Eagles' frustrations rise to surface in another loss
PHILADELPHIA – After a humiliating loss like this, it’s easy to see why emotions boiled over the way they did.
The Philadelphia Eagles dropped a pivotal game Sunday, 45-17, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an abysmal display across the board. The offense committed four turnovers, the defense was gashed for 521 yards and just about everything that could go wrong did.
That frustration was visible when quarterback Mark Sanchez, who struggled significantly in Sunday’s loss, threw a pick-six in the fourth quarter that was intended for running back Darren Sproles.
Sanchez initially thought Sproles gave up on the play and displayed his frustration on the field. The two then were seen shouting on the sideline.
“No, I mean, look, we’re in the middle of a game where we are getting beat pretty good and I’m pissed that he stopped running and he’s mad that I didn’t throw it to him,” Sanchez said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. So the mature part is that we talked about it again. If we would have left it there and just said, ‘You screwed up’ and then move on, well then we don’t get to the bottom of it.
“But Sproles, he’s a total pro and a great player. And I know as mad as I was, I needed to hear his opinion and he wanted to hear what I had to say and then you move on.”
When asked two different questions about the exchange, Spoles had a similar answer: “We’re OK.”
On defense, the problems may have been worse.
The Eagles gave up five touchdown passes to Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who tied an NFL single-game record for a rookie quarterback. Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin collected 235 rushing yards, 177 of which came in the first half.
In fact, at one point in the fourth quarter, Martin had broken the Eagles franchise record for most rushing yards by an opponent, but two subsequent attempts in which he lost yards erased the accomplishment. Martin missed tying Emmitt Smith’s 237 yards in 1993 by two yards.
“I don’t have an explanation for it, but I know we weren’t ready to play on defense,” coach Chip Kelly said. “And we’ve got to get that straightened out because we have a short week.”
Kelly stressed that he believes he has control of the team and hasn’t lost the locker room.
“I have confidence in those guys in that room,” he added.
Safety Malcolm Jenkins, like Sanchez, showed his frustration on the field Sunday. During a 15-play touchdown drive for the Buccaneers in the third quarter that put the score at 35-14, the Eagles looked like they had a chance to stop Tampa Bay on a critical third down.
But Philadelphia had 12 men on the field and a penalty extended the drive. Jenkins was visibly upset and appeared to have a heated exchange on the sideline with teammates.
“It’s embarrassing because it has nothing to do with football,” Jenkins said. “You just have no clue as to what you’re doing. It looks bad on the coaching staff and it looks bad on the players as individuals, especially at that time because you’re holding onto every ounce of enthusiasm and momentum that you have and you just give it back by making a really elementary mistake. It’s tough.”
The Eagles (4-6) failed, once again, to claim control of a weakened NFC East in which the Giants (5-5) are in first place.
“A game like this will shake your confidence, and that’s our biggest enemy right now,” defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. “We have to make sure it doesn’t destroy us.”
Players, however, stressed that they continue to support Kelly and the coaching staff.
“With games like this, I never look at Chip,” Jenkins said. “He never steps into a defensive meeting and he has nothing to do with stopping the run. We’ll never put Chip Kelly in pull technique and ask him to two-gap. This is completely on us as a defense. When it comes down to the offense, Chip is the face of that, so we can let him wear that hat. As far as what we did defensively today, he’s the head coach, so he’ll get blamed, but he has nothing to do with that.”
The Eagles won’t have much time to dwell on this defeat. They’ll have a short week before traveling to Detroit to face the Lions (3-7) in a Thanksgiving Day showdown.
“I apologize for how we played football today,” linebacker Connor Barwin said as a message to Eagles fans. “They deserve better. We have to play better and get it fixed before Thursday. These fans deserve to see better football.”
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.
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