The Eagles defense broke.
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Last time met: The Eagles committed five turnovers, including four in the second half, during a 34-13 loss to the Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field on December 13, 2012. Since then, the rookie has floated back to earth.
It very well might happen because the Eagles (5-6) are 1-5 on the road and will have to somehow find a way to pick up the pieces of last week’s disheartening home loss, their first of the year. Carson Wentz throws two touchdown passes.
“Last week, the 6’2”, 238 lb. halfback averaged under two yards in his 12 carries, but churned out 61 yards on six receptions against Baltimore. Dalton has thrown at least 40 passes in five games – he did that only once in each of the past two seasons. Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick returns an interception for a TD. Harris, a Stafford Township resident and Southern Regional High School graduate, is in his eighth season with the Bengals. As I mentioned, the defensive line has not played to its talent level this season, which remains a significant issue. He was listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game.
Philadelphia (5-6) dropped six of its last eight games after its strong start and is desperate for a victory to remain a viable contender in the NFC wild-card race. Leading rusher Ryan Mathews (427 yards, 4.2 yards per carry average, 7 TDs), who missed Monday’s game with a knee injury, will sit out again Sunday. They’ll test that resolve this week at Paul Brown Stadium, against the Eagles.
Mark Eckel: The Eagles have not played well on the road this season and they have not shown they can win a close game. Green Bay. K Caleb Sturgis has four field goals of 50 yards or more, tied with Cody Parkey (2014) for most in single-season franchise history. That’s a new one for Andy Dalton and numerous Bengals.
Eagles fans had one thing to take solace in.
Bengals beat writers Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski look ahead to the team’s Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. That means rookie Wendell Smallwood will become the lead back.
Philadelphia (5-6) has lost four of its past five games and also is in a dire postseason situation.
Burkhead, a fourth-year player, moved into a bigger role when Bernard got hurt. 254 passing yards, 33 rushing yards and a touchdown were good numbers, ending the relative slide in his form over the previous few weeks. Green out with a torn hamstring. Tight end Tyler Eifert is one of Dalton’s favorite receivers. Herein lies the dilemma for the first-year starter: Contrasting stat lines like Monday’s provide a glimpse of what could be, but they also underscore the difficulty in putting too much weight on statistics. Cox had another personal foul penalty. The three losses have been by a total of 10 points.
Now when you look at the schedule, it’s filled with winning teams, division leaders, Hall of Fame quarterbacks and teams coming off byes.
This game has shifted throughout the week with Philly opening as a 1-point favorite, according to Odds Shark. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict leads the team with 76 tackles.
And while advanced metrics still say that Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap are great players, the tandem hasn’t been almost what it was past year. He has four INTs since 2015, tied for third among National Football League linebackers.
The game will be a homecoming of sorts for three Eagles who played at the University of Cincinnati: Celek, center Jason Kelce, and defensive end Connor Barwin.
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The Bengals and Eagles both seemed like potential playoff teams over the first month of the season.
