Philadelphia Eagles News

Morning Roundup: Unfamiliar Territory

Sep 17, 2018 at 06:01 AM

Graham Foley

Good morning, Eagles fans. The Eagles lost their first meaningful game since last December on Sunday, falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 27-21. Philadelphia is now 1-1 this season, tied atop the NFC East. Doug Pederson will address the media at noon today, and the players will return to the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday as they prepare for Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts. Here's what you need to know in our Morning Roundup presented by Microsoft.

1. Too Little, Too Late As Rally Falls Short

After trailing at halftime 20-7, the Eagles put together a late comeback in Tampa as the offense began to find a rhythm and the defense made plays, including a timely forced fumble by safety Malcolm Jenkins.

Ultimately, the comeback was not enough as the Eagles lost by a score of 27-21. Here is the full game recap from the Week 2 loss:

"I try to preach to our guys that a lot of times it's our execution," head coach Doug Pederson told reporters after the game. "It's what we do that really matters and we weren't successful in that area today. So, a lot of dejected players but there's a lot of football left and we'll get it fixed in the next couple of days and get ready for next week."

2. Jason Peters Declares He'll Be Ready For Colts

The All-Pro left tackle says he will play next week against the Colts after missing most of Sunday's game with a quad injury. He highlights Eagles Insider Dave Spadaro's news and notes from Tampa Bay.

3. Could Carson Wentz Return This Week?

ESPN's Adam Schefter provided the following report on Sunday.

Eagles’ QB Carson Wentz still needs final medical clearance, but he is on track to return next Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, per league sources. https://t.co/MW3OGXuo97
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 16, 2018

Coach Pederson was asked about it after the Bucs game and said he would address Wentz's situation later this week.

4. Explosive Plays A Problem For Eagles Defense

Tampa Bay set the tone on the first play from scrimmage Sunday with a 75-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeSean Jackson. It wouldn't be the last big play for the Buccaneers - nor would it even be the last 75-yard touchdown pass. Fitzpatrick and the Bucs burned the Eagles with big plays all game, as Dave Spadaro writes:

"We have to execute, and we didn't," cornerback Ronald Darby said. "We knew how good they were coming in, but we didn't do our jobs. We didn't tighten things up when we needed to. That's disappointing."

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5. Nick Foles Can't Replicate Tampa Magic

Foles was solid and nearly mistake-free against Tampa Bay. But he couldn't do quite enough in the second half to make up for a slow first half. The offense lacked rhythm for much of the game and couldn't muster more than a few plays of more than 20 yards. Any game could be Foles' last start of the season as Wentz's recovery continues and, in this game, Foles just couldn't do enough to get the win:

"I think the thing I take away from this game is how hard we fought," Foles said. "Tampa Bay played a tremendous game, they fought extremely hard as well ... but I was really proud of my teammates and the coaches for fighting throughout all the adversity."