The Philadelphia Eagles fumbled an opportunity to take advantage and beat a Denver Broncos team that only scored three points until the fourth quarter of their Week 5 game.
The Eagles blew a 14-point lead, and the Broncos staged an 18-point comeback in the fourth quarter to win the game, 21-17. Victory was in the Eagles' grasp, but the Birds failed to take advantage of the Broncos' inability to score, with it not helping that Jalen Hurts was sacked six times and scored just seven points in the second half.
The concerns about the offense are becoming too much to ignore, with the Eagles scoring below 20 points for the first time this season. Having a short week due to playing the New York Giants on "Thursday Night Football," the Eagles will need to figure things out quickly and use the Giants as a "get right game" to get back on track.
Even though Hurts threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, his touchdowns didn't come to either of his top two receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Smith had eight receptions for 114 yards, while Brown had another pedestrian game, having 43 yards on five receptions. Brown and Smith have one game each with over 100+ yards this season.
Brown did have a chance to make a big play, as he said he wanted to make, during the third quarter. The Eagles had a 1st-and-15 with 3:43 to go, and Hurts overthrew a deep ball to Brown, which could've been a touchdown. Brown commented on the Eagles' "inconsistency" on offense in his postgame meeting with the media at his locker, with these "inconsistencies" not hard to miss in this game.
"Yeah, we started out really good. We were throwing the ball around the yard. Just didn't finish in the second half, the inconsistency showed up again," Brown said.
Running back Saquon Barkley echoed Brown’s sentiments about the offense when speaking to The Athletic's Zach Berman, saying there's no pleasing anyone with whatever game plan they scheme.
"I don't really know what you want. If I touch the ball too much sometimes, we're not throwing enough. If we throw it too much and I only have nine touches — I'm not in the business of, what are we doing enough? I'm in the business of winning football games. We didn't win the football game. With nine touches, we had the opportunity to win the football game still. We weren't detailed enough. Too many mistakes, too many penalties."
The Eagles have a quick turnaround, playing the Giants on "Thursday Night Football," and they need to erase this loss from their memory. The Giants handed the New Orleans Saints their first win of the season on Sunday, losing 26-14.
This game against the Giants could help the Eagles fix their offensive struggles. The Giants have allowed 1,265 passing yards, six touchdowns and 700 yards rushing this season, the perfect recipe for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to get his star receivers and running backs going.
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