Eagles Stunned In Ugly 20-19 Setback To Miami
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There wasn't any collective resignation in their eyes, just hollow thousand-mile stares wondering what had just happened. The Eagles, brimming with confidence a week ago, though toeing perilously close to a crumbling precipice since the first month of the season, looked lost. A team that proudly wore "the promise" tag showed little of it, maybe with the exception of a few spikes here and there that translated into four pseudo victories.
Each win, however, was always tainted by doubt as to how good the Eagles were. Where did they fall on the enigma scale?
They went from panic mode in early-September, to life support last week in Dallas, and now after Sunday's 20-19 collapse to the mediocre Miami Dolphins at Lincoln Financial Field their postseason hopes are dim.
The player that was going to deliver them to a new level, Sam Bradford, was lost in the third quarter with a concussion. The back-up, Mark Sanchez, who fans have been clamoring for the last two months proceeded to do what Bradford had done so well and toss an interception in the end zone—when the Eagles had a chance to take a fourth-quarter lead.
Ryan Mathews, the one running back who has been productive, was also lost to a concussion. And a team that seemingly had it all together finds itself in a serious quandary at 4-5.
Nine games into the season, the Eagles find themselves stymied up ineptitude, unable to get set when Miami had 12 players on the field and Riley Cooper was called for an illegal shift, which negated a 22-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to Zach Ertz with 11:21 left in the game.
"I thought there was a chance that we had this game, regardless of how crappy and sloppy it was," left tackle Lane Johnson said. "We knew this was a big game for us. We wanted to keep the momentum going after we beat Dallas. As far as the discipline, the tiniest details of practice that you let slip away will come back to make a big impact in a game. It's something I've learned. We had a chance to win this game several times. I'm getting tired of making excuses. It really pisses me off.
"I'm not used to this. (Chip Kelly) told us not to pout about it. We're a very talented team, and the defense has done a hell of a job the whole year. The offense is used to scoring a lot of points. We're supposed to progress, and then we fall back down to the same level. We're doing it to ourselves. It's all on the offense. The defense has been spectacular. We have to find answers."
The course of the game took a drastic sway when Bradford was knocked out with a concussion with 5:20 left in the third quarter after he was sacked by Miami's Chris McCain. Sanchez came on for Bradford, who had completed 19 of 25 for 236 yards and a touchdown, though was sacked four times for minus-39 yards.
When Sanchez entered you would have thought it was the next coming of Joe Montana by the reaction of the Linc crowd. Yet, there were times when Sanchez got tangled up with DeMarco Murray on handoffs, times when the timing wasn't right on routes. Sanchez hit the restart button on the Eagles' offense and he couldn't find the rhythm they had earlier in the game.
Sanchez proceeded to hit Mathews with a short pass, which Mathews turned into a 17-yard gain (spelling the end for Mathews, who left with a concussion). But that was all the Eagles could get out of that drive, stalling at the Eagles' 42. Sanchez did get the Eagles going on his second series, which resulted in a Caleb Sturgis 37-yard field with 10:20 left to play.
The game looked like it was over in the first 10:17. That's when Walter Thurman came through untouched and sacked Ryan Tannehill, jolting the ball loose and out of the end zone for the first Eagles' safety since Dec. 22, 2013 vs. Chicago Bears (a 56-11 Eagles' victory and the third-straight game the Miami gave up a safety). It also gave the Eagles a 9-3 lead—and all seemed well in Eagleland.
The Eagles then scored on the following possession, which resulted in a 10-play, 58-yard drive on Mathews' one-yard score, giving the Birds a 16-3 lead with 4:43 left in the first quarter.
And then that was it. The Eagles didn't score again until the Sturgis field goal in the fourth quarter.
Miami made defensive adjustments and the Eagles didn't do a very good job of adjusting to that.
"It's more frustrating because we know we can play better," right tackle Dennis Kelly said. "Everyone believes we can win. We hurt ourselves too much, and it's getting a point where we have to find something to help getting clicking to get that to stop. We're making too many stupid penalties, we're making too mistakes. It's not a lack of effort. It's more of just playing smart football all of the time."
This debacle worked in reverse for the Eagles, who have been notoriously bad starters this year.
This time, they started well and regressed. The Eagles took their first possession 64 yards, needing just four plays to score their first touchdown of the season on their opening possession. The big play of the drive was a 60-yard completion from Bradford, rolling right, to the long-lost Brent Celek, who wasn't even targeted in four games this year. After three catches in the first half, the Eagles somehow lost Celek again until the fourth quarter.
It was Celek's best game since he caught five passes for 116 yards in the Eagles' 45-21 win over Carolina on Nov. 10, 2014. Celek caught three passes for 120 yards in the first half, averaging 40 yards a catch, including a 60-yard reception on the Eagles' first drive. Celek finished with four catches for 134 yards.
Sanchez finished 14 for 23 for 156 yards and a biting interception that could cost the Eagles their postseason hopes.
