PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On one hand, it was a valiant comeback effort against one of the top teams in the NFL. On the other hand, it was another loss.
Despite coming within two points of tying the game in the closing minutes, the Eagles fell to Baltimore, 30-28, in South Philadelphia.
The Eagles were down 17-0 at halftime and 30-14 in the second half, but a touchdown run by Carson Wentz with 1:55 remaining cut the deficit to 30-28.
However, the Eagles could not convert on a two-point conversion attempt, and the Ravens ran out the clock after recovering an onside kick. The loss dropped Doug Pederson's squad to 1-4-1 on the season.
"It's self-inflicted wounds," said Pederson. "It's things I've been talking to our team all week about. When you're playing good football teams like the Ravens are, you can't make those mistakes. You can't do it."
Wentz also threw for two touchdown passes in the loss despite being under duress throughout the afternoon. Wentz was sacked six times and was pressured on a host of other throws, but still managed to give the Eagles a chance to win at the end. It was little consolation for Wentz, who was once again working with a host of backups due to injuries.
Related
"You're putting guys in there that might be here for a week," Wentz said. "That's football. That's the way of life. You can't control it. My least favorite part of the game is injuries and seeing guys go down. I hate seeing it, but you don't have time to worry about that in a game."
It was the same story of inconsistency for the Eagles defense. The Ravens were able to come up with a host of big plays at some of the most critical points of the game. Brandon Graham and the rest of the defensive players know they need to play better even with several key contributors out of the lineup.
"We know we've got to fix some issues," Graham said. "We've got to get some healthy guys out there that can really help us, too, but I do love what I see with the guys that are coming in. They seem like they're ready when they go in."
The Eagles will have little time to lick their wounds. It will be a short turnaround this week with the Eagles set to host the Giants on Thursday night. Despite the loss to Baltimore, the Eagles will have a chance over the next three weeks to play three straight division games and turn their fortunes around. The only question for Jason Kelce and his teammates will be if they have enough healthy bodies.
"We've had some injuries here before," Kelce said. "Obviously, this is on another level."