Eagles Trapped in Minnesota

The Eagles players and coaches talked all week about knowing Sunday’s contest was a “trap game”—and then they walked right into it, and lost to the lowly Minnesota Vikings, 48-30.

Nick Foles was not as sharp as usual, and the offense had some trouble getting started early, but after amassing 475 yards of offense and scoring 30 points, they’re well down on the list of parties to blame for this loss.

At the top of that list are Chip Kelly and the Eagles defense. Kelly has done an excellent job this year by all accounts, but he blew it big time on Sunday.

Nick Foles was the Eagles’ leading rusher; not because Lesean McCoy was not getting yards or because the offensive line couldn’t open holes for the talented RB, but because he was given a grand total of eight carries! No other running back touched the ball all game.

One week after running the ball 46 times for 299 yards against the second-best rush defense in the NFL, the Eagles ran the ball 13 times for 79 yards, and five of those carries were by Foles. The Eagles pass/run ratio was an astounding 83/17.

When Kelly did actually call runs, they were as successful as they had been a week earlier. The team averaged 6.5 yards a carry against the Lions and 6.1 yards per carry against the Vikings yet they inexcusably refused to continue running the ball.

Play-calling like that accounts for a time of possession disparity of 36 minutes (MIN) to 24 minutes (PHI), and tires out a defense that had been playing way over its head for the last two months.

The defense was abysmal Sunday in a way it had not been for the last nine games during which players had kept everything in front of them, were rarely beaten deep, and which, above all, had done a great job of tackling.

On Sunday, the Eagles tackled poorly and surrendered numerous deep balls. Greg Jennings, who had been a bitterly disappointing free agent acquisition for the Vikings, caught 11 passes for 163 yards, including a 57 yard TD. Someone named Jarius Wright had 95 yards, including a 42-yarder, and backup tight end Chase Ford made a 37-yard catch against the Eagles secondary.

The fact that the Eagles defense allowed the Vikings to rack up 455 yards and 48 points without Adrian Peterson or even his backup, Toby Gerhart, is an embarrassment. Journeyman QB Matt Cassel threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another.

The Eagles held third-string running back Matt Asiata, to 51 yards on 30 carries. But Asiata, who entered the game with three career carries in the NFL, left having scored three touchdowns.

The Vikings were having much less success with the run than were the Eagles, but they stuck with it, creating balance, moving the chains, possessing the ball, and keeping their defense off the field.

Chip Kelly could have done the same, but simply didn’t. His failure to do so is the most egregious error he has made in an otherwise excellent inaugural season in the NFL. And it might cost him dearly, though the Cowboys epic choke job on Sunday softened the blow.

At stake was an opportunity to make the Dallas game in Week 17 meaningless because the Eagles could have clinched the NFC East title before that game. For that to happen now, the Cowboys would have to lose to the Redskins Sunday- a definite possibility. Kelly had better make up for it next week at the Linc in what is an important game against the 8-6 Chicago Bears.

At the professional level, it’s not really the coach’s job to motivate players. They should be motivated to play well by their obligation to their profession and to their teammates. It is a coach’s job to read a situation and to call a game accordingly.

Had the Eagles tried to pound the football, as they did last week, they would have kept their defense off the field and allowed them to achieve the rhythm a balanced offense creates.

Coming into Sunday’s game, the Eagles had run the ball the third-highest percentage of the time in the NFL this season and, as a result, they had the third-rated offense in football; first in rushing.

The fact that Kelly inexplicably went away from that plan of attack is beyond inexcusable. What in the world was Kelly thinking?

Fans love Chip Kelly because he loves to run the ball, which is such a departure from the last coach, but Sunday, his offense was as out of balance as Andy Reid’s ever was.

The Eagles control their own destiny. Going into this season, any Eagles fan would have jumped at the opportunity to be in this position. Next week, they have an opportunity to remain in control, in their own house, on primetime. Get it done, Chip.