Game Review: Eagles Offense Vs. Seattle

Here’s a player-by-player breakdown of what we saw from the Eagles’ offense against the Seahawks after having re-watched the game.

QUARTERBACKS

Mark Sanchez – He obviously struggled throughout. Sanchez became the second QB this season to attempt at least 20 passes and total fewer than 100 yards in a game. The other was Andy Dalton. Overall, Sanchez went 10-for-20 for 96 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The thing about facing a defense as good as Seattle’s is there are not going to be a lot of chances to make plays in the passing game. You have to make the most of your opportunities. And Sanchez did not do that.

On the first play, he stepped up, targeted Jeremy Maclin and was nearly intercepted by Richard Sherman. Sanchez threw short of the sticks to Jordan Matthews for a 6-yard gain on 3rd-and-10 on the first drive. Good decision to pull the ball and fire to Maclin for the 1-yard TD. Good throw on boot-action to his left, finding Matthews for a 17-yard gain in the first. Bad-looking deep ball intended for Cooper on the post against what I believe was Cover 3. He threw short of the sticks incomplete to Matthews on 3rd-and-9 in the second. Sanchez has had trouble on screens to the slot. He fired one high to Maclin in the second, which threw off the rhythm of the play on an incompletion.

Sanchez threw short of the sticks to Cooper on 3rd-and-6 in the second and gained only 4 yards. The receivers had a tough time separating on those crossing routes and had trouble picking up YAC. Sanchez connected with Ertz on the 35-yard TD down the sideline in the third. It wasn’t a perfect throw, but was good enough. It looked like he missed Ertz open on third down in the third, instead firing incomplete to Maclin. And Sanchez was late on the corner route to Matthews that was incomplete in the third. He threw high to a wide-open Ertz for an incompletion in the fourth, but a replay showed there was a linebacker in front who affected the throw. Sanchez stepped up in the pocket, but made a horrible throw to Cooper on the interception in the fourth. I need to see the All-22, but it looked like he had Matthews wide open down the sideline on the play. Sanchez dumped it off short to Maclin on 3rd-and-20 on the final drive.

Per Pro Football Focus, he was only blitzed four times on 24 dropbacks. Sanchez was 1-for-4 on passes that traveled 20+ yards downfield. And he only completed three passes all day that were 10 yards or more past the line of scrimmage.

RUNNING BACKS

LeSean McCoy – He was obviously playing the game under difficult circumstances. McCoy ran 17 times for 50 yards and did not play particularly well. There were times when it looked like the Eagles had some opportunities to pick up yards on the ground, but they failed to convert. McCoy gained 6 on his first carry and then did a good job converting a 4th-and-1 on the first TD drive. He gained 10 on a counter run in the second. Good patience on a 4-yard run in the second. After halftime, McCoy lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. Seattle scored a touchdown off of the turnover. He had a huge hole in the fourth, tried to cut back, slipped and only picked up 1. McCoy lost his footing and only picked up 1 on another run in the fourth. He said afterwards that the last sack was his fault. He didn’t pick up the blitzer.

Darren Sproles – I’m surprised he wasn’t more involved. Sproles only played 13 snaps and was not targeted. He ran four times for zero yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Jeremy Maclin – Got matched up with Richard Sherman for most of the game and had three catches for 21 yards. Maclin scored an easy TD from 1 yard out as the Seahawks failed to account for him when he motioned from right to left. I’m not sure what Seattle was doing. The Eagles show that motion/play all the time in the red zone. Nice job coming back to the ball and picking up 12 yards in the third. For those wondering whether Sanchez missed opportunities to Maclin, I couldn’t tell off TV tape. I was surprised they didn’t move him around a little bit more to manufacture better matchups.

Riley Cooper – Good block on the Maclin TD in the first. Other than that, he was quiet with three catches for 13 yards. The Eagles motioned him so he wouldn’t be pressed on third down in the second. Cooper ran a crossing route, but got no separation from Byron Maxwell. He was stopped after a 4-yard gain on 3rd-and-6. Sanchez looked for him deep twice, and neither was a good throw.

