Let’s Face It: the Eagles are a Mess Right Now

It’s the question on every Philadelphia football fan’s mind right now: have the Eagles lost their edge? The reigning Super Bowl champions have begin this season with a decidedly lackluster showing: their record is currently 2-3 following a frustrating bruising by Minnesota last night. On paper, the Eagles appear poised for victory: franchise QB Carson Wentz is back and running at 100%, and the starting lineup is strong. Why, then, are the Eagles so bogged down by fumbles, turnovers, and penalty after penalty?

Defensive end Chris Long, quoted on NFL.com, has a theory:

“We’re 2-3 because we’re playing bad. It’s one and the same. Right now, we are playing like we suck. That’s the reality. We can say we’re better than this all we want. But unless we play better, we’re not.”

Throughout the game last night, coach Doug Pederson looked frustrated and annoyed. It’s hard to blame him when you look at the numbers. The Eagles managed a piddling 91 yards of offense in the first half and only two of nine third-down conversions for the game. Carson Wentz made a fumble that the Vikings turned into a 64-yard touchdown. And, in the fourth quarter alone, the team was penalized for illegal formation, intentional grounding and delay of game.

When NFL.com interviewed Coach Pederson, they got a defeated, glum team leader:

“I just told them I was going to take it for the team. Way we’ve been playing and performing, it starts with me. I wanted guys to understand we can’t do these things. We can’t self-inflict. Championship teams don’t do this.”

Here’s another dismal fact: the Eagles haven’t scored more than 23 points a game yet this season. Last year, they scored at least 26 points in 12 of the 15 games in which the starters played, making them the 3rd-highest scoring team in the league. Right now, they are ranked 26th.

As they are doing worse than 8 other teams in the NFC, it’s hard to currently see a road to the playoffs for this year’s Eagles. But hope springs eternal, and I for one am not counting Philadelphia out yet. The season is young and we have the power; the team just needs to get out of their collective heads.