LAS VEGAS - Losing is one thing.
Losing the way in which the Eagles did on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders is another.
It was embarrassing on so many levels.
Thousands of Eagles fans made the across the country to support the Eagles and their presence at Allegiant Stadium was so great that there were waves of green jerseys throughout various sections of the stadium.
They were so loud it sounded like a home game. At least early on when the Eagles marched down the field and took a 7-0 lead.
They were eventually quieted by a Raiders onslaught of 30 straight points. This one was over by the middle of the third quarter, if not earlier.
Maybe they had better luck in the casinos across the street from the stadium.
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Asked what he would say to those legions of fans, who witnessed an embarrassing 33-22 loss that left the Eagle at 2-5, tight end Dallas Goedert said: “I don’t think Eagles fans are ever going to lose faith. They might boo us, they might do all that, but most of the time they’re booing us we don’t give them a reason not to boo us.
"Philadelphia has some of the most passionate fans there are so they’re going to continue its support us, but we have to start winning.”
Some observations a day after the embarrassing outing:
What must Jeffrey Lurie be thinking? The owner was the one who signed off on a coaching staff that, so far, looks completely overmatched. Head coach Nick Sirianni doesn’t seem to have any answers on what to do on offense and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon runs a scheme the players don’t seem to believe in, as Fletcher Cox alluded to in his postgame interview.
A 3-point favorite, really? Yes, the Eagles will head to Detroit on Sunday as a favorite for the first time this season. The Lions are winless, but they gave the Rams all they could handle on Sunday, taking a 19-17 lead late in the third quarter before falling 28-19. The Eagles haven’t been that competitive since beating the Carolina Panthers, who by the way, haven’t won since starting 3-0, two weeks ago.
Does Jonathan Gannon survive the season? When players start to openly question your scheme and when even Nick Sirianni begins talking about how the defense has to find a way to give the offense more possessions, it wouldn’t be as surprising as it sounds.
Besides, Lurie wanted Doug Pederson to replace Frank Reich, then the offensive coordinator, after the 2016 season, but Pederson resisted. Good thing, too, given how vital Reich was in the Super Bowl run a year later.
Hope on the horizon. OK, it’s the distant horizon, but with the Miami Dolphins at 1-6 and the Eagles not far ahead with just two wins, the Eagles should be looking at a pair of top 10 picks. It’s looking like they will get the Colts’ first-round pick, too, and even though that won’t be in the top 10, a first-round pick is a first-round pick.
The question is, will Howie Roseman be the one making the picks?
No hope on the horizon. Go ahead and name a player the Eagles have drafted in the past, oh, three years that make you say, yeah, he’s the future, yeah, he can be a future Eagles Hall of Famer?
Invisible Jalen Reagor. Just when it looked like last year’s first-round selection was about to go without a catch for a second straight week, he rose up with three Raiders defenders around him near the 17 to grab a wobbly throw from Jalen Hurts and turned it into a touchdown with 3:50 to play in the game.
Reagor is a great enigma that would seem to benefit the most with a new coaching staff. It hasn’t worked out that way.
Zach Ertz has a game. Unshackled from Sirianni’s offense, the former Eagles tight end made a rosing debut with his new team, the undefeated Arizona Cardinals. Ertz had a career-long 47-yard touchdown reception and made three catches for 66 yards. He gave a postgame locker room speech and was given a game ball from head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Gone from Philly, but not forgotten by any means.
How did Ertz’s performance make other Eagles veterans feel? You wonder if there was a sense of envy from longtime Eagles such as Cox and Jason Kelce seeing the fresh start Ertz was given and with a Super Bowl contender, no less.
It was telling to see Kelce shake his head more than once when the offense was fizzling on the field and Cox was seen one time looking up at the video board behind one end zone when the defense was gashed for a big play.
And what about Goedert? Think the idea of being able to pick another team, one with actual Super Bowl chances, isn’t going to factor into his decision where he plays in 2022? The Eagles are going to have to blow him away with a big-money offer if they want him back.
Which one of these players will be former Eagles by Nov. 2 trade deadline?
Darius Slay or Steve Nelson. The Eagles have two rookie CBs in Zech McPhearson and Tay Gowan. It’s time to see what they can do. Nelson will be easier to trade given his contract, which is a one-year deal. Slay is another story.
Derek Barnett or Cox. Cox’s deal is another albatross that will make dealing him difficult. Barnett is in the year of his contract.
Ryan Kerrigan. The odds of him getting traded are virtually nil, but he could be released.
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