The Eagles Are Still Playing for Pride
Is there such thing as a game that a football team must lose for the betterment of their franchise?
Although this situation is uncommon, it has become the harsh reality for the 2020 Philadelphia Eagles.
Although Philly will be playing for their pride after yesterday’s coaching news, we need to stop and reflect on how we even got here to 4-10-1 season. The Birds will be capping off their 2020 campaign against the same opponent who it started against…a team with no name. During the first week of the season, the Eagles held an early 17-0 lead over the Washington Football team at FedEx Field before Carson Wentz threw his first of fifteen interceptions on the year. Looking back at this moment in hindsight, this is where the Philadelphia Eagles season went down the drain.
Sadly enough, the Eagles have not looked the same since their first half of football during Week 1. The Birds did not win their first game until Week 4 and even went on a four-game losing streak after their BYE. The Birds have only won consecutive contests twice this season, resulting in performance under .500 with a 3-4-1 showing. Despite suffering nine losses within the course of 15 weeks, the team found themselves in position for a late playoff push and played in an elimination match against the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys in Texas.
Unfortunately, injuries, penalties, and atrocious play-calling and personnel decisions caused Philly to lose the game against Dallas 37-17.
With all of this being said, Washington has the opportunity to win the NFC East and punch a ticket to the postseason this Sunday Night as the team travels to Lincoln Financial Field.
It might not be at stake for us as a team with a playoff berth and things like that, but we’ve got a lot of individual things that players still can accomplish,” Schwartz said in his pre-game press conference. “We’ve got guys that are trying to earn their way in the league, and as I said before, we have a division opponent that’s going to come and try to celebrate on our field. We’ve got to have a no-hat rule this week. We can’t let opponents put division win hats on at the Linc. There’s a lot of pride in that, and all our focus has to be to accomplish that this week”
Tom Pelissero reported yesterday that Schwartz will be taking the 2021 NFL season off and will contemplate retirement during the time. Schwartz’s contract with the Eagles is set to expire this season following the season finale versus Washington.
Despite an abundance of injuries, the defense will be looking to send out their defensive coordinator of five seasons out with an admirable performance this upcoming Sunday Night.
Adam Caplan also confirmed that Doug Pederson will be expected to return as head coach in 2021 after Pederson had a conference with Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie on Tuesday. The report also confirmed that some significant changes will be made to the Eagles staff.
Pederson seemed to struggle with situational awareness and play-calling throughout the course of the season, so hiring an official offensive coordinator to help with some of these responsibilities seems very likely.
Fans have noticed the relapse in the Eagles offensive attack ever since the departure of Frank Reich.
“I want to make sure there’s one voice, and that’s my voice, that’s heard offensively, and nobody else’s,” Pederson said during a mid-week presser.
This quote seems to allude to rumors that surfaced throughout this year about Howie Roseman having control over game-day personnel decisions. From a coaching perspective, it must be difficult to the game plan when you do not fully know who will take the field on Sunday due to the General Manager’s decisions.
Reports also conclude that Pederson and the Philadelphia Eagles are committed to building around Carson Wentz and plan to prioritize the project of getting their signal-caller back on track during the 2021 offseason. Pederson stated, “things are geared to getting fixed,” and also added he “has a ton of confidence” as the two approach their sixth season together in the City of Brotherly Love.
“Talking to Doug, job 1 for him this offseason is to recreate the offense around what Carson Wentz does well,” says Cris Collinsworth ahead of the matchup versus Washington
Featured Image: Getty Images
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Eagles