1-2 sounds way better than 0-3 and especially when you have three straight games against top-tier competition. The Eagles are in need of a convincing win and Sunday will go a long way towards establishing some confidence going forward.
Pro Football Focus recently broke down the five teams with the most to gain or lose in Week 3 and the Birds landed high on the list at No. 2 behind the Houston Texans.
2. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
The Eagles — like the Texans — are a team that was thought to be a playoff contender entering the season but is trying to stave off an 0-3 start to the year. Unlike Houston, though, the quarterback position has been the major problem in Philadelphia.There is no quarterback in the NFL right now with a lower passing grade than Carson Wentz (42.7), and he’s one of just two quarterbacks who has seen over 30% of his targeted passes get charted as uncatchable through two weeks. It would be one thing if it were just inaccuracy, but Wentz is also giving defenses ample opportunity to get the ball back for their offense. His eight turnover-worthy plays are the most in the NFL. PFF’s Mike Renner looked a little bit deeper into what was wrong with Wentz and the Eagles’ offense this past week, and there’s a lot to unpack.
Even in a weak NFC East, they need to figure things out quickly to realize their hopes of getting back to the postseason. Luckily for them, a banged-up Cincinnati Bengals’ defense that just got rolled by the Cleveland Browns is a good opportunity to do so. Cleveland was in a similar spot after a disappointing 2019 season and opening performance against the Baltimore Ravens. Philadelphia has a lot riding on being able to follow suit and get their rhythm back offensively.
This is a must-win game and will say a lot about where Carson Wentz stands mentally and what kind of stranglehold that Doug Pederson truly has on this team.