Philadelphia — Two words; Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay Packers quarterback was just too much for the Eagles to stop as he lead the Packers to a 27-13 victory over the Eagles on Monday Night football as the Birds dropped to 5-6 on the year. Rodgers ended the day with 313 yards passing, two touchdowns, and combined for 26 yards on the ground on 6 scrambles.
The Packers were 10-14 on third downs which lead to the landslide in time of possession. The Green Bay Packers had the ball for a total of 34:46 as opposed to the Eagles at just 24:36. Fletcher Cox was a no show as he recorded only .5 tackle in the showdown on 56 snaps.
The Eagles entered the game with a lot of questions considering they would be playing without starting running back, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles was also battling bruised ribs after getting leveled on a punt return last week against the Seahawks. Rookie, Wendell Smallwood was asked to carry the lead role this week and he showed flashes to be excited about. Smallwood ended the day with 37 yards on the ground on only nine carries. Carson ended the day with 256 yards passing and one interception. Dorial Green Beckham was the leading receiver with six receptions for 82 yards. 52 of those 82 total yards from Beckham came in the first drive where it would set up a one yard touchdown scramble from Wentz.
Another question entering the game was if 2015 first round pick, Nelson Agholor would actually play. That question was answered about two hours prior to kickoff when Howard Eskin broke the story the Agholor would in fact be a “healthy scratch” and Paul Turner would make his anticipated debut. Paul Turner did not receive a single target in the game and played a fair amount of snaps after starting slot receiver, Jordan Matthews left the game not once, but twice and was finally held out of the remainder of the game with a ankle/foot injury.
Positive on the Night
Wentz is a gamer and is the real deal. Wentz played with three lineman starting in different positions on Monday and was also limited to three receivers for half of the game after leading receiver, Jordan Matthews left in the third quarter. Two of the three receivers Wentz was throwing to went undrafted in this year’s draft as well. Wentz still stuck in there though and to his credit made plays that many quarterbacks can make. This year was all about getting Wentz’s feet wet and acclimated into the league and he has checked all the boxes off thus far making him the last thing Eagles fans should worry about.
What’s holding the Eagles back?
After watching the game you can see this team has just way to many holes, but are incredibly young on the offensive side of the ball. The Eagles started four rookies on offense last night (Wentz, Smallwood, Seumalo, and Treggs) and with youth comes inexperience which was shown on National TV last night. The positive that comes with youth is future and progression.
This Eagles still need to find a legit; outside receiver, cornerback, and running back. Those three positions are the biggest needs with offensive line depth and linebacker depth to follow. Look for the Eagles to target a cornerback in the first round of this year’s draft followed by offensive weapons for Wentz. It would be ideal to draft around Wentz this year considering the defense already seems to have the “core” to be successful.
Getting younger is another move that makes sense for the Eagles going forward weather that comes via trade or just simply getting released. Top personnel guy, Howie Roseman will have a lot on his mind as the season comes to an end. Jason Peters, Connor Barwin, Darren Sproles, Ryan Mathews, Jason Kelce, Leonids McKelvin, Mychal Kendricks and Brent Celek could be just a few names that see the pink papers in the offseason.
-Sean Brennan
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