Nothing seems to be going right for the Philadelphia Eagles. For the fourth time in five games, they taste defeat yet again. Their heads will hang low due to the fact that of four of those losses, three were to division rivals.
The Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and New York Giants have all defeated the Eagles in their respective home stadiums. At home, the Eagles are perfect. On the road, not so much. The Eagles have only defeated the Chicago Bears on the road the entire season.
While I’m sure fans are glad that the Eagles are undefeated at home, I think they’d like their team to win on the road too.
[embedit snippet=”Ralph ads”]
These last several weeks, Doug Pederson was criticized for his play-calling being too conservative, especially last week in the loss to Dallas where the Eagles gave up a 10-point lead and opted not to kick a field goal which would have given the Eagles some points for breathing room. Points that would have been enough to win the game it turns out. Pederson was also criticized for not attempting a 4th down conversion and just taking a field goal early in the game.
It seems Pederson tried to be the complete opposite against the Giants. The Eagles opted not to kick two easy field goals on fourth down and the result was two failed conversions that cost the Eagles six points. Then, the Eagles finally opted to kick and the kick is blocked. No points for Philadelphia.
I began to wonder if there was a problem with Caleb Sturgis, who was hit on the first field goal attempt of the game. Sturgis made the kick but there was no call on the contact afterward. But, in the second half, Pederson opted to kick and Sturgis nailed another flawless field goal. So there goes that theory.
[embedit snippet=”1″]
Pederson has left six points on the board by opting not to kick twice. The game goes on and after a remarkable interception by Jordan Hicks, the Eagles are looking the end zone right in the face but can’t quite get there.
The game ends 23-28, Giants win by 5. Pederson needs to learn when to be aggressive and when to take the points, Late in the 4th quarter the Eagles were down by a score and Pederson made the decision to go for it on 4th and 9, It was successful. That is smart, you’re down points, you lay it all out there. When it’s early in the game, you take the points, it’s not rocket science.