Eagles News: Philadelphia needs Carson Wentz back

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Sunday a reminder of why the Eagles need Carson Wentz - ESPN
The NFL season is a long, hard slog, and to consistently win in this game of attrition, you need a QB who can regularly rise above the unavoidable adversity and make the improbable happen. Foles showed that he can do that in the biggest of moments, and through the bulk of a playoff run. But his history also shows that it comes and goes, which can be problematic when it comes to successfully navigating a 16-game slate, year after year. Wentz needs to prove that he can stay healthy, but there’s little doubt in the building and around the league that he can be that rare, game-altering franchise quarterback when in the lineup. With the teeth of the Eagles’ schedule on the horizon, and a repeat on their minds, they’re going to need him.

12 things we learned from the Eagles’ loss to the Buccaneers - BGN
Big takeaways from the Eagles’ loss.

The Gowton & Solak Show Recaps Eagles-Bucs - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton and Benjamin Solak have you covered with their reaction show to the Eagles stunning loss to the Bucs... The weapons are paper thin and in-game injuries made a bad situation worse. Ben takes issue with the defensive game-plan relying too much on the pass rush. Home-road splits foretold this, but we didn’t listen. BLG defends Foles? What world is this? The eventual Josh Gordon debate. Plus looking at the rest of the NFC contenders and why the loss isn’t as bad as it may seem.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Buccaneers game - PhillyVoice
The Eagles had nothing in the way of a deep threat that the Bucs had to respect, so they played the Eagles similarly to the way most teams played them in 2016. They tried (successfully, mostly) to take away the intermediate parts of the field, limiting the effectiveness and yards after catch opportunities for legitimate NFL targets such as Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz.

Eagles Go Down - Iggles Blitz
We have not seen good Nick Foles this season. His numbers were much better today (35-48-334 with 1 TD), but he was still highly erratic. There was a screen to Zach Ertz that the defense read perfectly. Foles threw the ball into heavy traffic. It was deflected and somehow fell to the ground. That easily could have been picked off. A veteran QB has to know to just throw that ball away. That was beyond dumb. There were other plays where Foles threw the ball short. Sometimes that was by design, but other times it seemed like he couldn’t make up his mind and just dumped the ball off. Short passes can be a weapon when done right. That wasn’t the case today.

Thank you, Nick Foles, but it’s Carson Wentz time - Inquirer
Wentz is the franchise. He was arguably the NFL’s MVP before tearing the ACL and LCL ligaments in his knee in December. And he has the ability, barring further injury and some unforeseen setback in his development, to one day become the league’s best player. He will make the Eagles better. But he won’t rescue a team that has yet to gain its footing on both sides of the ball, particularly on offense, and a team that continues to be bitten by injuries. ”If and when Carson comes back, he’ll add a spark,” tight end Zach Ertz said. “He’s one of the best players in the league. But we can’t expect him to just put a Superman cape on and be his old self. He’s going to be rusty.”

The Day After: Turning the page to Carson Wentz, where he can help the Eagles and where he can’t - The Athletic
The Wentz from 2017 is absolutely capable of making up for shortcomings elsewhere on the offense. But again, it’s very possible that he won’t look like the same guy right away. The improvisational plays outside the structure of the offense might not be available to Wentz right away. But there’s another side to this too that should work in his favor. Wentz has had another offseason with this offense and has been learning its intricacies, having discussions with Pederson and making suggestions. From a football IQ standpoint, Wentz was already advanced. But now, he’ll be even further along in terms of changing plays at the line of scrimmage and getting the Eagles in the right looks. Wentz can’t do anything about the defense (more on that below), but he’s the reason why the disappointment from Sunday’s loss should be short-lived this week and replaced with a sense of optimism.

Too Little, Too Late For Eagles In First Loss - PE.com
The defense? Hopefully, it was a rare blip. After the dominating performance in Week 1 against Atlanta, the defense allowed a pair of 75-yard touchdown passes and four of them, in total, to Fitzpatrick, whose thrown eight touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 2-0 start. The takeaways from this one? The defense couldn’t get its claws into Fitzpatrick, who did an excellent job getting the football out before the pass rush could reach him. The Eagles didn’t cover well enough on the back end, allowing a whopping 402 passing yards to Fitzpatrick, who completed 27 of 33 passes. Jackson had 129 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage, on four receptions. Evans caught 10 passes for 83 yards. Tight end O.J. Howard had a 75-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown and Chris Godwin had five receptions for 56 yards and a score.

Refocused, NFL Week 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Philadelphia Eagles 21 - PFF
Philadephia’s offense failed to find a rhythm despite Nick Foles finishing with over 300 yards through the air. Foles was hit quite a bit by the Bucs defensive line, sometimes via breakdowns in pass protection while others were because Foles held the ball too long. Foles best moment came via a corner route for a touchdown to late in the fourth quarter, threading the ball in between two Buccaneer defenders.

Missing key players, Eagles just didn’t have enough firepower vs. Buccaneers - NBCSP
In a pirate-themed stadium, with cannons all over place, the Eagles simply didn’t have enough firepower. They entered Sunday afternoon’s 27-21 loss to the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium without Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery and Darren Sproles. Then Mike Wallace and Jason Peters left early, and Jay Ajayi missed a significant portion of the afternoon. The Eagles brought a cap gun to a cannon fight. While Ryan Fitzpatrick was throwing to DeSean Jackson, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Nick Foles was throwing to Josh Perkins, Kamar Aiken and Shelton Gibson. See the problem?

Players Make Plays, and Patrick Mahomes Has Made a Perfect 10 For The High-Flying Chiefs - FMIA
I think I’m not trying to be Mr. Negative here, but the Giants looked so bad Sunday night, and so incapable of protecting Eli Manning and blocking for Saquon Barkley, that I could see them starting 0-7. On the docket the next five weeks: at Houston, where the 0-2 Texans will be a desperate team in the home opener; New Orleans at home; at Carolina, with a formidable rush; the Eagles and their deep defensive front on a short-week Thursday at home, and then at Atlanta on a Monday night.

Bortles Unchained, Mahomes Unstoppable: Week 2 Was For Making Statements - The MMQB
The Jaguars slayed their dragon (New England) by giving their quarterback the green light with the game on the line, while the Chiefs got a second straight touchdown eruption from the kid they’ve put their trust in. Plus notes and analysis on Josh Gordon’s fate, Matt Ryan’s Falcons, that Clay Matthews call, the kicking chaos and more on another frenetic Sunday in the NFL.

The Winners and Losers From NFL Week 2 - The Ringer
Vontae Davis got sick of losing, and for that, he’s a winner. Plus: Keelan Cole is the NFL’s unlikeliest no. 1 wideout, Ryan Fitzpatrick is swaggering like a superstar, and a dreadful day for kicking leads to another tie.

Clay Matthews’ controversial roughing the passer call on Kirk Cousins has everyone confused - SB Nation
The Green Bay Packers looked to have their game against the Minnesota Vikings locked up after Kirk Cousins threw an interception down by eight points with 1:45 left on the clock. Instead, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was called for roughing the passer, a penalty that extended the drive and allowed the Vikings to tie the game.

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