Eagles drop a golden opportunity

Sam Bradford deserved better.

From his coach.

And certainly from his wide receivers.

The Eagles had a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat last night in another prime time encounter against unbeaten Carolina. But they dropped it.

Literally.

Chip Kelly's squad did their normal first half act, falling behind before mounting a charge in the second half. They actually had a chance to tie the game when Sam Bradford put the ball in an unfortunate place as he tried to hit Josh Huff in the back of the end zone in the fourth quarter.

He hit him right in the hands.

Of course Huff could not come up with it.

It was one of seven balls dropped by Eagles receivers.

Jordan Matthews, who showed so much promise in a sparkling rookie season last year, has turned into a drop machine this season. Last night not only did a ball clang off his hands, but it went right into the hands of the Panthers.

Bradford wound up a fairly pedestrian 26 of 46 for 205 yards and no TDs. But if you count in the seven balls that the Eagles receivers butchered his night would look a lot different.

Of course, a lot of the heat will fall on Bradford. He's done nothing but dink and dunk all year. But again, that says more about this receiving corps than it does about Bradford.

These guys can't beat coverage and do not get open.

When they do, and Bradford puts the ball on the money, they too often drop it.

Don't for a second leave Chip Kelly out of this mix. He's the one who remade this roster, minus DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. He's the one now calling these plays.

He's the one who ignored Ryan Mathews even after he bolted 63 yards for a TD in the third quarter. He touched the ball only one more time after that, for a total of six carries on the night.

The Eagles are now 3-4 and have fallen out of first place in the NFC East. And they have two weeks to stew in a bitter defeat against an undefeated team they could have easily won.

But this team needs to make some changes.

Finding receivers who can catch the ball should be at the top of that list.

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