Josh Sweat voices Eagles’ defensive frustration after another woeful effort from Sean Desai’s unit

ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Sweat sat in the corner of the visitors’ locker room at AT&T Stadium with his hand buried deep into his brow.

The defensive end was still in uniform and as still as a statue — a Rodin pondering what has happened to the Eagles, their defense, and their pass rush after they suffered a second straight blowout loss — this week to the Cowboys, 33-13.

“We’re not where we’re supposed to be,” Sweat said later, still visibly despondent, to The Inquirer. “Me personally, on my side, I feel I definitely could have done better. But it’s too hard. I’m just not used to when we [apply] pressure well that we don’t take care of each other all the time.

“That’s what we need to be on better. Too many escapes. I’m just not used to it, not used to it, not used to it. I’m used to rushing so well against good opponents. It’s both ways. That’s why I’m frustrated. You know, obviously I’ve got to watch the film.

“But I’m not used to our group not taking care of each other when it comes to pressure.”

Sweat, normally one of the more carefree Eagles, didn’t seem to be calling out any individual player or coach following yet another slow-starting performance by the defense. When you’ve lost by 20 or more points two Sundays in a row, it would be tough to point blame in one direction when so many are deserved.

But when you’ve allowed nine touchdowns and one field goal in 10 possessions over two games — minus the 49ers’ end-of-game victory formation last week — it’s hard to look past the man coming up with the game plans and calling the plays on defense.

Defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s unit has spotted opponents double-digit halftime leads in each of the last four games, and while his adjustments contributed to comeback wins in the first two games, a 24-6 deficit to Dallas was far too deep a hole for the Eagles to pull out of.

“They did a nice job attacking us,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after his team suffered the worst back-to-back losses of his three-year tenure. “We’ve got to start faster with our plan as coaches, first of all putting them in the right spots, and then we have to execute. It’s been both. I think you’ve been down like we have in the first half, it’s never, ‘Hey, it’s all this.’

“If we knew it was ‘all this,’ then we would do whatever we could to fix it.”

» READ MORE: Another embarrassing effort shows the Eagles need a shake-up. It’s on Nick Sirianni to provide it.

Those are troubling words even if the strength of their last four opponents, particularly their last two NFC foes, is considered. The Eagles’ issues are manifold — and certainly include an offense that accounted for just six points via two field goals vs. Dallas — but currently the defense’s are most pressing.

A scheme that is built upon the pass rush hasn’t been generating enough pressure, as Sweat alluded to, which has further exposed an aging secondary and overwhelmed linebackers. Desai has been unable to put together a rush-coverage formula to compensate for personnel that isn’t as strong as it was a year ago.

And the players, as a result, aren’t playing with confidence, especially in the early stages.

“Overall, I think everybody should just tone it down and play ball,” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said. “It’s a kid’s game. [Bleep] should be fun. I just like to go out there and have fun. And some folks just maybe … but I try to go out there and have fun.”

The Eagles’ third-down defense has been atrocious. They entered with an NFL-worst 47.3% conversion rate and managed to eclipse that number by allowing the Cowboys to convert on 9 of 16 third downs (56.3%).

But what’s most shocking is that the pass rush — despite the Eagles’ significant investment in their defensive line — has produced the lowest rate of sacks (5.1%) in the league.

“They came out in the first couple of drives and there were a lot of third-and-1s,” Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “As a defensive coordinator, it’s hard to give the perfect call on third-and-1. It’s kind of a wasted down.”

In recent weeks, offenses have been able to pound an Eagles defense that once ranked first against the run. They allowed just 3.7 yards a carry in the first nine games. In the last four, they’ve surrendered 4.8 yards a rush.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Receivers, defensive line get low marks in blowout loss to Cowboys

What changed? Injuries played a part. Players could also be tiring from overuse or hitting rookie walls. At this point, it’s fair to look at personnel decisions that have been made by general manager Howie Roseman since last offseason.

Roseman was never going to be able to keep all of his defensive starters who were hitting free agency. But he stuck to his philosophical guns and let his linebackers and safeties walk — plus highly compensated defensive tackle Javon Hargrave — and brought back older vets like Cox, Slay, and cornerback James Bradberry.

It has been mostly a tried-and-true blueprint. But injuries have forced Roseman to add veteran pieces midseason like cornerback Bradley Roby, safety Kevin Byard, and linebacker Shaquille Leonard, and all the new pieces seem to have required an increasing simplification of Desai’s game plans.

But with 37 years of experience with four players in the secondary, why do the coverages need to be elementary when the best NFL offenses are masters of creating confusion?

“Make it simple so you play faster,” Slay said. “Simple communication. In and out. Line up and play ball.”

Desai has had to rely on rookies in situational packages — cornerback Eli Ricks, safety Sydney Brown, and on Sunday with cornerback Kelee Ringo when safety Reed Blankenship’s concussion forced personnel changes.

But the scheme has long lacked imagination. Where are the creative disguises and the exotic pressures that Desai supposedly learned from his mentor, Vic Fangio?

» READ MORE: unCovering the Birds with Jeff McLane, Episode 10: “One of us”

On the Cowboys’ second possession, the Eagles rushed just three with Sweat initially playing contain. Quarterback Dak Prescott had plenty of time in the pocket and hit receiver CeeDee Lamb for a 26-yard completion.

Four plays later, Dallas faced a fourth-and-2 at the Eagles’ 44. So what did Desai do with his safeties? He had them in the post and inexplicably drop into a deep shell while Prescott handed off to running back Tony Pollard for a 4-yard gain.

“Coach was switching it up a little bit, playing a little zone,” Byard said. “Obviously, I’m not making the calls. You’d have to ask him what he was thinking exactly. I don’t know if they checked to a run, but it was tough to defend that.”

Desai again made solid adjustments at the half. He tightened up the run gaps and found ways to take away Prescott’s first reads. And early in the third quarter, the Eagles found some life when Cox strip-sacked the quarterback and defensive tackle Jalen Carter returned the fumble 42 yards for a touchdown.

But the four-man rush failed to hurry Prescott — he was sacked three times total, but otherwise never hit — and Dallas gladly took field goals while the Eagles offense sputtered or turned the ball over. And when Desai blitzed, his blitzers never got home.

Sweat, meanwhile, has seen his playing time increase almost 20% this season. After recording 6½ sacks in his first nine games, he has zero in his last four. He’s still applying pressure, but sacks are negative-yard plays.

“It’s almost, and I’m sick of almost,” Sweat said after pulling a reporter away from the defensive line corner of the locker room to the other side where the O-line resided. “But it’s all of us. If I’m not getting pressure, I have to be sure I’m staying back and taking care of my gap. But I’m tired of hearing you getting all these pressures and [bleep] like that. [Bleep] all that. You know me, I’m always a free spirit.

“But it’s piling up, piling up, and I feel the season is slipping away from us and it’s getting me upset.

“We’ve got to take care of each other.”

The Eagles still control their own destiny in the NFC East with four games left. They can still supplant the 49ers for the No. 1 seed in the conference. But they need to get their house in order, especially on the defensive side.