Game Review: Eagles Offense Vs. Packers

Here’s a player-by-player look at what we saw from the Eagles’ offense Sunday, after having watched the All-22 copy.

QUARTERBACKS

Mark Sanchez – The final line reads 26-for-44 for 346 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Sanchez actually played pretty well in the first half, but he was a mess down the stretch.

Early on, he stepped up and hit Riley Cooper for 11 yards. Sanchez did a good job of resetting his feet off a play-fake in the first and finding Jeremy Maclin for 20 yards downfield. On the first sack, Sanchez got hit helmet-to-helmet. He may have injured his hand on the play. On tape, you can see Matt Tobin tries to help him up, but Sanchez is reluctant to put pressure on his hand. Later on third down, Sanchez had Jordan Matthews wide open, but he was looking for Darren Sproles against a linebacker. The Eagles botched their protection, and he took a sack. Good throw in a tight window to Matthews over the middle for a first down in the first. Excellent throw on the swing pass to LeSean McCoy in the second, hitting him in stride for an 18-yard gain. On the first red zone trip, he might have had Brent Clek for a TD, but Clay Matthews didn’t bite on the play-fake and sacked him. Good ball to Matthews on a corner route on third down in the first, but the rookie dropped it. Great job stepping up and delivering to Matthews for 40 yards at the end of the first half. Still not sure why the Eagles didn’t call timeout after that play.

Sanchez threw behind Zach Ertz in the second, but Ertz adjusted well for 15 yards. He was late on a ball to Matthews in the end zone at the end of the first half. Bad misfire to Maclin in the third. Sanchez and Ertz weren’t on the same page on the next play. Ertz flattened his corner route, but Sanchez sailed the ball incomplete. Bad ball to Cooper on the deep post in the third. That would have been a touchdown. On the same possession, he overthrew Sproles and missed another chance for a big play. He failed to see Julius Peppers dropping on the first interception. On the second interception, the Packers brought a blitz. The Eagles picked it up pretty well, but Sanchez was backpedaling and threw one up for grabs to Maclin. There could have been a flag. Later, he misfired again to Ertz on another corner route.

Overall, too erratic and too inconsistent – specifically in the second half. But he was not alone.

RUNNING BACKS

LeSean McCoy – The Eagles just can’t get the ground game going. McCoy ran 23 times for 88 yards. He didn’t make a lot of people miss, but the guys up front struggled in this one. McCoy slipped on the 18-yard reception in the first or might have had a touchdown. Good job weaving through traffic for 8 yards on a sweep in the second. He couldn’t explode past Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on a third quarter run that gained 5. The Packers did not stack the box against the Eagles. The offense had plenty of run-friendly looks, but did not execute. And obviously the game got out of hand in a hurry.

Darren Sproles – Two carries for 21 yards and two catches for 23. Sproles picked up 16 on a screen in the first. He later picked up 7 on a screen in the red zone. Sproles had a 13-yard run in the second that could have been a huge gainer had he gotten one more block. He gained 8 on a second-quarter carry. Sproles should have had a big play in the third, but Sanchez overthrew him near the sideline. Those two have not been able to get on the same page.

Chris Polk – Three carries for zero yards down the stretch.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Jeremy Maclin – Nine catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Maclin seemed to do his part. He had a 20-yard grab early and got open against man coverage for a 26-yard catch and run in the third. The second INT was intended for him. Good catch on a ball behind him on a crossing route. He played hard down the stretch and got in the end zone for a 20-yard score.

Riley Cooper – He had a chance for a better stat line, but Cooper finished with four catches for 39 yards. He got open on a deep post in the third, but Sanchez missed him. Good block on a screen to Maclin that picked up 4 in the second. He made a 5-yard grab near the sideline in the third, but ran out of bounds rather than try for some YAC. Cooper came down with a 14-yard catch off play-action in the third.

Jordan Matthews – He finished with five catches for 107 yards, but could have had an even bigger day. Matthews was wide open on third down in the first, but Sanchez got sacked. Nice catch in traffic for a first down early. Matthews had a big drop on a corner route that should have been a huge gain on third down in the second. Good adjustment, nice grab for 40 yards downfield on the last drive of the first half. Took on contact at the 7, stiff-armed the safety and got into the end zone in the third. Really nice play. Great job using his size and coming down with a 36-yard catch in the fourth.

