Eagles-Panthers takeaways: Jake Elliott left twisting in the wind; analyzing the shaky passing game

It may have been closer than many expected, but the Eagles squeaked out a win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers to extend their winning streak to nine games.

The Eagles enter Week 15 at 11-2 and still in the race for the No. 1 seed. It’s true, every team is entitled to a clunker at some point in the season and the Eagles have gone quite some time without one, but the uneven performance does validate some concerns about how this team may fare as the stakes rise and the postseason begins.

Here’s what we learned:

» READ MORE: Do the Eagles have a passing problem? A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith voice their frustration despite Eagles win.

This season’s sample size is large enough to hold most of the concerns that will stem from Sunday’s win at bay for now, but a few things have the potential to stick. Chief among them are Jake Elliott’s continued struggles, which are seemingly exacerbated by the wind conditions at Lincoln Financial Field in recent weeks to go along with an increasingly poor record from more than 50 yards out.

Nick Sirianni said a strong, hurting wind factored into his decision to forgo the chance at a 54-yarder to ice the game late in the fourth quarter against the Panthers, but it’s fair to acknowledge Elliott missed a 52-yarder earlier in the game and also missed an extra point that was negated by an offside penalty.

Elliott hasn’t made a kick from farther than 50 yards out all season, with the missed 52-yarder putting him at 0-for-5, with attempts from 51, 52, two from 57, and 60 yards all going wayward.

Sirianni’s decision not to send Elliott out at the end of the game may have been the right one given the end result, the conditions, and Elliott’s recent form. Instead, he sent the offense out to try drawing Carolina’s defense offsides before taking a delay-of-game penalty and sending the punt team out to pin the Panthers deep.

Still, the decision will leave Elliott in limbo along with the growing question: Do the Eagles have a kicker problem?

Elliott said the possible 54-yarder would have been on the edge of his range because of that wind, characterizing it as a “low-percentage” kick. On the miss earlier in the game, he said the conditions required him to make better contact than he did.

“It’s a tough day to kick in the northeast,” Elliott said. “It’s one of those where you’ve got to be perfect and in that situation, I wasn’t. I wish I hit a little bit of a better ball — it’s a tough one where, if you let it get outside of you a little bit, the wind is going to push it pretty good. That’s what happened, I didn’t hit a perfect ball there.”

When asked about the general struggles from 50-plus yards, Elliott pointed to difficulty with the pair of 57-yarders and the 60-yarder to help explain why the range may not tell the whole story. Still, Elliott made two kicks from 57-plus last season and finished the year 7 for 8 from 50-plus as a whole.

“Hard kicks,” Elliott said. “If you’re not perfect, they’re not going to go in. I’ve had two inside 57 and they just haven’t gone in.”

Part of the Eagles’ past success has been in part because of Elliott’s trustworthiness in big moments. Perhaps the elements played a major factor in why they didn’t trust him on Sunday, but the overall trend is a concerning one nonetheless, especially with those elements likely to worsen over the next couple of months.

A more in-depth analysis of what ailed the Eagles passing game against the Panthers will require a deep dive into the all-22 film, but there are a few observations that don’t require film study. The Eagles offense is too talented to be this one-dimensional and it shouldn’t take four series for A.J. Brown to receive his first target.

The passing game has been arrhythmic for most of the season and Sunday may have been the worst game of the year. Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who already had the second-longest average time to throw in the NFL this season, averaged a season-high 3.47 seconds to get rid of the ball against Carolina according to Next Gen Stats. It’s true that dual-threat quarterbacks will often have longer time to throw (Lamar Jackson has the longest in the NFL), but Hurts’ can often serve as an illustration of how often he’s able to make plays within the structure of the offense.

There weren’t many times that was the case on Sunday. Hurts had a handful of mistakes, some missed opportunities, and a season-low 108 passing yards that were emblematic of how disconnected things looked. It’s fair to acknowledge that Hurts did have some bright moments, including a 35-yard scramble and an 18-yard completion to DeVonta Smith that required him to extend the play on third down and work across the field to the opposite sideline from where his initial read was.

» READ MORE: Eagles stats: Birds’ downfield passing game was practically nonexistent vs. Panthers

That said, any notion that Sunday’s game wasn’t cause for concern was wiped away by the Eagles players themselves, with Brown and DeVonta Smith expressing frustration with how disjointed the passing game was. Hurts also conceded that conversations about getting on the same page shouldn’t be happening this late into the season.

There’s time for the Eagles to figure this out — and they have plenty of talent to do so — but the lingering question about whether this offense can win a shootout against quality defenses committed to stopping the run got even more pronounced against Carolina.

Directly connected to the Eagles’ apparent inability to win a game with a pass-heavy attack is the constantly growing trend of them starting games slowly on offense.

Sunday’s win marked the 10th time this season they’ve finished the first quarter without scoring, pushing them further into last place in the NFL in first-quarter points. The defense’s early-game success and the offense’s ability to dig itself out of a hole have masked the problem, but it remains a valid question about how this team will fare against playoff-caliber opponents in big games.

Both Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata and right tackle Lane Johnson said part of the early-game trouble stems from unscouted looks in response to the Eagles' daunting set of skill players and dominant offensive line. Opposing defenses have to get creative, which often requires adjustments after the opening drive.

Still, just like the Eagles offense has too much talent to struggle so much in the passing game, the group has too much firepower to consistently start this slowly. For a team that is built to get an early lead and protect it, something needs to change in the next four weeks.

Jalen Carter, up: The last few weeks of Carter’s tape have been appointment viewing and Sunday’s game should be no exception. The second-year defensive tackle had three quarterback hits, two tackles for losses, and six pressures according to Next Gen Stats. He also played 62 of the Eagles’ 69 defensive snaps.

Eagles edge rushers, down: While the defensive line generated plenty of pressure, the lone sack from the defense came from Zack Baun. Josh Sweat came quite close to bringing second-year quarterback Bryce Young down in the end zone but wasn’t able to get him on the ground. The play was indicative for the edge rusher rotation as a whole; the group had just one quarterback hit courtesy of Nolan Smith.

Braden Mann, up: For the second week in a row, Mann pinned an opposing offense deep in a pivotal moment of the game. Mann’s 38-yard punt to the Panthers’ 3-yard line essentially made the difference for the Eagles. Xavier Legette’s drop on the edge of the end zone threatened to make Mann’s punt a moot point, but the long field was likely a saving grace for a defense desperate for a stop.