisions have been highlighted in recent drafts. In 2017, he missed on basically all his picks, and has gotten next to no production out of them, most notably Derek Barnett. In 2019, he picked JJ Arcega-Whiteside over D.K Metcalf, who has 1119 yards receiving so far this season. He moved up to grab Andre Dillard who struggled when thrusted into the line-up. He also acquired DeSean Jackson — a guy who has continuously missed games — re-signed an aging and banged up Alshon Jeffery, and gave up a 3rd rounder for Golden Tate who did not fit the offense. The Eagles GM has also been criticized for not giving up picks and finding a way to acquire an all-world wideout in DeAndre Hopkins, knowing the team is lacking offensive weapons.
Conclusion
The Eagles must decide who to keep and who to get rid of. Changes are coming for the Philadelphia Eagles franchise, and they will be an interesting team to keep an eye on in the offseason. They must figure out how to fix this team soon, or they will be trapped in the basement of the NFL for a long, long time.
Jason Hu
References
Haff, Shane. (2020, September 5) Evaluating Eagles Draft Classes Under Howie Roseman Retrieved December 7th, 2020 from https://thepaintedlines.com/evaluating-eagles-draft-classes-under-howie-roseman/
Jones, Kaelen. (2020, September 4) Just What, Is Wrong With Carson Wentz and the Eagles? Retrieved December 6th ,2020 from https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/9/24/21453445/carson-wentz-eagles-offense-problems
Pro Football Reference. (2020, December 7) 2020 Philadelphia Eagles Statistics and & Players Retrieved December 7th, 2020 from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/2020.htm
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