The Eagles’ defense had a rough night against the Bears. Ben Johnson had an excellent read on what Vic Fangio wanted to do, and he kept finding ways to turn the Eagles’ aggression against them. The result was a 27-7 loss in which Case Keenum completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Eagles did not sack him once.
I want to separate the run defense from everything else. The Bears ran 35 times and controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes, but they only averaged
3.7 yards per carry. I don’t think the Eagles got destroyed by the run. But I think they were terrified after last year. They got hurt because their commitment to stopping it left them vulnerable to play action, and because their pass rush and coverage could not get on the same page.
The tackling and communication concern me more than the rushing yards given up. There were still individual performances worth appreciating, and I haven’t lost faith in Fangio after three weeks. But this was bad. I’m hopeful he will work it out. At least we don’t play Ben Johnson every week. He’s becoming Fangio’s kryptonite.
Defense
Ben Johnson seemed to understand exactly how the Eagles would react after last year’s game. Watch the linebackers and safeties commit to the run action, then look at the space that opens behind them. This wasn’t a case of Keenum repeatedly fitting impossible throws into tight windows. The Bears used the Eagles’ determination to stop the run to make the passing game easier. Fangio got worked over on this one. One issue with starting with a split-safety look is that defenders have to come aggressively downhill. It’s sort of part of the structure.
Last week, I wrote about the Eagles’ inability to rally to the football and tackle consistently. A BGN commenter described this defense as a little soft. I wasn’t ready to use that word then, and I still don’t want to label the whole unit after one clip. But this is a poor look. The Bears push the Eagles into the end zone, and the defense offers too little resistance when it should be fighting for every inch. Whatever scheme you are playing, good defense still requires effort, leverage, and finishing hard. That part has to improve. This defense normally excels at the fundamentals of good defense, but it hasn’t this season. It’s odd to see.
That said, let’s give the run defense some credit. This is a really good Bears rushing attack, and the Eagles made plenty of individual stops. Michael Carter II comes from depth here, reads the play, and makes an excellent tackle. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of him if the players ahead of him keep struggling. The run game was part of Johnson’s plan, but the Eagles’ run fits weren’t the main reason they lost.
How often do you see Fangio send a cornerback? The Eagles were looking for pressure because their normal rush wasn’t getting home. This call finally makes Keenum uncomfortable, but it still ends with a completely open completion. That’s the maddening part of this game, and it was frustrating to watch. Even when the front gave the secondary a chance, the coverage broke down.
The Bears repeatedly used motion and switch releases, where receivers exchange positions immediately after the snap, to test the Eagles’ communication in match coverage. Here Zack Baun and Cooper DeJean both head toward the flat and end up covering the same receiver. The middle of the field is abandoned. You can see them communicating before the snap. Match coverage is all about communication. The Eagles made so many errors this week.
I criticized the lack of fight earlier, so I should also mention the first-half goal-line stand. The Eagles made several big plays with their backs against the wall. Jalen Carter made this one without using his right hand. That is impressive, but it also shows the problem. He clearly can’t play right now, and the Eagles desperately need him to be a disruptive player again. He recorded no pressures on 33 pass-rush snaps. The Eagles are paying him a lot of money and can’t rush the quarterback. It’s a big issue.
Jonathan Greenard did flash in limited snaps, and he gets after Keenum here. The Eagles badly need him healthy and contributing as a pass rusher. But then of course, Andrew Mukuba flies downhill toward the run action, and the receiver runs straight past him. Keenum deserves credit for a terrific throw under pressure, but Johnson has caught the defense out of position again. Mukuba is moving so aggressively toward the line that recovering when the ball goes behind him becomes extremely difficult.
This in-breaking route is another play where I wanted Mukuba to arrive sooner. Fangio often asks his safeties to come across and cut off crossers, though, and without knowing his precise assignment, I won’t declare this entirely his fault. What I can say with confidence is that Keenum has far too comfortable a pocket. If the quarterback can stand there and wait for a route to develop, every uncertainty in the coverage becomes harder to survive. The Eagles had no quick pressure for long stretches of this game. Keenum played well, but I’m convinced if the Eagles had got pressure on him early and hit him a few times, they could have forced him out of rhythm. When you don’t lay a hand on the quarterback, it’s easy for them to get comfortable back there. Any quarterback in this league can win when he is kept upright and trusts what he is seeing. Keenum was never under any real pressure.
