Eagles offense is terrible in shocking loss to New Orleans Saints

The Eagles have reached the low point of the season — and it couldn’t come at a worst time.

With a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed and the NFC East the Eagles offense was a complete no-show against the New Orleans Saints in their 20-10 loss, one of the most disappointing performances in recent Eagles history.

The offense was beyond terrible. The defense did start the game poorly, giving the Saints a lead the offense couldn’t overcome, but they played well enough to at least keep the team in the game longer than they should have.

As a result of the loss they will (likely) have to win next week in the final game of the season to clinch the top seed in the NFC and a Bye Week to start the playoffs. There is a chance if things go the Eagles way before kickoff they might not need a win, but more than likely it will take a win in the final game of the season to clinch the No. 1 seed and the division — something that seemed like a foregone conclusion the entire season.

There is going to be a lot to take away from this one, but for now, here is a recap of the loss:

4th Quarter: Saints 20, Eagles 10
The Eagle had a chance to make a comeback, down 13-10 with the ball and just over six minutes to play. On the second play of the drive, however, Minshew threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown 11-yards out. The pass was a poor one but the route run by AJ Brown was bad as well, going the Saints an easy touchdown and a commanding 20-10 lead.

Another key play in the 4th quarter was a missed quarterback sneak by Gardner Minshew with just over eight minutes to play in the game and the ball at midfield. The offensive line didn’t get great push and Minshew couldn’t get through for the yard needed on 4th-and-1, giving the Saints the ball back at midfield. The defense once again stepped up and forced a Saints punt, giving the Eagles offense another chance.

The defense might have started slow but they gave the Eagles a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter. After allowing a touchdown on the opening drive they kept the Saints out of the end zone for the next eight possessions, forcing a turnover and bringing Dalton down several times during that stretch.

3rd Quarter: Saints 13, Eagles 3
The offense showed some signs of life to start the second half, getting all the way down to the Saints 28-yard line with a long run by Miles Sanders and completions to Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith. They seemed to have a 28-yard touchdown run by Kenny Gainwell but the plays was called back due to a holding call that was called on Landon Dickerson but seemed to be on Jordan Mailata. The call was a drive killer as it put the Eagles into 3rd-and-14 and they kicked a 56-yard field goal two plays later.

With just under a minute to play in the first quarter the offense finally got in the end zone when Minshew hit AJ Brown down the sideline and Brown went the rest of the way for a 78-yard touchdown. Brown did a great job adjusting to the ball in the air, losing his defender and breaking away for the touchdown to pull the Eagles to within 13-10.

2nd Quarter: Saints 13, Eagles 0 
The first half was one of the worst performances from an Eagles team in recent memory as they looked completely lost on both sides of the ball — but especially on offense.

On the offensive side of the ball the struggles continued into the second quarter. The Eagles finished their third drive of the game with another punt and midway through the third quarter they had just 14 yards of total offense. Gardner Minshew was awful in the first half, getting nothing going on offense and making poor throws even when there were plays to be made.

One clear takeaway from the game — anyone who is voting for MVP and plans on voting for someone other than Jalen Hurts should really watch this game. It was painfully obvious how bad the Eagles missed their starting quarterback. Same teammates, same coaches that many thought were carrying Hurts looked helpless with Minshew under center.

On defense they were almost as bad. The only positive of the entire game came at the end of the second quarter when Josiah Scott picked off Andy Dalton, preventing the Saints from getting more points and giving the team their first sign of life. The offense, however, got nothing on the next possession.

Brandon Graham got his 10th sack of the season on 3rd down on the Saints opening drive of the 2nd quarter, his 10th sack of the season, the first double-digit sack of his career. The drive did end in a field goal, however, giving the Saints a 10-0 lead.

1st Quarter: Saints 7, Eagles 0 
The Eagles lost pass rusher Josh Sweat on the first drive of the game due to a neck injury when he ran into Adam Prentice head first at the end of a running play. Sweat was placed onto a stretcher and slowly carted off the field, with the entire Eagles roster and coaching staff around him. He went to a hospital for precautionary reasons but had movement in all his extremities.

The injury came during a drive where the Saints went right down the field against the offense to start the game. They converted two third-downs and one fourth-down on the drive, going 75 yards on 15 plays and ending it with a one-yard touchdown run by Taysom Hill.

The opening drive was almost as bad for the offense as Gardner Minshew was sacked on the first play, had to run from pressure on the second snap before being sacked again and then they dumped it off on 3rd-and-17 before punting.

https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports/eagles/eagles-offense-is-terrible-in-shocking-loss-to-saints

Is anyone shocked really? I’m not. Nothing surprises me with this team. Just when I think I’ve seen it all they do something new to add to the list.