PHILADELPHIA — Scaling Everest, crossing the Saraha on foot, or suffering through another election season are feats that might be easier to accomplish than the Eagles’ offense scoring in the first quarter, where points have been as elusive as the Holy Grail.
Before their victory against Jacksonville five weeks ago, the Eagles had gone 10 consecutive games without a first-quarter touchdown or field goal, dating to Dec. 31 of last season. Since then, they’ve only scored in two opening periods, and Sunday against Carolina wasn’t one of them.
“Well, it’s nothing new,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said of the issue after the game. “It’s kind of what we’ve done, and you’ve got to figure it out at some point. You are where you are, but you also know what you’ve been through. And we know what we’ve been through and what we’ve experienced, and we’re trying to address some things so we can be better.
“We all have big goals and want to be the last team standing. But you also know it takes what it takes, so you just want to continue to pursue your best self in that, and hopefully we can find it.”
At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles tallied a grand total of 46 yards of offense, including just eight passing yards, had gone three-and-out once and had punted twice.
The Birds finally got on the board 3:12 into the second quarter, using a tush-push as Hurts capped an impressive 70-yard drive that began late in the first period. An interception by C.J. Gardner- Johnson near midfield with 1:05 remaining before halftime — leading to a touchdown reception by DeVonta Smith — seemed to provide a spark as well.
“Obviously, it’s something that we’ve started slow, unfortunately, for too many games, something we’ve got to do a better job of,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said last week leading up to the game. “It’s definitely something we’ve had a lot of discussions about, different ways that we can attack the defense, play to our strengths, focus on us, make the adjustments as the game goes on that we need to make.”
Hurts finished 14-of-21 for a modest 108 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. What the numbers may not reflect are the missed opportunities, particularly some open routes by A.J. Brown on which Hurts seemed gun-shy. And whenever the Eagles’ offense seemed to kick into gear, it would just as suddenly sputter again, similar to the first month of the season.
“I think they did a good job; I think we did a bad job,” Hurts said, referring to Carolina’s defense. “It starts with me, how I execute. And ultimately you yearn — I yearn — for better synchronization amongst that, yearn for a more complementary style of ball. … There’s definitely been some urgency there, trying to figure it out. You’ve got to keep climbing and trying to progress in it.”
Still, the Birds have won nine straight. One could argue they were bound to have somewhat of a letdown, and they did so while still managing to get a victory. But the first-period offensive woes haven’t gone away.
In addition to the Jaguars, the Eagles scored in the opening quarter against the Cowboys and Rams. That’s just three games out of 13. So far, they’ve been able to overcome opening-quarter early goose eggs against even some solid opponents, like Baltimore and Washington. But next week against Pittsburgh, and against elite teams in the playoffs, it may not be so easy.
Source: Berkshire mont