Eagles News: Fletcher Cox calls Panthers game “the worst loss I’ve ever had”

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Fourth-Quarter Collapse Leads To More Questions - PE.com
Somehow, a near-perfect three quarters unraveled in dramatic and disturbing fashion for the Eagles on Sunday, a 17-point lead gone in what seemed like an instant, and in the locker room after a crushing 21-17 loss at Lincoln Financial Field to the Carolina Panthers, the mood was disbelief. And disappointment. Resolve to bounce back, yes, but in the immediate aftermath of a 15-minute collapse, stunned dismay. “I don’t know what happened,” defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “They won the game. You’ve got to go back and watch it and see what happened, but we lost the game and it’s time to get back to the drawing board. This is the worst loss I’ve ever had. We were up 17-0 and they came back and kicked our (butt).”

Eagles v. Panthers: 20 winners, losers, and I dunnos - BGN
Carson’s the man. He had an absolutely spectacular day — the performance we’ve come to expect from our young quarterback, really. He has one of the fastest releases in the league, and the ball comes off his hand so hot, which lets him win those tight window throws up against the sideline or in the middle of the field. He was throwing folks open left and right today. Carson’s fantastic day was marred by his struggles to do too much — whether early in the game, with frantic throws under pressure, or later in the game, with ill-advised throws into the end zone. His career in close games (5 wins, 10 losses) and success rate on game-winning drives (3/12) both seem to illustrate that one of his bigger weaknesses is his play in decisive moments. But overall, what a stud.

The Kist & Solak Show #30: Eagles Blow Big Lead to Panthers - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak try to make sense of what happened in the Eagles stunning 21-17 loss after the Eagles started out on top 17-0. Winners, losers, more losers, and some blame to pass around in this Eagles-Panthers recap show!

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Panthers game - PhillyVoice
For the second time this season, the Eagles had a greater than 90 percent chance (per ESPN’s win probability graphs) of winning a football game, and they absolutely just gave it away. Against the Tennessee Titans earlier this season, the Eagles allowed three fourth down conversions on the Titans’ final drive in regulation, tying the game, before the Eagles eventually lost in overtime. Against the Panthers, the Eagles the Eagles again allowed a fourth and long (this time a 4th and 10) that extended a drive, eventually resulting in a go-ahead touchdown.

The Blame Game - Iggles Blitz
The real answer is that everyone blew the game. You can’t pick and choose angles. You have to look at the game in totality. Think about the offense. They put up 342 yards. They had 7 pass plays of 20 or more yards. But they still only scored 17 points. In a season when other teams are lighting up the scoreboard, the Eagles have struggled to score all year long. The offense needed to score more than 17 points. The defense was handed a 17-point lead. They were well-rested after the offense’s 9-minute drive. They were at home. They were facing a mediocre passing attack that didn’t have explosive WRs. The defense couldn’t come up with one stop in the 4th quarter. Not one single stop. Ronald Darby had a chance for an INT, but it would have required a sensational catch. Fletcher Cox had a chance for a sack, but couldn’t get his hands firmly on a QB that is brutally tough to take down. The defense had a chance on 4th and 10, but Jalen Mills slipped and that’s all Carolina needed to get a big play.

The day after: Inside the Eagles’ epic fourth-quarter collapse vs. the Panthers - The Athletic
“I’ve lost like 200 f***ing times in this league so this is down the line somewhere. I have no idea. This is down the line somewhere. It sucks, it sucks.” —Chris Long. Fletcher Cox said that this was the worst loss of his career. Long was asked if he agreed, and that was his brilliant response. What about Ertz? “It’s definitely up there,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’ve been in some losses where we really didn’t have a chance. This one hurts because we freaking had it. So I’ll say in terms of like gut-wrenching, this is freaking top two for sure, top three. There’s no other way to put it.”

Eagles’ late meltdown could come back to bite them - ESPN
The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense was pitching a shutout for three-plus quarters. In fact, it was the first time the Carolina Panthers had been blanked heading into the fourth under quarterback Cam Newton. But a late letdown led to a crushing 21-17 loss for the defending-champion Eagles, who fell to 3-4 and watched their playoff chances take a hit. “This one hurts because we freakin’ had it,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said. “In terms of gut-wrenching [losses], this if freakin’ top two, for sure, top three. That’s the only way to put it.”

