Egles - Chiefs Takeaways: Inevitable And Still Disturbing

Get used to this face

Some stray thoughts about the Eagles' road loss to the Chiefs today, viewed once more through the pleasing prism of 10am PST start time...

> If you're looking to lose a game with better talent and play, Doug Pederson may be your ideal game day coach. For a second straight week, Pederson managed to play a loose conservative style that would be comically predictable if the results weren't so tragic. He's going to abandon the run early, rely too much on aging smurf RB Darren Sproles, allow his defense to blitz on utterly predictable downs, try the big plays between the 40s only, and reduce the impact of special teams by never calling anything that isn't by the book. Oh, and he's going to change offensive tempo only at gunpoint, and give the opposition as much time as they like to swap in ideal personnel on defense. The one saving grace of it is that it allows the Eagle defense to look better than it is, because it's rested, but man alive, is it maddening to watch.

> QB Carson Wentz authored the signature play that put this game out of reach, a fourth quarter deflection to pick that was bad luck at the end of bad execution, but he's still clearly the answer at QB, and developing nicely. The improvisational skills are developing, he makes plays with his legs when needed, he gets to secondary and tertiary wideouts on reads, and he just looks the part. He's not yet ready to win games like this in his second year, and his Q4 performances to date are concerning, but the Wentz Era took another small step forward today, and I like my laundry's chances a lot better in the long run than, well, whoever is employing Alex Smith.

> The final numbers are going to tell you that Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt was a monster, but that's where the stats mislead; he was pretty much bottled up on everything but a major run, in what was a fairly dull defensive game for most of the day. He's still very good, and will win a lot of people some fantasy money this year, but if/when he doesn't keep up world beater numbers, you'll have seen it coming.

> WR Mack Hollins made some plays today and looked utterly at home doing so for the Eagles, and as WR Torrey Smith seems to have bricks for hands at times, might see an increasing amount of snaps later in the year. It's clear that Wentz trusts him, and also clear that Wentz has, like all of the great QBs, no set inclination to force the ball to WR1. If the Eagle RBs had as many solid talents as the WR corps, I'd feel a lot better about this team.

> If you really want to point a figure at who lost this game (besides, of course, Pederson), look to the offensive line. Wentz is bailing them out time and again with good pocket presence and moves, and it also doesn't help that none of the RBs seem capable of picking up a blitz, but this line is really not winning on running plays, and might need to start considering a shake up now, rather than wait for the inevitable injuries. It's also worrisome that when the opposition knows you have to throw, the QB goes down. That's not exactly a sign of a playoff team.

> This club really needs to stop having DBs get hurt. With the possible exception of RB, it's the worst personnel group on the field, even when they have all their bullets. Short players, it's getting officially worrisome.

> There may be no more annoying player in football than Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. Have you ever heard a player described as "emotional" and have it mean anything more than Complete Asshat? Me neither. Great player, but what a drama queen.

> The upcoming schedule (hosting the Giants who will have a short week, then at Chargers, and home for Arizona) is when this team needs to bank a margin. After Halloween, it gets hard, and December is absolutely brutal. At least they close at home. This year is all about Week 17, on New Years Eve, hosting Dallas. If that game means something, the year is a success.

> Finally, this. There were two games on the calendar when the schedule was announced that I pretty much assumed were automatic losses: this one, and December in Seattle. The Eagles led in the third quarter, had the better of line play for most of the game, had the better QB, and didn't let WR Tyreek Hill own them. They lost anyway, because they didn't game plan to win, and they made the big mistake late. They really could have won this, and in some not small way, that's surprising and progress.

Oh, and Dallas got absolutely wrecked in Denver, which means the team didn't lose ground to their likely rival for the division crown. We've all had worse days.