Eagles’ James Bradberry fails Seahawks’ testing of him on final drive: ‘He just ran past me’

SEATTLE — James Bradberry almost couldn’t find the words.

The despondent Eagles cornerback stood in his locker stall after the team’s 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, still processing the nightmarish series in which he conceded 87 of the Seahawks’ 92 yards on a game-winning drive.

Still processing things shortly after the game, Bradberry faced a simple question with a difficult answer: What could he have done to stop Seahawks rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba from catching the game-winning touchdown with 33 seconds remaining and Bradberry trailing a few yards behind?

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“Nothing really,” Bradberry said after a long pause. “He just ran past me.”

Bradberry is far from the only one in the Eagles’ locker room still searching for answers after a late collapse to a Seahawks team led by backup quarterback Drew Lock. Facing a three-game losing streak, Nick Sirianni’s decision to make a change at defensive play caller still didn’t yield the type of timely stop that’s evaded the Eagles in recent weeks.

On Seattle’s final drive, Bradberry was the obvious focus. The Seahawks got star receiver DK Metcalf matched up against him often and targeted him three times for three completions worth 58 yards. Those completions took some brilliance from Metcalf, who made one improbable catch off his thigh and another with rookie safety Sydney Brown flying into the frame in an attempt to dislodge the ball.

Bradberry could sense the Seahawks were testing him but was overmatched in the pivotal moments.

“That’s part of playing the cornerback position,” Bradberry said. “Everyone is going to see you make a mistake because it’s a passing league. Especially when you have two plays like I did, really that whole drive like I did, I was the main target, and they were just attacking that target. It’s kind of hard to shy away from that camera.”

Eagles senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia, calling the plays from the sideline and running defensive meetings all week in place of defensive coordinator Sean Desai, didn’t do Bradberry any favors on the decisive play. The Eagles lined up in a two-high shell but rotated Brown into a “robber” position to take away underneath routes in the middle of the field.

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Doing so left the reeling Bradberry on an island against Smith-Njigba on Seattle’s second third-and-10 of the series. He was in “sticks” coverage trying to take away a chance at a first down, but overcommitted to the threat of an underneath route and got beaten over the top.

It was the type of call that fit the “aggressive” approach Patricia brought to his new role earlier this week in his play-calling and communication styles, according to several players.

“Just in our coverage and our blitzes,” Eagles nickel corner Bradley Roby said. “Just in his tone and his energy, you kind of adopt that type of vibe from a coach. That’s the one thing that makes a good coach a good coach. They’re able to create an energy and an environment on the guys, and I think he did a good job of that too. I think we played well, we just didn’t finish.”

Albeit against a middling Seattle offense opting not to push typical starting quarterback Geno Smith into action, the Eagles defense fared better in its first game under Patricia than it did in the last few games. The group gave up 297 total yards and held Seattle to a 43% third-down conversion percentage, both of which are improvements from the ugly showings against the 49ers and Cowboys’ elite offenses.

With the Eagles offense sputtering, the game was left in the hands of the much-maligned group, setting up Bradberry’s dubious matchup with Smith-Njigba.

“It’s tough, especially when you lose in a two-minute situation,” Brown said. “What happened, happened, and obviously there’s stuff we need to learn from. We have to reflect on it. … It was tough. It’s a one-on-one matchup. It’s a 50-50 ball. They placed it well where James couldn’t get it.”

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Roby added: “It’s really just about making plays. Football is one of those sports where sometimes it’s nothing you can say, it’s about whether you make the play or you didn’t. And we didn’t in that situation. … That was a great catch. Perfect offense beats good defense every game, and that was a great throw.”

Brown was one of several younger players to see a significant uptick in playing time with Patricia running the show. The third-round rookie played the majority of the team’s defensive snaps, splitting time as a dime linebacker, nickel cornerback, and post safety.

With Darius Slay sidelined with a knee injury, rookie Kelee Ringo saw the majority of the snaps opposite Bradberry and had a solid game.

The Eagles’ switch to Patricia, as clunky as it seemed from an outside perspective, happened early enough in the week for players to adjust. Given the opportunity, Bradberry wouldn’t use the switch as an excuse for his play, pointing out how different things would be had he found a way to break up the go-ahead touchdown pass.

“Honestly, [the coaching change] wasn’t too difficult,” Bradberry said. “You probably wouldn’t be asking me that question if we won and I made a play, but I didn’t play well.”