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Eagles-Vikings Up-Down Drill: Jim Schwartz’s defense once again can’t cover in Minnesota

Highs and the many lows from the Eagles' 38-20 loss to the Vikings.

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, center, watches the Vikings move the ball on his defense in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia Eagles fall 38-20 to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN on October 13, 2019.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, center, watches the Vikings move the ball on his defense in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia Eagles fall 38-20 to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN on October 13, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones

DOWN – The Eagles cornerbacks weren’t solely responsible for Kirk Cousins’ 333 yards and four touchdowns passing. It took a group effort to perform that poorly. But they’re just not good enough to offset a pass rush that has under-performed for most of the season.

Malcolm Jenkins

DOWN – It’s rare to see the Eagles captain blow an assignment, but that’s just what he did when he vacated the middle on Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs’ second long touchdown catch.

Jim Schwartz

DOWN – He had few answers for Cousins and the Vikings offense. Schwartz isn’t responsible for drafting Jones and Douglas, but Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has often given the defensive coordinator significant say in personnel.

Fake field-goal attempt

DOWN – Doug Pederson’s aggressiveness is one of his best attributes. A few failed fourth-down or two-point conversion gambles are worth the cost. But his decision to fake a field before the half -- even if the two-score point differential is factored into the equation -- was the wrong one, as was the play call. He said the play was designed for Dallas Goedert to go out of bounds, but what if he didn’t with no timeouts and less than 15 seconds remaining?

Eagles wide receivers

DOWN – It was another subpar day for the DeSean Jackson-less group. Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, and Mack Hollins averaged just a combined 5.6 yards on 21 targets. There isn’t a consistent deep threat among them.

Miles Sanders the receiver

UP – He caught three passes for 86 yards -- one for 45 yards and another a 32-yard touchdown. The rookie running back has five 30-plus-yard catches over the Eagles’ last four games. Unfortunately for the team, he’s the lone downfield threat right now.

Miles Sanders the running back

DOWN – As forecast by Pederson, Jordan Howard logged more of the workload on the ground -- 13 carries to Sanders’ 3. But the rookie continues to dance with hesitancy on certain rushes.

Carson Wentz

SIDEWAYS – The quarterback kept the Eagles within striking distance with an assortment of throws and scrambles. But he came up short when needed most, taking a delay of game penalty on third down and taking a sack on the subsequent fourth down.

Eagles’ zero blitz pickup

DOWN – Wentz wasn’t primarily at fault for the sack, although he had to know the Vikings were coming. But Howard appeared to miss his assignment when linebacker Eric Kendricks came up the middle on a zero blitz.

Zach Ertz

DOWN – He was invisible in the first half, partly because the Vikings were shading coverage to his side. But Ertz never got in rhythm with Wentz and then fumbled the last remaining chance the Eagles had of pulling off a comeback.

Zach Brown

DOWN – The Eagles linebacker didn’t want to talk about Cousins, whom he had labeled the “weakest link” on the Vikings last week. Brown did little to back up his big mouth, once failing to bring the quarterback down, and gave the Minnesota unnecessary bulletin board material.