Eagles-Vikings: What we learned from the loss

The Eagles dropped another close one – a 23-21 loss to the Vikings on Sunday – that was full of mistakes, and that can no longer be called uncharacteristic. Here's what we learned:

1. The Eagles might not be an enigma anymore. They just might not be good. The talent is there. On both sides of the ball, there have been stretches when the 2018 Eagles have looked like the 2017 championship version. But there have been just as many moments when they resemble the 2016 error-prone group that lost six of seven games decided by seven points or fewer. There have been devastating turnovers, ill-timed penalties, dropped passes, missed tackles and missed assignments.  The Eagles were flagged twice in the second half for illegal formation. How does that happen?

"There's really no excuse for that," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said.

>> ANALYSIS: Doug Pederson accepts and deserves blame for Eagles loss | Bob Brookover

You can blame the individual – Alshon Jeffery or Nelson Agholor — the officials credited the former for the first and didn't name the second — but that also goes back to coaching and preparation. Pederson and his staff haven't done a consistent job of fine-tuning the details. The 2-3 Eagles have already lost as many games as they did last season. The season isn't over by a long shot. The NFC East is up for grabs even if the first-place Redskins (2-1) beat the Saints on Monday night.

The Eagles have three days to prepare for the New York Giants (1-4), who will be in near-desperation mode. I always thought the Eagles would start off slowly with the Super Bowl hangover, the injuries and the quarterback situation. Maybe not this slowly, but they still have time to turn this ship around and finish strong. But the clock is running.

2. Doug Pederson had his worst game in some time. "It starts with me." Those were Pederson's words to his team after the loss. At least that's what he told reporters. He said he was going to take the blame, but was the thought perfunctory? I hope not.

Aside from not having his players prepared, and aside from his offensive game plan (more on that later), and his run-pass ratio (more on that later), Pederson made some dubious decisions. Punting on fourth-and-20 at the Vikings 40-yard line with a little more than nine minutes left in the game was, in retrospect, probably the wrong call. The Eagles trailed by six points. They had more than enough time to score twice if he opted to kick a field goal.

Pederson said after the game that Jake Elliott's maximum distance based on pregame warmups was 53 yards. The kicker has more than enough leg to be good from 58. There was hardly any wind. But the Eagles punted. The Vikings took the ensuing possession and kicked a field goal to take a nine-point lead that meant the Eagles had to score twice with less than three minutes left. They had only one timeout left because Pederson had to burn one when a fourth-and-1 call apparently came in late and because he challenged a Vikings sideline grab that was clearly a catch.

>> PHOTOS: Scenes from the sidelines at Eagles-Vikings

3. The offense is a hot mess, particularly in the first quarter. The Eagles have scored just seven points in the first quarter this season. Last season, they averaged seven in the first quarter. Pederson's scripted first drives, aside from the no-huddle series that produced a touchdown in the Colts game, have been negligent. Wentz nearly threw an interception on the first play Sunday. He checked down on the second. And he was sacked on the third when defensive tackle Linval Joseph steamrolled guard Isaac Seumalo.

On the second series, the Eagles faced third-and-1 at their own 34. I was thinking quarterback sneak. Carson Wentz converted every sneak he tried last season. If Pederson was concerned about placing his quarterback in harm's way, or if he felt the seemingly injured Jason Kelce couldn't anchor, then an inside handoff to Jay Ajayi or Wendell Smallwood would have been a plausible second option. Both are hard runners who have shown the ability to get yards after contact.

But Pederson called for an outside pitch to Josh Adams. Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter saw it the entire way, and the rookie running back was dropped for a loss. "We saw that play on film [and] thought it would be a good one. Thought we could not just get a couple feet, but thought we could get a big play out of it," Wentz said. "Their defensive end made a great play."

The Eagles have yet to score more than 23 points in a game this season. They scored at least 24 in 14 games, including the postseason, last season.

4. Jay Ajayi's comments about running more would carry more weight if he didn't fumble. Ajayi finished with 29 yards on eight carries. He had some nice rushes, as did Smallwood (three carries for 27 yards), but the sample was small. Overall, Pederson called at least 40 pass plays. Wentz kept and ran on at least one run-pass option play. He handed off to running backs just 12 times. The Eagles were trailing most of the game, and that typically calls for more passing, but there were opportunities to stay on the ground.

The offense had success running the ball on the opening drive of the second half. The Eagles drove 67 yards to the 6-yard line. They ran five times for 31 yards. But on first-and-goal, Ajayi lost the ball. The broadcast replay didn't show if a defender had popped the ball out or if simply lost it. Either way, it's inexcusable. The Eagles' seven fumbles are the most in the NFL.

Ajayi has a point, though. The Eagles run game hasn't really been stopped this season, and we saw last year that the offense was at its greatest when there was balance.

