The Eagles' season is over.
A year that was an emotional rollercoaster came to an end on Sunday in a 17-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a game that saw quarterback Carson Wentz leave due to a head injury at the end of the first quarter.
Needless to say, this team has a lot of work to do this offseason to make sure they don't end another season without a playoff victory.
For now, however, here are some takeaways from their loss:
McCown: Veteran quarterback Josh McCown was rushed into action at the end of the first quarter, and for the most part, played at a high level.
After a shaky start, McCown started to heat up towards the end of the second quarter. First, he found tight end Dallas Goedert over the middle on 3rd-and-7 for a 17-yard gain. The completion moved the Eagles to the Seahawks 37-yard line, and on the next play, McCown ran 11-yards for a first-down. The two plays were huge in what turned into a field-goal drive that tied the game at 3-3.
Overall, McCown started 12/15, displaying some nice accuracy in the process. The issue was in the red zone, where the first three scoring drives stalled, resulting in just nine points.
In the fourth quarter, McCown got the offense moving again, getting them all the way down to the Seattle 24-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-four, McCown hit a wide-open running back Miles Sanders in the flat, but Sanders dropped the ball and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs.
McCown had one final shot to play hero as he got the ball with just under five minutes to play in the game, down 17-9. A long completion to tight end Dallas Goedert got the Eagles to their own 48-yard line. A deep attempt to receiver Shelton Gibson resulted in a pass interference call which got the ball all the way down to the Seahawks 13-yard line. Once again the drive stalled, however, as facing a fourth-down from the 10-yard line, McCown was sacked, ending the drive.
Carson Wentz: The Eagles' starting quarterback left the game with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter after suffering a head injury. His return was officially listed as questionable. Needless to say, Wentz having to leave his first ever playoff game with an injury will be a topic of discussion all week and although McCown played pretty well, there is no question it changed the game.
Defense: Give the defense credit — once again, they played at a high level when the team needed them to, giving up a total of 17 points and keeping the Seattle offense in check for most of the game. If not for a few great plays by quarterback Russell Wilson the defense might have held Seattle under 10 points. With the offense struggling, however, 17 points was not enough to win the game.
Russell Wilson: What was supposed to be a matchup between two of the premier quarterbacks in the league was instead just a display of how good Wilson is — especially on third down.
Wilson made a great play on 3rd-and-11 with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter, escaping pressure and getting the Seahawks a first-down on the Eagles' 38-yard line. The conversion helped the Seahawks end the drive with a field goal and take a 3-0 lead.
Later, on 3rd-and-10, Wilson hit receiver David Moore, who broke a tackle attempt by cornerback Cre'Von LeBlanc and proceeded to run 38 yards for not only the first-down, but got the ball down to the Eagles' five-yard line. That drive ended in a touchdown, giving the Seahawks a 10-3 lead.
In the second half, after the Eagles closed the gap to 17-8, Wilson and the Seahawks faced a 3rd-and-15. The Eagles seemed to have Wilson in the backfield, but he escaped and was able to 18-yards for the first down. The defense, however was able to hold on that drive and kept the Seahawks off the board.
D.K. Metcalf: Metcalf is a player Eagles fans will always look at and wonder what could have been, as they had a chance to draft him in the 2019 NFL Draft but instead took receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Metcalf made the Eagles pay Sunday for passing on him, pulling in a 53-yard touchdown with just under nine minutes to play in the third quarter, a catch that required him to get up after diving for the ball and running in. The touchdown gave the Seahawks a 17-6 lead.
Vinny Curry: Defensive end Vinny Curry gave the Eagles a huge boost early on when he blocked a field goal in the first quarter, preventing the Seahawks from taking a likely 3-0 lead. The block got an already fired up crowd even more riled up, and briefly gave the Eagles some momentum — momentum they weren't able to hold on to for very long.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