Josh Huff – Not a good showing. It looked like he had the best chance to make a tackle on the punt return that went for a touchdown, but Huff couldn’t finish. Bad drop on third down in the third. Huff ran a crossing route and the ball hit him in the hands. On another target, it looked like he might have run the wrong route on an incompletion.

TIGHT ENDS

Brent Celek – He had a tough time against Julius Peppers. Peppers blew up a run play that was stopped for 3 yards in the first. On the next series, there seemed to be confusion as the Eagles ran a split zone with Celek, but he almost ran into McCoy and had no one to block. Good block on McCoy’s 5-yard carry in the first. Good block on the screen to Maclin that picked up 7 in the third. Nick Perry shoved him inside on McCoy’s third-quarter run that was stopped for no gain. Nice block on McCoy’s 13-yard run in the third. He had an 11-yard grab in the third.

Zach Ertz – He only played 27 snaps but had four catches for 55 yards. Ertz made a 12-yard grab on the first play of the final drive of the first half. Good adjustment, good hands on a ball thrown behind him in the second. Ertz picked up 15 on the play, but would have had a chance for some YAC with a better pass. He beat Ha Ha Clinton-Dix for a 22-yard gain on a crosser in the third. Sanchez missed him on a pair of corner routes, or he could have had a bigger day.

James Casey – He played 12 snaps, but was a non-factor.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Jason Peters – Not his best game. Peters couldn’t finish off the safety on Sproles’ 13-yard run in the second, or the Eagles might have had a huge gain. Good block on Sproles’ 8-yard run in the second. He stepped on Ertz’s foot and lost his balance as Clay Matthews pressured and hit Sanchez on third down in the second. Peters couldn’t hold off Mike Neal on a McCoy run that gained 4 in the third. Good seal on McCoy’s 13-yard run in the third.

Evan Mathis – He was up and down as well. Mathis got called for holding on a run play in the first, even though it looked like Matthews barreled into him on a sweep. He got just enough of Matthews on the screen to Sproles that picked up 16 in the first. Nice block on Sproles’ 8-yard run in the second. Mathis lost his footing and got bowled over on the final drive of the first half. Sanchez escaped a sack before firing incomplete. He lost his footing on a McCoy run that gained 2 in the third. Good job pulling on McCoy’s 13-yard run in the third.

Jason Kelce – He admitted afterwards that he didn’t play well. Kelce got pushed back by the nose tackle on McCoy’s 4-yard run in the first. He made a bad call in the first on a third-down sack. Kelce passed off Neal, expecting help from Mathis, but Mathis had to pick up a blitzing defensive back. Kelce couldn’t finish off the safety on McCoy’s 8-yard gain on a sweep in the second. He allowed penetration on McCoy’s 4-yard run in the second. His low snap late in the second resulted in a busted play as Sanchez dropped it and fell on it. Good seal on McCoy’s 13-yard run in the third. A high snap in the fourth resulted in a Packers TD. Kelce appears to be dealing with a thumb injury on his right hand.

Matt Tobin – He struggled. Tobin ended up on the ground on McCoy’s 3-yard run in the first. He was beaten badly one-on-one for a sack on the first drive. Tobin failed to control the defender on McCoy’s 3-yard run on the next drive. He and Lane Johnson both left their double team on McCoy’s 2-yard run in the first. Good block on a screen to Sproles that picked up 16 in the first. Nice job on a sweep to McCoy that picked up 8 in the second. Beaten in pass pro on the first play of the final drive of the first half. Gave up pressure on the final drive of the first half, but Sanchez stepped up and hit Matthews for a 40-yard gain. Good job on the sweep to McCoy that picked up 6 in the fourth.

Lane Johnson – Up and down. Johnson got walked back into Sanchez’s face by Peppers on the first play. Great block on Sproles’ 13-yard run in the second. Called for a false start on the final drive of the first half. Peppers slipped past him to stop McCoy for no gain in the third.