5. The offensive line can't seem to give Wentz enough time in the pocket. Jason Peters was asked about Lane Johnson's struggles after the game, but he segued to the overall issues plaguing the offensive line in pass protection. "Right now, we're struggling on the offensive line because we have to block longer," Peters said to reporters. "We have a quarterback that's coming off of an injury, and he wants to make a play. We just have to block longer in order for him to make a play. We just have to be better in pass protection."

I wasn't there for his comments, but he seemed to be acquitting the line for some of the sacks. I think Wentz can be held accountable for a few so far. He's been sacked a total of 12 times in three games. But he's played that way for three seasons. I don't think he's holding the ball any longer than he did last season, although there might not be as many open receivers. It's a multi-faceted problem, but it's a legitimate one.

Johnson was arguably the best tackle in the NFL last season as he shut down some of the best edge rushers in the NFL. But he has allowed two strip sacks this season – to Titans rookie Harold Landry last week and to relative unknown Stephen Weatherly of the Vikings this week.

6. Carson Wentz has played well, but the results haven't been there. The quarterback completed 24 of 35 passes (68.6 percent) for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't throw an interception, but he did fumble for the second straight game, when Weatherly blindsided him. Wentz also ran five times for 26 yards, twice escaping from would-be sacks.

The numbers don't give a complete story of his day. He was under duress, particularly in the first half. He also missed an open receiver once or twice. He underthrew Jeffery a touch on his first toss after the Vikings' early fourth-quarter fumble. He was called for intentional grounding a play later, although the pocket collapsed on him without a receiver open.

Wentz willed the Eagles to victory a few times last season. The second Redskins game comes immediately to mind. He can't be expected to do that weekly, but it also goes with the position and with being considered an elite quarterback.

7. The defense wasn't the problem – this week. Kirk Cousins completed 81 percent of his passes. He averaged more than 8.1 yards per pass attempt. He was sacked only once. And yet, there was hardly a feeling that Jim Schwartz's unit was getting one-upped.

>> ANALYSIS: Eagles frustrated by Michael Bennett roughing-the-passer penalty in loss to Vikings | Jeff McLane

The Vikings offense scored just 16 points. That should be enough for the Eagles to win. Switching Avonte Maddox for Corey Graham (just three snaps after playing 71 last week) full time at free safety appears to have been the right move. The Eagles allowed five pass plays of more than 20 yards. That's too many. Maddox appeared to be responsible for one. But he held his own. The Vikings converted just four of 11 third downs. They were just 1-for-4 in the red zone. That should be enough for the Eagles to win. It wasn't.

8. Jalen Mills played better but is still susceptible to the double move. It was inevitable. The Vikings were going to throw a double move at Mills in man coverage, and the route was going to be a deep one. After Ajayi's fumble, receiver Adam Thielen was matched up against Mills, who was in off coverage. Thielen gave Mills a little stop-and-go move, and the cornerback bit. He couldn't make up ground and the Vikings gained 68 yards on the play.

Mills played well otherwise. He broke up several short passes overall, and had tight coverage later in the drive as the Vikings had to settle for a field goal. After his last pass breakup, he and Thielen jawed at each other. As players tried to separate them, Fletcher Cox came over and pushed Mills back. Mills was having none of it and shoved the team captain back. After the field goal, Mills walked over to Cox, who was sitting down, and they spoke. Defensive end Chris Long got in the middle, but Mills called him off and slapped hands with Cox, in an apparent truce.

Cox downplayed the altercation after the game. He said he thought the nearby official was about to toss a flag. He said that Mills later told him that he didn't leave the field because he was on for the field goal. I don't know if Mills spoke to reporters after the game. He declined interview requests last week. On Monday, Pederson said on WIP that Mills needed to be cognizant that the Eagles were trailing and that any post-play jabbering was unnecessary.

9. The defensive line was the last unit to be bitten by the injury bug. First, it was receiver. Then, it was running back. And now, the defensive line has been hampered by injury. Two starters were out Sunday — defensive end Derek Barnett (shoulder) and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (calf). The Eagles had essentially a three-man rotation at end with Brandon Graham (52 of 62 snaps), Michael Bennett (49) and Long (29). Rookie Josh Sweat played but for only eight snaps.

Cox (53) and Destiny Vaeao (46) took most of snaps at tackle. Treyvon Hester, who was signed off the practice squad last week, played 11 snaps. Vaeao didn't show up in the stat sheet despite his significant playing time. He has only three tackles (one solo) in five games. The Eagles need more from him, at least until Tim Jernigan (possibly?) returns.

Graham got off to a hot start — a batted pass, a sack, a few tackles — but he cooled off. Could it have been the number of plays? Cox had four quarterback hits. Bennett had two, and he was robbed of a sack.

10. And a few leftovers: Zach Ertz led the Eagles with 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. The tight end became the first Eagles player to register 10-plus catches for 100-plus receiving yards in back-to-back games since Pete Pihos in 1954. He was the first NFL tight end to complete the feat since Tony Gonzalez in 2005. … Shelton Gibson caught a career-best 48-yard pass. He played only nine snaps and never was targeted.