Why the Eagles needed a "punch in the mouth" against the Buccaneers



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TAMPA – In a pirate-themed stadium, with guns everywhere, the Eagles simply did not have enough firepower.

The 27-21 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon came at Raymond James Stadium, with no Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery and Darren Sproles. Then Mike Wallace and Jason Peters left early and Jay Ajayi missed a significant part of the afternoon.

The Eagles entered a gun battle and had a hat gun.

While Ryan Fitzpatrick threw DeSean Jackson, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Nick Foles turned to Josh Perkins, Kamar Aiken and Shelton Gibson.

See the problem?

"Do not get me wrong, we have phenomenal players who are injured," said Zach Ertz, who had 11 catches for 94 yards. "But at the same time, there are expectations for the guys on the ground. We expect anyone in the field to play games. "

The Eagles love their philosophy of the next man. That happened for them en route to Broad Street after the 2017 season. But Kamar Aiken is not Alshon Jeffery. Shelton Gibson is not Mike Wallace.

And Nick Foles – even though he won the MVP Super Bowl – is still not Carson Wentz.

There is however a hint of positive news about Wentz. Head Coach Doug Pederson said he would talk about Wentz and give an update (which could be news about being contacted) on Monday (see the story) Getting Wentz back will help, but that will not necessarily compensate for other types of troubled players.

"We can not expect him to just put on his Superman cloak and be his old self," Ertz said. "It's going to be rusty. But we have a lot of good players in this team.

Although Pederson admitted that the loss of key players, especially those who lost in games, affected the game plan, he pointed to other reasons for the Eagles' early struggles. The Eagles had penalties and negative games that put them in really difficult situations in the first period:

3rd and 14th

3rd and 41st

3rd and 8th

3rd and 7th

3rd and 11th

3rd and 7th

It's hard to win like that. But it also becomes a kind of chicken or egg. Of course, penalties and bad performances hurt, but it's hard to imagine that having a guy like Jeffery, Wallace or Sproles would not help the Eagles find themselves in more manageable situations.

The girls ended up having very good numbers. He completed 35 of his 48 passes for a total of 334 yards and a touchdown, but the offense was just a blast, less a single game when Nelson Agholor got a short pass and made a big win.

It seems that missing these key offensive players does not serve the Foles.

"It's my job, I've been there," said Foles, "I've played this game a long time.You'll not always have everyone in good shape." It's just a part of this game, I do not focus on that, and whoever it is in this group, I trust them.

The girls can trust them. Pederson can trust them. And these players can trust each other and even play well at times.

But until these key players come back, the attack of these Eagles will not be the same.

The offensive will be explosive this season, it just needs its firepower.

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