TAMPA – Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni glanced at the scoreboard during the third quarter of Sunday’s NFC Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a look of frustration and annoyance as “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)” bellowed out of the speakers at Raymond James Stadium.
The Buccaneers had just increased their lead to 24 points and Sirianni seemed to be wondering: How did this happen? In the fourth quarter, as the Bucs closed out their 31-15 victory, Sirianni had to endure the chants of “Eagles suck!” from Buccaneers fans.
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Sirianni was one of the reasons the Eagles are facing the long offseason instead of preparing for a divisional round playoff game. But he’s not alone. Here are a handful of the guilty parties:
Nick Sirianni
If the Eagles offense wanted to have a chance against the Buccaneers, they needed to run the ball effectively and use their top offensive weapons for big plays. But with Sirianni playing scared, the offense was never in synch.
Wide receiver DeVonta Smith, the Eagles most explosive player, was targeted twice in the first half, once on a wide receiver screen that was called back because of an offensive pass interference penalty against wide receiver Quez Watkins. Smith was open often, but quarterback Jalen Hurts couldn’t get the ball to him.
Smith — who led the team in targets, catches, and receiving yards — appeared to be an afterthought from the start. A reliable target downfield who can spring free after the catch, Smith caught four passes for 60 yards and pulled in a two-point conversion pass in the final minutes.
Jonathan Gannon
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon seemed content to play a lot of zone against Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, especially between the 20s. Brady carved up the Eagles, forcing Gannon to go to more press coverage and man-to-man, but the question is, why didn’t the Eagles start with those schemes? A 17-0 halftime hole proved too deep.
The Eagles had four sacks but could have had more if Gannon had called more man defenses early. Gannon, who is slated to interview for the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos head coaching gigs, didn’t help his bid.
Jalen Hurts
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts followed the same pattern as he has for most of the season: Have a lot of plays that shows that he has promise but later overthrow a pass or make a bad decision.
Hurts escaped the Buccaneers pass rush, eluding defensive lineman before running downfield. Hurts also kept alive plays downfield that way, finding Dallas Goedert in the second quarter on one of the team’s best drives of the game.
Hurts had receivers who were breaking open at the middle of the field but failed to pull the trigger, resulting in potential big plays downfield going wasted. The biggest example happened late in the second quarter when Hurts had Smith wide open in the end zone. Instead of recognizing that Smith was open and throwing the ball immediately to him, Hurts briefly hesitated, giving Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards enough time to come over and get the interception.
If Hurts wants to become an elite-level passer, his anticipation has to improve. If not, the questions about his future will continue to linger.
Jalen Reagor
The special teams units were one of the Eagles’ strengths this season. More often than not, the special teams would not put the Eagles in a bad position, but they did so Sunday. Wide receiver Jalen Reagor muffed a punt in the third quarter after the Eagles held the Buccaneers to a three-and-out. The Buccaneers capitalized on the ensuing series with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski, effectively ending any slim hopes of a comeback attempt. Reagor has rightfully drawn the ire of Eagles fans with his dropped passes and lack of big plays as a punt returner.
Arryon Siposs
Punter Aaron Siposs continued his January struggles, shanking two punts in the process, giving the Buccaneers good field position. Siposs had been good earlier in the season in pinning the ball inside the 20. Special teams coordinator Michael Clay said earlier in the week that they were working on a mechanical issue with Siposs’ punting process. However, the adjustments did not kick in. The Eagles may need to address the position once again in the offseason.
Jason Kelce
It was a tall task to go one-on-one with Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Via, but center Jason Kelce had issues at times blocking him on pass plays. Kelce was flagged twice for holding, one of which was borderline, and the other one that saw him grab a jersey. It was an uncharacteristic game for Kelce, who was named to his fourth All-Pro team this week.
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
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