Grade the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the Miami Dolphins

The Eagles lost to the Miami Dolphins 20-19, and were forced to put in and finish the game with backup quarterback Mark Sanchez. This comeback win could be a huge morale boost going forward when wins are what the team desperately needs if they want a chance to reach the playoffs.

First, they drove to the Eagles 5 but settled for a 22-yard field goal.

To make matters worse, the Eagles also suffered two big losses.

The Eagles (4-4) game against the Dolphins begins a stretch of three winnable games for Philadelphia.

Andrew Franks hit a 42-yard field goal to give Miami a 3-0 lead on the opening drive. Receiver Rishard Matthews had five catches for 93 yards, trailing only Philly’s Brent Celek (134) as the game’s leader. But referee Terry McAulay called illegal shift on the Eagles and 12 men on the field for the Dolphins, the penalties offsetting.

The Birds offered no details on timetables on Bradford, who was unavailable after completing 19 of 25 passes for 236 yards and a two-yard first-quarter touchdown pass to Josh Huff. The Eagles are sitting about half a game behind the NY Giants for the lead in the NFC East, and with the G-Men facing off against the Patriots, this could be the week the Eagles jump into the lead.

On the next play after Bradford left, running back Ryan Mathews left to be evaluated for a head injury. Their other free agent running back acquisition is actually leading the Eagles in rushing. This week he faces an opponent that has been very up and down against the pass, but who allowed Sammy Watkins to run wild for over 160 yards last week.

The Dolphins then used their possession to put themselves back in position to score points.

Dolphins vs. Eagles Prediction: Eagles 27, Dolphins 17.

The sophomore receiver has been battling a hand injury, which has resulted in a motley of drops in the first half of the season.

But wait there’s more miscues that cost the Eagles what should have been a winnable game. What happened next was a freak play that pretty much encapsulated the Eagles’ season.

Bradford was knocked out of the game in the third quarter on a hit from Dolphins linebacker Chris McCain. Could you imagine the amount of hype there would have been if Tim Tebow walked out onto the field instead of Sanchez? If the Quarterback during that crucial final third both times is Mark Sanchez who has shown the same flaws in both seasons then the change would surely have to come from that angle.

Today’s Miami Dolphins vs Philadelphia Eagles NFL football game has a start time schedule of 1:00pm eastern time and airs on TV channel CBS in a few markets along with DirecTV Sunday Ticket nationwide.

The Eagles picked up the tempo on their next possession which stressed the communication of the Dolphins’ defense. The Dolphins’ rookies Bobby McCain, Neville Hewitt, Tony Lippett and Mike Hullreceived significant playing time throughout the contest and they seemed unsure of what their assignment were at times. Celek had just seven catches for 71 yards before his 60-yard catch and run on the Eagles first play from scrimmage. Sheppard and the Dolphins are 31st in run defense.

Miami Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, November 15, 2015, in Philadelphia.