The Eagles are vowing to put Sunday's dreadful performance vs. the Lions out of their minds.
Good idea. Unfortunately, they don't have much time to do it.
After an embarrassing performance at home in falling to the Lions, they now face the daunting task of going on the road to Lambeau Field and tangling with Aaron Rodgers and the undefeated Green Bay Packers.
Everything tells you the Eagles should get crushed.
I don't think that will happen.
Unfortunately, I don't think they will win either.
Carson Wentz gets at least one weapon back, with starting wideout Alshon Jeffery expected back in the lineup. DeSean Jackson will miss a second straight game.
It's not hard to figure out what's wrong with the Birds in this unexpected slow start: Everything. They don't catch the ball. They drop passes. They fumble. They are giving up big plays on special teams. They commit stupid penalties, with a sudden penchant for offensive pass interference. Their defense gets zero pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
They will need to fix all of that and more in a short week to hang with the Pack.
Perhaps the most pressing issue will be their defensive line. It will be up to Jim Schwartz to come up with some way to get pressure on Rodgers, or the Birds will have little chance of outscoring the Packers.
Maybe their best bet is to use their offense to control the game and keep Rodgers off the field. That means staying committed to the run game,and banking more on Jordan Howard, who has shown the ability to gobble up yards between the tackles.
Wentz likely will once again find his favorite target, Zach Ertz, drawing double coverage much as he did most of the day Sunday.
THE PICK: Make it Packers 33, Eagles 23. This will be a better showing for the Birds, in a prime time, national TV encounter. But they have shown me no reason to think they have the horses to hang with the Packers. Keep your eyes on the defensive line. If they again fail to show up, this one could get ugly pretty quickly.
LAST WEEK: The last thing Doug Pederson and the Eagles needed was a horrendous effort to the Lions. The Eagles didn't do a lot right in this one - and still had a chance to win it with their last possession after Malcolm Jenkins blocked a Lions' field goal. But Wentz's
heave to the goal line clanged off the hands of wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, pretty much a symbol for the way this season has gone so far,. The loss dropped the Eagles to 1-2 on the young season, while my record is no longer unblemished at 2-1.
GAME BY GAME: Eagles 32, Redskins 27. (My Pick: Eagles 27, Redskins 13)
Falcons 24, Eagles 20. (My Pick: Falcons 29, Eagles 27)
Lions 27, Eagles 24: (My pick: Eagles 26, Lions 23)
Comments