I thought Tariq Woolen had played excellent football before this week. This was a very bad game. Like, really bad. The early officiating seemed to get into his head, and he has always played near the boundary between physical and grabby, but the bigger issue was that Johnson kept making him process switch releases. Woolen’s head was spinning. The Bears went back to the same stress point because the Eagles never looked comfortable sorting it out. It was the biggest issue with the defense this week.
For the past couple of seasons, the communication in the back end has been one of the main reasons this defense has worked so well. Last week, the Eagles tried simplifying things with more spot-drop zone and still had problems. This week, they returned to match coverage and had a different set of problems. It is early, but opponents will notice. They don’t have to invent anything clever when Johnson has already put the issue on film.
And, yes, my anger about losing Reed Blankenship still annoys me. I won’t mention him again, but let me say it just once more. The Eagles found the money for two enormous defensive tackle contracts but couldn’t keep Blankenship around? I miss having a safety who knew this defense inside out and helped with communication on the back end. Watching Marcus Epps was tough this week. It feels like Howie Roseman really made a mess of the safety position this off-season. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Kenny Moore in the nickel and DeJean at safety soon.
Here we go again. The Eagles create some pressure, but Mukuba attacks downhill and cannot adjust to the danger developing behind him. Johnson understood that the Eagles wanted to erase the run and kept inviting that reaction before attacking the space it left. Rinse and repeat.
Quinyon Mitchell was outstanding. Coverage, tackling, coming downhill against the run, closing on short passes. You name it, he did it. He did everything you could ask from a top cornerback (except intercept the football). This was a proper CB1 performance, and, for me, Mitchell is the best player on the Eagles’ defense right now. When so much else looked uncertain, he looked completely sure of himself. What a young superstar.
Ty Robinson rushed the passer three times all game, but he produced the best pass-rushing rep by any defensive tackle all game. I’m not asking for him to become a full-time pass rusher overnight, but the Eagles are struggling to generate immediate interior pressure. Why not give him a few more chances to create some chaos? Something has to change in the rush plan while Carter is not himself.
This is the most glaring communication bust of the game. Another switch release, another receiver completely free, and a 41-yard touchdown. I’m not going to pretend I know whether Woolen or DeJean had the wrong assignment. Given Woolen’s struggles with these exchanges throughout the night and DeJean’s longer experience in Fangio’s system, I lean toward Woolen, but that is a guess, not a certainty. I thought DeJean was better overall this week.
This cannot become a recurring feature of Woolen at cornerback. Every opponent will see the touchdown and test the same communication rules with motion and switch releases until the Eagles and Woolen prove they can handle them. Perhaps Fangio even considers using more man coverage with this group in certain situations (he probably won’t, but I would consider it). That wouldn’t solve every problem, but it could reduce some of the exchanges that are giving the secondary trouble.
Let’s end with something good. Baun gets Luther Burden III one-on-one in the slot and handles it beautifully. There is plenty to criticize about the collective performance without turning every defender into part of the problem. Baun remains an excellent player. Jihaad Campbell has attracted plenty of attention, too, but I don’t think the defense’s struggles can simply be dumped on him. The issues in front of and behind these linebackers are bigger than one young player.
And at least the Eagles don’t have to face Johnson every week. It’s not as if another young offensive genius is waiting for them this week … sigh.
Final Thoughts
The Eagles allowed 375 yards and 24 first downs, failed to sack Case Keenum once, and repeatedly lost receivers through play action and switch releases. Johnson won the schematic battle. It was a bad day at the office for this defense. They have invested some serious money in certain defenders that aren’t producing right now.
I remain hopeful because Fangio has earned our trust and because this defense still has a lot of talent. But hope needs to turn into answers quickly. The Eagles are missing players like Blankenship and Nakobe Dean right now. The team could use Dean’s pass-rushing ability right now because the front isn’t winning, and his pass rush gave this defense a way to get pressure while only rushing four. This was a bad defensive performance. I still believe they can fix it. Fangio’s defenses can take time to get going. I hope it gets going soon!
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