It wasn't supposed to go like this.
Sure, the beginning of the Eagles' schedule was projected to be tough, but an early-season game at home vs. Detroit was supposed to be an easy win to offset games against tougher opponents.
Instead, in one of the worst losses of the Doug Pederson era, the Eagles trailed almost the entire game in their 27-24 loss, a defeat that dropped them to 1-2 before their trip to Green Bay this upcoming Thursday.
Record aside, however, the reality is this — this Eagles team has looked nothing like a playoff team in their first three games. They have plenty of issues they need to fix if they want to even finish with a winning record, let alone compete for a playoff spot.
Through three games, here are the clear-cut biggest issues with the Eagles:
Pass rush: There is no escaping the harsh reality that after years of having one of the best pass rushes in the NFL the Eagles now have one of worst. Making matters worse? Fixing it is going to be very difficult.
Howie Roseman decided to take a chance and count on Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat and Vinny Curry this season for a pass rush. So far that has not worked out. Barnett has gotten after the quarterback at times, but doesn't have a single sack. Curry has been almost invisible. You could argue that only Sweat has exceeded expectations, but he is still without a sack as well. Brandon Graham is not off to a stellar start either. It is also extremely noticable how absent Fletcher Cox seems to be during games, as he hasn't registered a sack yet this season and seems to be very rusty from missing all offseason due to surgery.
After passing up on premier free agents this offseason, and passing on trading for Jadeveon Clowney, the time to fix the pass rush might be over. Landing any kind of elite talent during the season is tough. Landing an elite pass rusher, let alone a very good one, might be almost impossible. It is early and almost every team is in the hunt. It is also very hard to convince teams to trade good pass rushers — it is easier to land a running back or a slot receiver.
Unless Barnett, Graham or one of the young defensive ends improves dramatically out of nowhere, the Eagles' pass rush is going to be an issue throughout the season.
Injuries: Injuries are often just an excuse used by bad teams. That might end up being the case for the Eagles, but for now, there is no denying the injuries have had an impact on this season. The Eagles have lost two key defensive tackles in Malik Jackson and Timmy Jernigan. Jackson was counted one to be a key member of the pass rush, which as mentioned above, has been a disaster — so his loss is huge. The Eagles were without their two best receivers on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, and coincidently, their offense had seven drops, each more important than the last. The team's injury report prior to Week 3 had a whopping 13 players on it.
Part of that should be expected, considering the team is built with older players that have a history of injuries. Still, to be hit so hard with injuries so early on in the season is without question one of the reasons the Eagles are 1-2. The bad news? There isn't any reason to think things are going to get better, or the players who are injured and dealing with muscle injuries will be able to stay healthy.
Start to games: Constantly falling behind and constantly having to mount a comeback is not a winning formula in the NFL, and the Eagles are finding that out the hard way each week.
The Eagles, with Carson Wentz at quarterback, have been trailing at halftime in seven of their last eight games. They have lost six of those seven games, including two this season. This isn't a debate about whether Wentz is clutch or not — no quarterback or team can survive when they are constantly falling behind. Seeing the Eagles score 10-first quarter points on Sunday was encouraging, but the fact remains they have the worst first-quarter offense in the NFL since the start of 2018. Since 2016, the Eagles are 19-3 when winning at halftime and 3-15 when they aren't. The key to avoid being a .500 team is simple — get the lead early on. The issue is the duo of Wentz and Pederson have shown nothing to make you believe they will figure it out consistently and put the problem behind them.
Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson: The Eagles have been a sub-.500 team since 2018 with Carson Wentz and Doug Pederson running the show. Perhaps you can blame one loss on one thing, and another loss on another, but each week Wentz and Pederson start a game together they have the biggest impact on the outcome, for better or worse. More times than not recently the result has been a loss.
The duo posting a 6-8 record in their last 14 starts together is extremely concerning. You don't often see a great head coach-quarterback duo go through that kind of stretch. Who holds more blame is hard considering how attached at the hip they are. Pederson's game plans early on in games have not been impressive. Wentz has had accuracy issues and has missed throws he normally makes. Together, they are steering a ship that is inconsistent, sloppy and underperforming.
If Pederson and Wentz are really as good as they are believed to be, they need to fix the Eagles, and they need to do it soon before the 2019 season slips away much quicker than anyone expected.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
