By: Kylan Watson
The Philadelphia Eagles were just coming off of a confidence shaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday. As they headed into a match up on Monday night against a Green Bay Packers team that was majorly underperforming offensively and defensively. At the end of the Monday Night Football match-up it was the Eagles who were carved up like a turkey during Thanksgiving, by Aaron Rodgers and the rest of his Packers teammates. The difference in this game was Rodgers and the Eagles defense inability to stop him and not commit penalties.
The Eagles would lose the game by a score of 27-13, this was the Eagles first loss at home this season, and losing this game ended the Eagles playoff hopes. The Eagles now have a 5-6 record, and many fans are asking what went wrong defensively and offensively because the Packers have an awful defense and the Eagles were only able to score thirteen points against them.
Eagles rookie Carson Wentz had a good game against the Packers he completes 24 out of 36 passes for 254 yards and he also scored a rushing touchdown. Wentz spent most of the game with little protection from his offensive line, so he had to scramble and run around a lot during the game. Wentz also lost one of his main offensive weapons and best wide receiver Jordan Matthews to an ankle injury early in the second quarter. This would prove to be a game defining injury, because without Matthews no other wide receiver could create separation and catch the ball during the game.
The Eagles defense might have been the best thing to happen to Aaron Rodgers all week, as he finally looked like his old self, as he was carving the Eagles defense up. Rodgers completed 30 out of 39 passes for 313 yards and completed two touchdown passes. The Eagles have a top five defense, but the way Rodgers destroyed them you would of thought the Eagles had a bottom five defense. Rodgers was getting the ball out of his hands before the Eagles pass rushers could get there, and when the Eagles could stop Rodgers, they would commit a penalty to give him another chance to run the clock out and score again.
The Eagles will have a lot to prove, not just to themselves and their coaching staff, but to fans too, during these next five weeks. The Eagles will face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, December 4th 2016 at 1:00 pm EST. After the Bengals game the Eagles will have three divisional match-ups against the Giants, Cowboys, and Redskins, and a New Year’s Day match up against the Ravens.
It is gut-check time for the Eagles and hopefully they are up for the challenge. A lot of fans and experts did not expect the Eagles to be 5-6 during the middle of the 2016 season. A lot of experts thought the Eagles would have a 3-13 record and be the worst team in the division. The Eagles have come far and during the offseason, they need to prioritize fixing the offensive line and getting Wentz and Matthews a big time number one receiver either through the draft or through free agency. The Eagles are three to four players away from being a super-bowl contender. However, with Carson Wentz as the team’s franchise quarterback this team can go far as long as the Eagles prioritize offensive improvements during the 2017 offseason.
