Five takeaways from the Eagles’ 23-17 loss to the Seahawks
The Eagles signed Darius Slay so they could have a cornerback who could “travel” with the other team’s top wide receiver. He’s done a good job in that role, but Seattle's DK Metcalf gave him fits.
Five takeaways from the Eagles’ 23-17 loss to the Seahawks on Monday night:
Another slow start for the offense
The Eagles didn’t register a first down until their sixth possession of the game, with 4:46 left in the second quarter. Carson Wentz had a 20-yard run on a second-and-16 play. His team had just 74 total offensive yards in the first half.
» READ MORE: How the game unfolded in our live blog
Doug’s fourth-down decisions
The Eagles haven’t been very good when they’ve gone for it on fourth down this season. They entered the game with the sixth-lowest fourth-down success rate in the league. Nevertheless, facing a fourth-and-2 at their own 48 early in the fourth quarter, Doug Pederson chose to once again go for it, only to have Carson Wentz’s quick pass to Dallas Goedert batted by Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright. Trailing 20-9 later in the fourth quarter, Pederson went for it on fourth-and-4 at the Seattle 15. Wentz threw his second red-zone interception in as many games.
Slay’s struggles
The Eagles signed Darius Slay so they could have a cornerback who could “travel” with the other team’s top wide receiver. He’s done a good job in that role this season, neutralizing many of the top wideouts the Eagles have faced. But DK Metcalf gave him fits. Metcalf had 10 catches for 177 yards, almost all of them against Slay.
No plan for Jalen Hurts
So much for thinking Pederson was going to give Jalen Hurts a lot of playing time Monday night. The rookie quarterback played just two snaps against the Seahawks, both in the first half. He had a 6-yard completion to Alshon Jeffery, and handed the ball off to Miles Sanders on another play.
» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts gets two snaps in first half
The invisible wide receivers
Wentz’s go-to guy Monday night was tight end Dallas Goedert, who had 7 catches for 75 yards. The Eagles’ five wide receivers — Travis Fulgham, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Alshon Jeffery, and John Hightower — combined for nine catches for 46 yards. That’s 5.1 yards per catch.