PHILADELPHIA — Derek Barnett offered a simple answer to a question about a problem that might be complex.

“We weren’t getting home, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive end said.

It’s the simplest distillation of a problem that has become an alarming trend for the Eagles through the first three weeks of the 2019 season. The Eagles have only two sacks through three games after being unable to bring down Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford during their 27-24 loss Sunday.

According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, it’s the team’s fewest through three games since sacks became an official stat in 1982.

Eagles fewest sacks after three games

2 … 2019

3 … 1988, 1995, 2014

4 … 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003

5 … 1982, 1985, 1996, 2015

6 … 1983, 1984, 1998

7 … 2012



Sacks have been an official NFL stat since 1982 — Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) September 22, 2019

It’s not a good trend.

“We’re not getting to the quarterback. Especially me,” defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “I’m not getting there quick enough. We have to do a better job as a group, as a defensive line and as a defense.”

Cox’s statistical output Sunday was particularly alarming. He did not record an official statistic outside of his participation. He did not make a tackle, and he did not hit the quarterback.

Overall, the Eagles recorded only three quarterback hits. Two came from backup defensive end Vinny Curry, and the other came from safety Andrew Sendejo, who also has one of the Eagles’ two sacks this season.

In the first two games of the season, the Eagles were at least putting some hits on the opposing quarterbacks. They hit Case Keenum eight times in Week 1. They hit Matt Ryan 10 times last week. They won the first game and were in position to win the other one. There’s some correlation there.

“I know how the sacks go,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “Right now, we just let people say what they’re going to say. We just have to keep working. It’s a long season, and you never know how stuff ends. There’s going to be some funny stuff that will be happening, and I’m hoping we’re on the good side of it. The only thing I’m worried about is to make sure that we don’t separate from each other, which I doubt we’ll do. But right now, nobody believes in us. That’s cool.”

Injuries have had a significant impact on the Eagles defensive line. Starting defensive tackle Malik Jackson was lost for the season to a foot injury in Week 1. Third defensive tackle Tim Jernigan suffered a foot injury in Week 2 that should sideline him for a significant amount of time. That left No. 4 tackle Hassan Ridgeway to move up the depth chart and start next to Cox.

The Eagles haven’t made any moves to attempt to boost production off the edge, either. Rookie Shareef Miller has been inactive for the first three games of the year, while preseason star Daeshon Hall didn’t play Sunday in his first game active.

They’re trying to find it with Barnett, Graham, Curry and second-year pro Josh Sweat. It hasn’t quite happened through three games. Barnett, though, said there are still plenty of teams left on the schedule, and things can change.

“I'm not preaching patience,” Barnett said. “I'm just saying it's a quick switch. We got to get ready for another great team, and they're not going to feel sorry for us that we lost. We got to come out with great intensity, start faster and do the little things better.”

The Eagles face the Green Bay Packers on a short week Thursday night, and the task shouldn’t get any easier. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, one of the NFL’s best, is masterful at navigating the pocket and extending plays with his legs, while Packers tackles Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari are two of the NFL’s best. It’s going to be hard.

But in the past, the Eagles have shown they can get pressure with only four rushers, which is what defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz prefers. That’s what they’re aiming to do.

“We got to continue to keep on hunting up front, can't get down,” Barnett said. “The NFL is a tough league. Everything's not going to go the way you want it certain weeks, and you can't get down. You got to continue to make adjustments and keep on going. It's only Week 3.”

Stock watch

Stock up: Safety Malcolm Jenkins

Malcolm Jenkins came up with a potential game-saving play when he blocked Matt Prater’s field goal attempt late in the game. Jenkins knifed through the left side of the Lions’ field goal unit and batted down Prater’s kick. He was called for a block in the back on the return — a penalty which pushed the Eagles out of field goal range — but it was a ticky-tack call. Jenkins also had a crucial pass breakup where he timed his leap perfectly to knock the ball down.

Stock down: Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox

Fletcher Cox did not record any statistics Sunday. He is not listed on the “final defensive statistics” page of the official gamebook. He didn’t record a solo tackle, an assist, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, a sack — nothing. The Eagles need more from their All-Pro, especially when the pass rush is struggling.

Stock up: Punter Cameron Johnston

Cameron Johnston appeared to be struggling during training camp in 2018, but Johnston has been better than solid in his first two seasons in the NFL. He dropped a 50-yard beauty in the third quarter that bounced out at the Lions 2 and pinned the Detroit defense back deep. One of his punts was returned 24 yards in the fourth quarter, but Johnston stopped the return himself.

Stock down: Offensive skill players

No one was immune to the drops. Tight end Dallas Goedert dropped a touchdown. Wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside dropped a potential touchdown. Wide receiver Mack Hollins dropped a pass that would have put the Eagles in field goal range at the end of the game. Wide receiver Nelson Agholor dropped a pass in the first half. Agholor and running back Miles Sanders fumbled. It’s hard to win when there are that many mistakes happening.

