Eagles stumble in the Jungle, beaten badly by Bengals, 32-14…

This crossroads game for the Birds was like a tour of Jurassic Park gone haywire… the Eagles limped out of it with three flat tires and their central power grid knocked out by two grinning velociraptori…and their 7th loss over the last 9 games.

It wasn’t just their slow start— it was their ensuing lack of coordination or adjustments. For the first time all season, the Eagles were blown out by an opponent from the opening set of downs all the way through to the final whistle.

Tim McManus of ESPN.com was brutal in his criticism of the Eagles’ effort and focus in this one—he came this close to accusing the team of “quitting” under duress.

“Pederson’s group on Sunday looked sloppy, undisciplined and uninspired…The offense’s ineffectiveness was largely expected. Quarterback Carson Wentz was without running back Ryan Mathews (knee) and top receiver Jordan Matthews (ankle), and he continues to work behind a patchwork offensive line. The rookie had arguably the worst outing of his young career, going 36-of-60 with a touchdown and three interceptions….The surprise came on the defensive side of the ball. A unit that once fancied itself as the best in the NFL and entered ranked sixth in the league in points against was shredded by an injury-riddled Cincinnati offense that had scored just 26 points combined over its past two games. The pass rush was held without a sack for the second consecutive week, allowing Andy Dalton (23-of-31, 332 yards, 2 TDs) to carve up the secondary….Penalties continue to be a problem. The Eagles came in as the third-most penalized team in the NFL (90) and added to that total with 10 infractions for 88 yards. Part of that might be related to talent, but lack of discipline reflects largely on the coaching staff.”

Ouch.

That last shot in McManus’ diatribe points the finger directly at head coach Doug Pederson, whom McManus suggests has lost control of this team, which may be an overreaction to the disappointment of losing a lop-sided game to the Bengals (now 4-7-1) who were considered a damaged team going into this.

“Troubling performance by Eagles in a 32-14 loss to the Bengals… Defense made a depleted Cincy offense look good, and failed to register a sack for second straight week. Carson Wentz has his worst performance as a pro. Questions surrounding head coach Doug Pederson growing…”

The Eagles (5-7) would have to win out to finish 9-7, which is probably the only scenario left which could change the tone of the growing movement to blame Doug Pederson for alleged lacks of structure and strategy.

For me the story is more about a new head coach’s typical struggles with wearing too many hats, especially if you are calling plays on the offense. To succeed at coaching a winning team in the NFL you have to be a decisive field general, a master armaments tactician, a detached disciplinarian and a friendly chaplain all at once. It’s a difficult multi-tasking assignment—see Gus Bradley in Jacksonville.

What my theory implies is a new head coach usually finds himself up to his ass in alligators before he finally figures out how to drain the swamp. It took Bill Belichick several seasons with more than one team to finally get it. It should not surprise us that Doug Pederson is experiencing some difficulties now.

What threw us off a little was the 3-0 start and rookie phenom Carson Wentz performing way beyond his years in the first quarter of the season. Now it has all leveled out to the law of averages…and we don’t like that.

Andy Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes and Cincinnati finally got its depleted offense moving without receiver A.J. Green, and the Bengals sent the Philadelphia Eagles to their most lopsided loss of the season, 32-14 on Sunday. Dalton had completions of 50, 44, 29, 23 and 21 yards as the Bengals scored on each of their first six possessions for a 29-0 lead.

The Eagles extended Cincinnati’s drives with personal fouls and leaky pass coverage. Dalton finished 23 of 31 for 332 yards without an interception or a sack.

Carson Wentz has struggled in the past five games, and this one was in many ways the worst yet. He was 36 of 60 for 308 yards with a season-high three interceptions, two by Vontaze Burfict. Most of his yards and completions came after Cincinnati was in control.

Bengals rookie Cody Core caught a 50-yard pass for his first career reception, setting up Jeremy Hill‘s TD run in the first quarter. The sixth-round pick with speed will get more chances with A.J. Green sidelined.

At least you can say the Eagles were never in it close enough to have blown a lead or anything like that. We got stomped and chomped by the Bengals, simple as that. It was our own damn fault. We looked unprepared and unsteady the entire game. It was a team effort.

INJURIES: Eagles’ WR Jordan Matthews was inactive with an ankle injury after being listed as questionable for the game. Philadelphia also was missing RB Ryan Mathews and RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai. … WR Dorial Green-Beckham suffered a rib injury in the fourth quarter and went for X-rays.

For the Bengals, DE Wallace Gilberry and TE C.J. Uzomah were out with calf injuries. RT Andrew Whitworth left late in the third quarter with an injured right leg, but returned after tackle Jake Fisher (who was declared eligible on the play) caught a pass, fumbled and hurt his left knee.

Coming up next weekend, the Eagles host the Redskins, the first of three home games against their division opponents down the stretch.

Final:

Matchup
1st Downs	22	21
Passing 1st downs	17	13
Rushing 1st downs	5	4
1st downs from penalties	0	4
3rd down efficiency	8-17	7-14
4th down efficiency	3-5	0-0
Total Plays	80	64
Total Yards	359	412

Philadelphia Passing

Philadelphia Rushing

Philadelphia Receiving

Philadelphia Defense

Philadelphia Kick Returns

Cincinnati Interceptions

If it’s any consolation, Paul Turner caught 6 passes for 80 yards in his debut as an NFL wide receiver for the Eagles.