Former Eagles linebacker and current TV analyst Seth Joyner is blaming on person for the Eagles' eliminating loss to the Saints on Sunday: Jim Schwartz.
Related: Alshon Jeffery takes blame for Eagles' loss to Saints
"I put this loss solely on the shoulders of (Eagles defensive coordinator) Jim Schwartz," Joyner said on NBCSportsPhiladelphia's Eagles post game show. "Because as many times as this has happened, as many times as we have had a lead and giving it up—we can talk about the Titans game and the Panthers game, and almost giving away the Rams game after having great leads. After all of the instances, we didn't learn a thing."
That seems a little, maybe a lot, harsh.
Sure, the Eagles blew a 14-0 lead to the Saints, but Philadelphia came up just short losing 20-14 after a ball uncharacteristically went through Alshon Jeffery's hands. New Orleans ended the season as the NFC's No. 1 seed with the NFL's 5th best offense, but scored just 20 points against the Eagles. Sean Payton and Drew Brees have never lost a home playoff game together, to put how hard of a task this was for the Eagles in perspective.
Yes, Schwartz's refusal to blitz may have cost the Eagles some games early, but ultimately the team battled through some dramatic injuries on that side of the ball playing a large portion of their games without key guys like Jordan Hicks, Tim Jernigan, Rodney McLeod, Ronald Darby, and Jalen Mills. In Sunday's game alone, the team's best defensive player Fletcher Cox was in and out of the lineup battling a foot injury and Rasul Douglas missed snaps.
Not to mention, the Eagles' offense went scoreless after the first quarter.
I love Seth Joyner and I respect his opinion, and especially the way he never holds back. But the Eagles just came 20 yards short of the NFC Championship despite all of their challenges. They completed a two year stretch where they went 26-11 (4-1 in the playoffs), including a Super Bowl title. It's hard to blame anyone after that, let alone putting it all on the defensive coordinator.
