The conclusion to one of the most roller coaster rides of a season to Eagles football that we’ve witnessed in recent memory came to a disappointing end at Lincoln Financial Field. We all know what happened. It was Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, a subject of many trade rumors for the Eagles in preseason, who ruined an entire city’s chances at a Super Bowl title when he knocked Carson Wentz from the game with a concussion. The hit could have been flagged four different ways. It could have been called targeting, spearing, helmet to helmet and a late hit. Incredibly, not a single penalty was called, and the NFL ruled not even to fine Clowney for the egregious hit.
Give backup quarterback Josh McCown credit, as well as a stingy defense, for keeping the Eagles in the game. But the difference between Wentz and McCown, a 40-year-old backup with no postseason experience, was likely the difference between a win and a loss for the Eagles. It also didn’t help that McCown played the entire second half of the game with a hamstring that tore completely off the bone.
For a third straight season, Wentz was injured at the end of the year, and for a second straight year, the Eagles’ quest for another Super Bowl title came to an end much earlier than most had anticipated. A 9-7 record and division title, but a first-round home playoff exit, has sparked the debate of whether 2019 was a successful year for the Eagles.
The Case for Yes:
The amount of injuries the Eagles suffered in 2019 really can’t be expressed enough. The following key players missed significant time at one point or another in 2019: Jordan Howard, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz, Jason Peters, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Malik Jackson, Tim Jernigan, Nigel Bradham, Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills. In fact, the only starters for the Eagles to play in all 17 games in 2019 were Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins, Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo and Rodney McLeod.
Look at who Carson Wentz was throwing the ball to down the stretch. In the Eagles’ regular season finale, the leading receivers were Boston Scott, Dallas Goedert, Joshua Perkins, Deontay Burnett and Greg Ward. Only Goedert was even on the Eagles’ roster at the beginning of the season. Scott, Perkins and Ward were on the Eagles’ practice squad, and Burnett wasn’t even in the NFL. You can’t make this stuff up.
For the Eagles to overcome their injuries and still win the NFC East speaks to the great coaching of Doug Pederson and the resilient play of Carson Wentz, Miles Sanders and a number of practice squad players in the month of December.
The Case for No:
The 2019 Eagles entered the season with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Their over/under according to Pro Football Reference was 10.5 wins. They had the fourth-highest Super Bowl odds at +1200. But at no point during the 2019 season did the Eagles feel like a legitimate Super Bowl contender. They barely felt like a playoff contender until they actually won the division, and even that accomplishment wouldn’t have happened without a historically weak division.
The 2019 Eagles struggled to play a complete football game all year. They trailed 17-0 against the eventual 3-13 Washington Redskins in Week 1. They lost consecutive games with a last-minute drop by a wide receiver. They were blown out by Minnesota and Dallas in consecutive weeks in mid-October. The offense couldn’t move the ball at home against New England and Seattle. They lost to a Miami Dolphins team that was actively trying to lose games. Even their season-ending four-game win streak required three fourth quarter game-winning drives against teams that averaged 4.75 wins in 2019.
Let’s not forget the struggles of Carson Wentz, especially in the month of November. Wentz has never been one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the league, but for a brief stretch, he struggled more on simple throws than I’ve ever seen from a good quarterback. His negative chemistry with Alshon Jeffery has been well-publicized and it certainly didn’t help to lose DeSean Jackson and finish the season with a practice squad former college quarterback as his top wide receiver. But great quarterbacks elevate their teammates, and until the season’s final quarter mark, it seemed that Wentz was more dragged down by his poor play at wide receiver than the opposite.
My Decision:
If I had told you five months ago that the Eagles would finish 9-7 and lose at home in their first playoff game, you wouldn’t have been happy with this season. Now imagine I told you that Carson Wentz would finally make his playoff debut and throw just three passes before leaving with an injury. I can’t overlook that.
The Eagles managed to salvage their season with a late stretch in December, although they greatly benefited from playing three teams that had all started with a 2-9 record. The Eagles’ schedule was the seventh-easiest in the NFL. Many of the key players, notably Zach Ertz, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, are at least 30 years old entering the 2020 season. In the end, the Eagles went another year without their franchise quarterback getting the opportunity to do what had eluded him the previous two seasons: finally play in a postseason game.
The future for the Eagles will always be bright as long as they have Doug Pederson as their head coach and Carson Wentz as their quarterback. But this was ultimately a lost year, even with some fun moments in December. There’s a lot of work to be done this offseason if the Eagles want to come close to competing for a Super Bowl title in 2020. As of now, they’re merely a good, not great team, and that’s not what anyone in Philadelphia envisioned following the hoisting of the Lombardi trophy two seasons ago. http://gty.im/1196746250
