Roll him out and let him make the decision to throw the ball to any one of a number of receivers who aren’t very good. Amazingly, the Birds remain just a game out of first place behind the division leading-New York Giants (5-5). A field goal would have pushed the Eagles ahead, which is why such a frustrated, painful look hit Sanchez’ face.
Advertisement
Penalties have killed this Eagles team all season, and Sunday was no exception. Sturgis missed from 32 yards in the first half.
Even if it was only a facade.
Mychal Kendricks started to look like the 2014 version against the Dolphins.
“They’re undefeated, but they have to come through here”, Pierre-Paul told reporters after practice on Wednesday.
“We didn’t do a good job putting ourselves in situations where we can be successful”, Kelly said.
The Eagles, on the other hand, are becoming one of the league’s elite squads, especially after winning another one in a squeaker against the Cowboys last week.
He had a sack and three tackles for a loss against the Eagles.
The first play was this drop on third and eight. This is the first time this season the Dolphins have been able to battle and comeback and win and it started with defense.
“I’m not thinking about past year”, he said.
But that didn’t stop many outsiders from looking at it that way.
For the usually slow starting Eagles it was the strangest of days.
-The Eagles averaged 2.3 yards per rush against the second-worst run defense in the NFL.
He had been playing well the last three games. Sanchez threw for 156 yards on 23 passing attemps, but also threw an interception and struggled in relief of Bradford.
The Dolphins (4-5) took a 20-16 lead after a pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill was batted high into the air at the line of scrimmage by Eagles linebacker Conner Barwin.
Jones turned his left ankle while throwing incomplete early in the first quarter and Roethlisberger – wearing a specially padded cleat to protect his bum foot – entered to a roar of a capacity crowd.
And then… everything went wrong.
Mark Sanchez made the one mistake he couldn’t afford.
HE’S TIGHT: Eagles TE Brent Celek had four catches for 134 yards. 20-19, Eagles trail by 1.
But Caleb Sturgis, the former Miami kicker, missed.
Donnie Jones had a punt blocked, setting up the first touchdown of the day for the Dolphins. That led to the safety and subsequent touchdown by the Eagles.
The next five Eagles’ drives all ended with a punt. But that didn’t last long.
The Eagles drove the length of the field on their subsequent possession but Dolphins’ safety Reshad Jones put an end to it when he intercepted Sanchez in the end zone.
The ball eventually landed in the arms of Miami receiver Jarvis Landry in the end zone with 14:55 left to play.
From inside the locker room, Riley Cooper selected the Sanchez-was-ready option, and with it the implication it was everyone else who was behind. He’s played in 72 games since the Jets selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Bradford went down with an apparent shoulder injury after a sack by linebacker Chris McCain. Although his X-rays were negative, Bradford was diagnosed with a concussion. The running game gets going a bit as Ryan Mathews plows in for a touchdown.
The Dolphins took advantage of the Eagles’ offensive troubles after Mark Sanchez replaced Sam Bradford in the third quarter. Sanchez was serviceable Sunday, but far from great. “I think it gave us a little breath of life”. On 3rd and 8, Miami jumps offsides and sets up a more manageable 3rd and 3.
That was obvious on a couple of throws. In the realm of sports, however, it’s not a stretch to say this is the worst loss of the Chip Kelly era.
The Eagles picked up the tempo on their next possession which stressed the communication of the Dolphins’ defense. And then for a few quarters there we weren’t getting positive plays. That would have put us up (22-20). I might be stating the obvious here, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Miami doesn’t win this game if the Birds scored a touchdown on that drive. Again, you have no chance whatsoever to score. How many times is Landry going to come through this season?
Advertisement
More than likely, however, it’s already over for Kelly’s team.