Refocused, NFL Week 7: Carolina Panthers 21, Philadelphia Eagles 17 - PFF
This was a tough day for the Eagles’ corners. Jalen Mills was giving such a massive cushion all game that Panthers’ receivers were able to catch balls underneath and make him miss after the catch to gain extra yards. Ronald Darby was a little better, but he was completely fooled by Devin Funchess‘ slant-and-go that resulted in a touchdown in the fourth quarter. When the Eagles got pressure, it wasn’t a big deal, but once they stopped getting pressure, the Panthers really took advantage.

Week 7: On Benchings, Bad Calls and the Big Miss in Baltimore - FMIA
Translating all of this: After Colin Kaepernick (and others) kneeled and demonstrated during the anthem, some players—the Players Coalition—chose to meet with league officials and partner with them in a league-funded attempt (almost $90 million over seven years) to fund work by players in the area of sentencing reform and other social-justice work. Reid thought the Players Coalition sold out Kaepernick, who is still out of football in large part because of his political activism, and he called the coalition “an NFL-funded subversion group.” For players using their days off to go on police ride-alongs to calm tensions in some cities, or traveling to lobby their state legislators, imagine how it would feel to get belittled like that. And after Sunday’s game, Reid said Jenkins “sold us out.” There’s not much common ground there, it would seem. Except this is what Jenkins said after the game, while he was being ripped to shreds by Reid in a locker room down the hall under Lincoln financial Field: “Eric Reid is someone I’m rooting for [and] I’m very proud of—putting his livelihood on the line to fight for those who don’t have voices.” On Sunday, Jenkins seemed the bigger man though Reid was on the winning team.

Week 7 in the NFL: By Any Means Necessary - MMQB
Philly goes to London this week to face an equally desperate Jaguars team, in what feels a little like one of those old WWF loser-leaves-town matches. (Sorry, that Mahomes video has my mind back on ’80s pro wrestling). After the bye, the Eagles get the Cowboys and a trip to New Orleans. The upshot for Philly? The division isn’t exactly the SEC of pro football. Even with a sub-.500 mark, the Eagles are just a game off the pace being set by the Redskins.

Hold My Beer: The Terrible Ways That Losing Teams Outdid Each Other in Week 7 - The Ringer
This is just a classic collapse. The Eagles had a greater-than 97 percent chance to win this game in the third quarter, per NumberFire, indicating that just about everything had to go wrong for them to lose. And everything went wrong. Philly even was gifted the ball after an Eric Reid interception was overturned upon review—but it really doesn’t seem to me like the ball hit the ground.

Michael Bennett fined for roughing Eli Manning - PFT
Eagles defensive lineman Michael Bennett was not fined for a roughing the passer penalty in the team’s Week Five loss to the Vikings, but he did hear from the league about a penalty in their Week Six win over the Giants. PFT has confirmed with the league that Bennett has been fined $20,054 after being penalized for roughing Giants quarterback Eli Manning. The penalty came in the second quarter with the Giants deep inside Eagles territory and gave them a fresh set of downs after failing to convert on third down.

Jaguars quarterback position is ‘open’ says Doug Marrone - Big Cat Country
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone shockingly benched starting quarterback Blake Bortles after he fumbled the ball putting the Houston Texans right in touchdown range, his second lost fumble during a scramble on the day. Back up quarterback Cody Kessler came in the game and seemed to be able to move the offense, leading a touchdown drive but it was too little too late. “It’s open. Who’s the starter at right tackle? Who’s the starter at center? Who’s the starter at receiver? Who’s the starter? Everything is open,” Marrone said Sunday after the teams loss when asked who the starting quarterback would be when the Jaguars head to London.

Jason Garrett is the spiritual heir to Jeff Fisher - SB Nation
This season has been a refreshing one for long-suffering NFL fans fed up with the standardized levels of mediocrity that plagued the league for so long. You had your Jeff Fishers, your John Foxes, punting on fourth-and-short and settling for field goals no matter the situation. Not this year. Coaches like Sean McVay and Sean Payton have proven that coaching not to lose is not a winning strategy. And then there’s Jason Garrett in Dallas. All he did this week was throw away a hard-fought comeback and a chance for a win that would have given the Cowboys the lead in the NFC East. He could taste that tie, and no amount of clock time or timeouts in hand could keep him from it.

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