Read more: Zach Ertz moves into second place in Eagles history for catches

Injuries

>> Defensive end Derek Barnett exited the game twice with an ankle injury — the second time, he went to the locker room — but he returned and finished the game. He has been limited once per week in practice because of the shoulder surgery that ended his 2018 season in October.

>> Left tackle Jason Peters sat out most of the second quarter because of an illness. It was unseasonably hot Sunday afternoon. He returned and played the whole second half.

>> Rookie Andre Dillard replaced Peters, but he suffered a knee injury and left the game. The Eagles announced him as questionable to return, and he did not. He was on the sideline, though, and had his helmet on.

>> Tight end Dallas Goedert was questionable with a calf injury and practiced only once during the week. He was active, but he did not enter the game until the second half. He was targeted once, and he dropped a pass wide open in the end zone.

Stats to know

>> With four catches, tight end Zach Ertz moved into second place on the Eagles all-time catches list. He has 454 in his career, and he passed Pete Retzlaff, who had 452 catches between 1956-66. Ertz trails only Harold Carmichael, who caught 589 passes in his Eagles career.

>> Ertz also surpassed 5,000 yards receiving in his career, and he became the fourth tight end to hit that mark in 94 games after Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Gates. Ertz also passed Brent Celek for the eighth-most receiving yards in team history at 5,017.

>> Running Jordan Howard’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was his first as a member of the Eagles and his first scoring twice in the 2018 season finale with the Chicago Bears.

>> Wide receiver Nelson Agholor has six touchdowns in his past five regular season games, and with two receiving scores, he posted the second multi-touchdown game of his career. The other came in the 2018 season finale at the Washington Redskins.

>> Agholor became the fifth Eagles player to have eight-plus catches and at least one touchdown catch in back-to-back games, joining Terrell Owens (2005), Irving Fryar (1996), Mike Quick (1985) and Bud Grant (1952).

>> Running back Miles Sanders’ 40-yard catch on the opening drive was the longest catch by an Eagles rookie running back since LeSean McCoy had a 45-yard catch against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 8, 2009. It’s the longest catch by a rookie running back in the NFL since Saquon Barkley’s 55-yard catch against the Eagles last season.

>> Sanders had a 33-yard catch later in the game, which makes him the first rookie running back to have multiple 30-plus yard catches since D’Onta Foreman in 2017.

Lineup notes

>> The Eagles introduced Curry as a starter alongside Barnett, Graham and Cox, but Curry was on the sideline while Ridgeway started next to Cox at defensive tackle.

Similarly, Rasul Douglas was introduced as a starting cornerback, but Sidney Jones began the game opposite Ronald Darby. Douglas and Jones rotated in the first half before Darby exited.

>> Miles Sanders made his second straight start at running back and set a career high with 13 carries for 53 yards. He’s still trying to find the end zone for the first time.

>> Wide receiver Greg Ward made his NFL debut when he was part of the return team on the opening kick. He was promoted from the practice squad Saturday. Ward was not targeted in the passing game.

>> Halapoulivaati Vaitai got early run as a sixth offensive lineman.

Notable quotables

“Put it past me. It’s a long season, long game, and don’t let it affect my game. I got back in and tried to make the best of my opportunity. Put it behind me. [I’m] not perfect, but I’m definitely going to work my a-- off this whole week and get better.” —Running back Miles Sanders on what he was told on the sideline after his fumbles

“It appeared on the field it might have been a face mask. It’s hard to see. The game is so fast. Sometimes too where the hand is it can still pull a helmet off, but we just have to look at the tape and see what happened.” —Coach Doug Pederson on the no-call on the apparently obvious face mask penalty on a Sanders kickoff return

“Obviously, there is a high urgency. We’re coming off of two losses first and foremost, but now we have a game on Thursday. No one feels bad for us and we don’t feel bad for ourselves. We’ll get back to work right away tomorrow morning, and be full speed ahead for Green Bay.” —Quarterback Carson Wentz on the mood of the team

“Yes, but the only one I can control is mine. I wish I didn’t have those mistakes because you can’t turn over the football. I wish I wasn’t one of the problems.” —Wide receiver Nelson Agholor on if the mistakes hurt the team

What’s next

The Eagles face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thursday night. The Packers moved to 3-0 with a 27-16 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was 17 of 29 for 235 yards and a touchdown, while running back Aaron Jones scored twice. Defensively, Preston Smith recorded three sacks and Za’Darius Smith added two of his own. The Eagles have won three straight Thursday night road games under Pederson, but this might be the toughest one yet.

Daniel Gallen covers the Philadelphia Eagles for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Philadelphia Eagles coverage on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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