Eagles News: Carson Wentz struggles in loss to Patriots

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Valid excuses aside, Carson Wentz still came up short in Eagles’ loss to the Patriots - Inquirer
It was money time. And Wentz had the opportunity to deliver a signature moment in his young career. But the $100 million man came up small. There just isn’t any way else to put it. Wentz threw four incomplete passes – three of which he could partially be blamed for – and the Eagles succumbed to New England, 17-10, Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. “Just missed a couple. Just miscues,” Wentz said. “They made some plays, too, and hats off to them. They had a really good game plan, especially late there. But that’s frustrating especially the way we were able to move the ball and get down there.” Wentz, to his credit, was hard on himself after the game. He never pointed fingers or harped on the absences of receiver Alshon Jeffery, running back Jordan Howard, and tackle Lane Johnson after he left with a concussion.

FINAL SCORE: Eagles offense sucks in loss to Patriots, 17-10 - BGN
This offense sucks ass!

The Kist & Solak Show #146: Eagles Lose w/Butts For Hands - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak react to a predictable yet still frustrating Eagles loss to the Patriots, including thoughts on Wentz’s performance, the defense, and THREE WORDS! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Patriots game - PhillyVoice
There were plays to be made, and Wentz didn’t make the most of them. With that disclaimer out of the way, the reality is that Wentz faces a burden that other quarterbacks around the league don’t. The Eagles’ offense is predicated on long, difficult drives because a complete lack of team speed makes chunk plays tough to come by. On some rare occasions, they can sustain those impossibly long drives, like they did on their 16-play, 95-yard journey in the first half that ate up over nine minutes of clock. More often than not, however, there’s going to be something that derails a drive when you’re forced to play that style of offense, whether it be a penalty, a missed block, a drop, or in Wentz’s case against the Pats, the occasional errant throw. As such, the onus is on Wentz to make play after play after play on each individual drive to slowly matriculate the ball down the field like it’s 1960’s football. If he’s not perfect or close enough to it, drives stall and punts fly. Playing quarterback for this team, as constructed, is extremely difficult, and Wentz has the unenviable task of standing at the podium after games and praising teammates that don’t deserve it.

Mixed Bag - Iggles Blitz
Everyone deserves some blame for the struggles. We’ll start with Carson Wentz. He did not play well. There were some really good moments, but there were other times when he made curious decisions and some poor throws. There were some times when he held the ball too long and took bad sacks. Those were drive killers and one resulted in a fumble that gave the Patriots three points. Wentz was outstanding on the Eagles long TD drive and I took that as a good sign. For a variety of reasons, he didn’t stay at that level. One of the big reasons was the play of the OL. They committed several penalties, all of which proved to be costly. There were missed blocks, in the run and pass game. Losing Johnson really hurt. Big V struggled as his replacement. The receivers certainly didn’t help matters. They struggled to get open and there were also some costly drops. Instead of coming up big in a tough situation, it was more of the same. You saw Patriots receivers make some tough grabs. Only Zach Ertz stood out for the Eagles.

NFL Week 11 PFF ReFocused: New England Patriots 17, Philadelphia Eagles 10 - PFF
Carson Wentz was frequently off-target throughout the game. Some of his notable misses were on a deep pass to Mack Hollins and an overthrow of Nelson Agholor on a crossing route in the end zone. Dallas Goedert made some big plays for the Eagles’ offense. He caught a screen and turned it into a chunk play and then caught a contested five-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He did have a couple of drops to go along with his big plays.

Carson Wentz needs to carry injury-plagued Eagles to finish line - ESPN
Carson Wentz is going to have to play transcendent football if the Philadelphia Eagles are to overcome the slew of injuries on offense and make a playoff push down the stretch. That was not the case in the Eagles’ 17-10 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, as Wentz finished 20-of-39 for 214 yards and a touchdown. He had a ton working against him. Not only was he down top receivers Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson and lead back Jordan Howard entering the game, but the Eagles lost right tackle Lane Johnson to a head injury in the second quarter. The Patriots’ defense teed off, sacking Wentz five times and registering 11 QB hits as a depleted Eagles offense managed just 3.9 yards per play.

5 Eagles-Patriots takeaways: Carson Wentz’s missed chance at a signature drive, a wasted defensive effort & more - The Athletic
Wentz was hard on himself about the fumble, which is now his third lost this season. He was sacked five times. Asked if Wentz held the football too long, Pederson acknowledged “a couple times that might have been the case.” But he also said the Eagles receivers must do a better job on the perimeter, which was clear for all to see. And the Patriots defense has been a challenge for most quarterbacks this season. The perception of Wentz’s night would be different if Agholor had caught the late pass in the end zone. Then again, the Eagles wouldn’t need Agholor to make that catch if they had moved the chains on the incompletions to Ertz. Like most weeks, there are plenty of plays to scrutinize. But it could have been a signature drive for Wentz. Instead, it was another empty one in a season with too many. “Carson’s playing at a high level,” Ertz said. “That’s how I feel. That’s the way everyone on this team feels. We’ve got to play better around him.”

Eagles lose to New England as offense cools after fast start - PE.com
Quarterback Carson Wentz struggled with 20 completions in 40 attempts. He was sacked five times. Not all of those were on the offensive line, which welcomed back left tackle Jason Peters. Wentz didn’t look comfortable in the pocket. He held the ball a tick or two too long at times and lost the football on a second-quarter sack that led to three New England points. He missed some open receivers. He also didn’t get a whole lot of help from a receiving corps that didn’t step up in Jeffery’s absence. Jordan Matthews had one catch for 6 yards on six targets. Nelson Agholor was targeted nine times and had four receptions for 40 yards. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside had a 29-yard catch to help Wentz, who scrambled out of trouble in the end zone in the fourth quarter and fired down the field, but that was it.