Jordan Matthews – The Eagles thought they had a good matchup with Matthews against Maxwell in the slot, but it didn’t turn out that way. He picked up 6 on 3rd-and-10 on the first drive. Matthews gained 17 on an over route against Maxwell in the second. He was targeted incomplete on 3rd-and-9 in the second, but would have been short of the sticks anyway. Could not separate from Maxwell on a crossing route in the third (Matthews wanted a flag). It looked like he could’ve had a touchdown down the sideline on the INT Sanchez threw to Cooper.

Josh Huff – Played five offensive snaps, but was not targeted. Suffered a hip injury at some point.

Brad Smith – Only played one offensive snap.

TIGHT ENDS

Brent Celek – Was not targeted in the pass game. Bad job in pass protection in the fourth, allowing pressure that forced Sanchez to step up and scramble.

Zach Ertz – Him against Seattle’s linebackers seemed like the one matchup the Eagles had going for them. Ertz finished with two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown on three targets. He was not targeted until the third quarter. Got matched up with Bobby Wagner and drew a 12-yard pass interference penalty on a corner route. Later on the drive, Ertz ran a vertical route down the sideline against K.J. Wright for the 35-yard TD. Good adjustment on the ball. In the fourth, he had a chance to convert a third-and-long, but couldn’t finish. Not an easy play, but one he probably should have made. Ertz leaped up and extended his arms, but the ball went through his hands. Per PFF, he was on the field for 16 of 24 pass plays. The Eagles probably should have gone to him more.

James Casey – He only played five snaps. Casey couldn’t finish his block on the LB on McCoy’s 6-yard run in the first.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

Jason Peters – He was solid for the most part. No major issues in protection. Peters helped clear the way for McCoy’s 6-yard run in the red zone in the first. Nice block on McCoy’s 10-yard run in the second. He failed to control the linebacker on McCoy’s 3-yard run in the third and was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for something he said after a failed third-down attempt.

Evan Mathis – Up and down game. Good job on McCoy’s 10-yard run in the second. Pulled, but got shoved into the backfield on McCoy’s 3-yard run in the second. Bennett slid right between him and Celek to drop McCoy for a 2-yard loss in the second. Couldn’t sustain block on Wagner on McCoy’s 4-yard run. Couldn’t sustain his block on on McCoy’s 3-yard run in the third. Mathis was solid in pass pro.

Jason Kelce – Inconsistent game from Kelce too. He whiffed on his block against Wagner on the sweep in the red zone that was stopped for a 2-yard gain. Good block on McCoy’s 10-yard run in the second. Got out in front of McCoy on the sweep that gained 5 in the second. Whiffed on his block at the second level on Sproles’ run that was stopped for no gain in the third. Let Cliff Avril get past him on a stunt on third down in the third, allowing a hit on Sanchez.

Andrew Gardner – He really struggled throughout. Kelce passed Bennett off to him, but Gardner gave up pressure on the first play of the game. Pulled on a sweep, but whiffed on his block on the next drive. On the 4th-and-1 play, it looked like he might have blocked the wrong guy. He and Kelce double-teamed the lineman and left the second-level defender completely free. But McCoy still picked up the first. Neither he nor Kelce accounted for Bennett, who knifed into the backfield on the play where Sproles lost 8 in the second. It set up 3rd-and-18 and killed the Eagles’ drive. Couldn’t control Bennett on McCoy’s 4-yard run in the second. Good kick-out on McCoy’s 5-yard run on 3rd-and-2 in the second. Beaten cleanly by Bennett on a sack in the fourth. Beaten in the fourth on a separate play that led to a sack.

Lane Johnson – He was OK. The Eagles went unbalanced, and he did a good job on McCoy’s 6-yard run in the red zone in the first. Failed to control the defensive lineman on Sproles’ run that was stopped for no gain in the third. Don’t know the play-call or his exact responsibilities, but Johnson let a defender slip through and hit Sanchez in the third. Failed to control Bennett on a 3-yard run in the third. Gave up some edge pressure in the fourth.