Takeaways from the Philadelphia Eagles loss at Baltimore

It seems like it comes down to one or two plays every game.

The Eagles were fine with that. He said the Eagles gave the Ravens “a smack in the mouth” after they ran for 169 yards, the most rushing yardage that Baltimore has yielded in a game this season. Wentz went right from winning the FCS championship game last January to the Senior Bowl, the Scouting Combine, the team visits; this winter and spring he cannot only rest a bit but also study the ups and downs of 2016, knowing the offense he’ll be in and most of the people he’ll be working with, which was not the case a year ago.

Q: Given the way you had been able to run the ball, why call for a pass play?

Doug Pederson probably made the choice he had to make, going for the win on a two-point conversion with four seconds left, down 27-26, instead of kicking an extra point and heading into overtime.

So what did the Eagles do to gash the Ravens’ seemingly impenetrable wall? “It was a good call, but they made a good play”, Wentz said, after the Eagles lost their seventh road game in a row.

The Philadelphia Eagles are 5-9, have glaring weaknesses and several holes to fill during the offseason. As a result, Baltimore edged closer to a potential playoff berth. The Eagles were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs but clinched a fourth-place schedule for next season.

Eagles: Host the New York Giants on Thursday in a rematch of an October 30 game the Eagles lost 28-23.

Rookie Carson Wentz directed a drive that produced a field goal with 2:22 remaining. “On defense, we believe we set the tone for this team”. He does struggle as a pass-catcher, so him not being on the field on a two-minute drive is reasonable, even on a day in which he dominated.

With RB Darren Sproles in concussion protocol, the Eagles will be creative in finding ways to dent the Baltimore defense. If Mathews secures the ball, the Eagles could’ve run out the clock and won that one.

Wentz scored from four yards out, bowling over safety Eric Weddle with 4 seconds to play. “I’ll take responsibility for it”, Harbaugh said, via the team’s website. I knew that contact was coming. “Once it got tipped, the guy was draped over me, which was no call”. He carried nine times for 22 yards and demonstrated above average pass protection skills.

His interception on the opening drive led to a 5-play Ravens touchdown drive. The quick-hitting play was created to beat the blitz. Take away Smith’s 34-yarder and Wallace’s slant, and the pride of Audubon, N.J., threw for 118 yards, 14-for-27. Terrance West’s 41-yard run in the third quarter for Baltimore was a career best. “It’s just making him a better quarterback for not only the rest of the season, but for the future”. As we’ve said before, it’s a lot of the same problems every week, which in a weird way is a good thing because it means the fixes this team needs are clear cut. “It showed coach’s aggressiveness and his belief in us”. “But, they really have nothing that they’re playing for, so of course they’re going to go for the win”. Vladimir Ducasse essentially got bench pressed out of the way, giving Fletcher Cox a free lane to Flacco on another play.

The Ravens did have eight potential rushers lined up against the Eagles’ six blockers, so it would have taken some ingenious blocking scheme or a herculean effort from the ball carrier in order to pick up the yards needed, but if Pederson had come out in a power formation, instead of having his team line up in shotgun, those would have been viable options. “We’re learning from this”.

The Eagles’ success bumped the Ravens’ yards-per-game average allowed up almost 7 yards, from 75.5 yards per game to 82.1. The Eagles drove to the 7 but busted running play and a failed fade pattern sent Caleb Sturgis into the game for his fourth field goal – from 29 yards. The Eagles have just 10 pass plays of 30 yards this season, and four came in a November 6 loss to the Giants. Ryan Mathews and Kenjon Barner, who was a healthy scratch last week, will be getting almost all the carries.

OK, so you don’t run, but you don’t throw the ball into a congested area of the field, either.