Lane Johnson injury too much for Eagles to overcome - NBCSP
That 10-0 lead with Johnson turned into a 17-10 loss without him. And while there were plenty of other factors, his absence was glaring. First three drives? Ten points and 147 yards. Last nine drives? No points and 108 yards. “There’s no excuse, we’ve got to be better as an offense,” Brooks said. “But you just don’t replace a Lane Johnson.” Johnson was carted off the field after getting hurt, which is unusual with a concussion. It might not necessarily be a sign of how serious this particular head injury is, but it certainly wasn’t encouraging. Head coach Doug Pederson said after the game he didn’t have an update on Johnson’s status or the severity of the injury.

‘He was crying’: Stephon Gilmore said he knew the Patriots’ defense would shut down Zach Ertz - Boston
Not actual tears, but the cornerback used the term “crying” to describe how Ertz displays his frustrations on the field, something he noticed this while watching film leading up to the game. “He was crying,” Gilmore said after the Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Eagles on Sunday. “He do that on film a lot. You get into him, he don’t get the ball or get the call and he cries.” “When he doesn’t get his way he complains to the ref. We don’t do that.” Gilmore then explained that by both the safeties and himself guarding him, Ertz could not distinctly tell who would be coming for him. The strategy proved successful, as Gilmore held him to just one pass late in the game to prevent the Eagles’ from tying.

Week 11 Takeaways: Lamar Outclasses Deshaun, the New, Ugly Patriots, Vikes Avoid Disaster - MMQB
These Eagles Receivers: With no DeSean Jackson and no Alshon Jeffery, this group rivaled the 2017-18 Bills for worst receiving corps of the decade.

The Winners and Losers of NFL Week 11 - The Ringer
So far, the highlight of Philadelphia’s season has indisputably been the viral baby-catching video—the guy who purportedly saved babies from a burning building by catching them out of windows, and had the gall to point out that Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor likely would’ve dropped the pass. Agholor’s career has been perpetually maligned by the idea that he can’t catch passes. It mainly stems back to 2016, his second year in the league, when he dropped seven balls on just 62 targets. But he’d seemingly fixed those problems. Entering Sunday, he had just two drops in nine games, per Pro Football Focus. Unfortunately one of those two drops helped lose the Eagles their Week 2 game against the Falcons. Sunday, Agholor’s slippery hands once again rose to the forefront in a critical moment. With Philadelphia trailing New England 17-10 with under two minutes to go, Agholor got open in the back of the end zone on a fourth-down play … but ran under the ball awkwardly, forcing him to try to make an over-the-shoulder catch, which he flubbed.

NFL Week 11 insider notes: Benching Gardner Minshew for Nick Foles looks even worse, Cousins steps up and more - CBS Sports
Gardner Minshew never should have been benched for Nick Foles in the first place. This is not revisionist history in this space, as I was making the case for keeping the mustached wonder under center on a weekly basis, including after his one poor outing against the Texans before the Jaguars’ bye. The kid was a top 10 passer for half a season, on pace for 4,000 yards with the fourth-best TD/INT ratio in the NFL through eight weeks, and guess what, he was the cause of that success and not a symptom. And on Sunday, Foles was a big part of the cause of a defeat to the Colts that wipes out the already-faux playoff aspirations this team has clung to. While Minshew sat back and watched.

Jaguars lifeless against Colts, playoff hopes all but dead - Big Cat Country
“Yes”, the Jaguars are sticking with quarterback Nick Foles the rest of the way Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) head coach Doug Marrone said after the team’s 33-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts (6-4) at Lucas Oil Stadium. A question that had to be asked after Foles stumbled in his first game back from a week-one collarbone injury. Although the veteran quarterback had a respectable — albeit misleading — final stat line, completing 33 out of 47 of his passes for 296 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, Foles, the Jaguars offense could not get anything going for the majority of the day.

Week 11: Football Changes Fast, As Lamar Jackson’s Rise Reminds - FMIA
Two picks before Philly at 32, the Ravens called Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman. He wanted out of 32. He’d move down to 52, but it would cost Baltimore’s second-round pick in 2019. So two twos for Jackson? Newsome and Jackson were good with that. “We didn’t share what we were going to try and do with anybody,” said DeCosta. “Drafts are strange like that. It’s just Ozzie and me at the end of the table, the only ones who really know. When you’re trying to make a decision as important as that, you try and keep it as quiet as you can. Because it’s not that you don’t want to share it with people, but the downside—which would be losing the player—is much greater than the upside of sharing the information with somebody that you care about.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are the game to watch, no matter when they play - SB Nation
It’s a shame the NFL isn’t more flexible with kickoff times. There’s really no reason Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens should be playing games along with half the league during the crowded 1 p.m. ET slate of games on Sundays. The football-watching world should be free to give its undivided attention to the Ravens. The Ravens lead the league in scoring with 34.1 points per game. That alone makes the team worth watching, but it’s how Baltimore is dumping an avalanche of offense on opponents that’s truly special. Never was that more evident than during the Ravens’ 41-7 destruction of the Texans in Week 11.

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