Struggling Eagles Cap Off Terrible Night For Philly Fans

When it rains, it pours for Philly sports fans. After watching the Phillies throw away their season in one of the worst ways you could imagine, they were subjected to watching the Eagles take their 2nd straight loss. This time, not to a scrappy Broncos team with a great defense. Instead, to the lowly 1-4 Giants, who came into the week averaging the 5th fewest points per game in the NFL.

Unlike past weeks, the blame can't be solely put on the offense. While they still had many issues for the 6th straight week, a beaten-up Eagles defense joined them in their struggles this time. Giving up 20 points before the half, including 2 TDs in the 1st quarter. By the time the 4th quarter began, they had scored their 4th TD of the night to make it a 27-17 game.

There was no Jalen Carter, and they lost Quinyon Mitchell early in the game. Reed Blankenship also got haken up, and Cooper DeJean was visibly limping on the field at times. But even still, a Giants team that struggled even after making the switch to Jaxson Dart, moved the ball almost at will on the Eagles' defense. Dart made finding open receivers look easy, and Cam Skattebo gained extra yards every time he touched the ball.

Beyond the injuries, they just did not tackle well. Both TDs in the quarter came after bad missed tackles. And Skattebo's 2nd TD featured Adoree Jackson completely whiffing on an attempt.

Eventually Skattebo made it a 3 TD Night.

There were actually some good signs for the offense. They moved the ball a bit better, and there were times that Barkley looked more like he did a year ago.

But the issues that hampered them in the first 5 games were still there. Bad run blocking, bad pass blocking, unimaginative routes. When Barkley had space, he got yards. But too often he got hit before he reached the line of scrimmage.

Early in the 4th quarter, with a chance to make it a 3-point game, Hurts threw his first interception of the season. A pick that almost went the other way for a TD. It was a bad underthrow by Jalen that eventually led to Skattebo's 3rd TD of the night, and made it 34-17.

The next time they had the ball, they started to drive down the field again, but then AJ Dillon fumbled. The usually disciplined and turnover-free Eagles crumbled near the end of the game.

A lot of blame has been thrown at Kevin Patullo. he deserves much of it. The Eagles' game plan and play calling have been predictable. If people at home can see what is coming, you know for sure Defensive Coordinators see it too.

But the drop in quality from last year, a team that looked nearly unbeatable, to this, cannot be explained by having a bad OC. The offense didn't look this bad under Brian Johnson this early.

There are deeper problems. The O-Line is a mess. AJ Brown is not making plays. The defense is now getting shredded. They have serious problems. Patullo's struggles in his new role do not explain all of those issues.

At 4-2, they have time to fix them. But that time can run out fast, and they have a long way to go. It is not early in the season anymore. And whatever is wrong, they need to fix it fast. Or they can kiss any dreams of being repeat champions goodbye.

There are bigger problems than bad playcalling here. The unshakable team we saw last season suddenly looks fragile. They got punched in the face last week, and then responded by playing even worse 4 days later.

This was a team that looked defeated by the end. Last year, we constantly called them a team that just knew how to win. Now, they look like a team that finds ways to lose. The Giants are not a good team. 4 days ago, they got crushed by the Saints, another not-so-good team. But they embarrassed the Eagles tonight.

We did not even mention the Flyers losing yet. But with all due respect to them, I doubt many thought much about their loss to the reigning repeat champion Panthers. A 2-1 loss to the best team in the league may even be a bit uplifting by the standards of tonight.

The Phillies not only lost, they did so in an infuriating fashion. Their star bats went cold again, they wasted great pitching, and Orion Kerkering threw the ball away at home when there was an easy play to make at 1st to end the inning. Then the Eagles got smoked by the Giants.

Fans have a weekend to recover. The Flyers play again on the road on Saturday, and then play their home opener on Monday Night. But nothing they can do will soothe the sting that was this horrible night from the Phillies and Eagles.